Red Rising (Book 1 of the Red Rising series) by Pierce Brown

Posted on November 1, 2026 by schoultz

Why this book: Selected by my SEAL book club.

Summary in 5 Sentences: The setting is a civilization from Earth several centuries in the future now living on Mars, where society has been stratified to be led by an elite group called the Golds. There are several subgroups, under the Golds, and at the bottom of the hierarchy are the Reds who live underground mining the materials that facilitate the comfortable lifestyle of the society above ground, while the Reds are kept ignorant of the world above ground that they are supporting. Our protagonist Darrow is a particularly strong, intelligent, and resilient Red, and is selected by a subversive group as one who they believe can lead a revolution against the Golds. Their intent is to change his identity to be able to pass for a Gold, which requires that he secretly go through a grueling and intensive reeducation and physical transformation to make him appear to be part of the Gold culture, which would then allow him to go through the extensive and brutal rite-of-passage that the Golds require of those who will become leaders in their society. Most of the story is about Darrow’s leadership of a group of aspiring Gold leaders going through this rite of passage, called “the Institute,” which simulates battle and life and death competition between groups, with the goal of determining who is strong and weak under pressure.

My Impressions: I wasn’t crazy about the book but I did enjoy reading it – as it was written to be a page turner, and I was indeed sucked into the drama of Darrow’s journey and ultimately his role as a leader of his team in “the Institution.” I was reminded a bit of Heinlein’s Starship Troopers in that the society has an elite class of warriors who at least theoretically model and enforce the rules of the society. But the book is often compared to The Hunger Games, which I haven’t read.

Darrow, the protagonist and hero of the story, is selected by a subversive group for this role to lead a revolt, but he is also motivated by the desire for revenge at how the Golds treated him, his family, and his wife, ultimately killing her for standing up to them. Then when he learns that he, his family and community worked in the mines not in order to build a better civilization as they were told, but rather to support an elite that already existed above ground, of which they were unaware. The realization of the degree of his and his community’s exploitation motivated him to go through the grueling transformation to make him appear to be one of the Golds and then go through the battles in the institution, where indeed, the hardships he had endured as a miner working for years underground made him better prepared than the others for the hardships of the Institution.

The themes of social justice, treachery, revenge, honor and battlefield acumen are all at play – he forms alliances within his team in the Institution and then, alliances with other teams he defeats in order to “win” the faux battle and the grand prize of the Institution. The story ends with Darrow learning that his main rival in this final battle was the son of one of the leaders of the Golds, had received unfair help from the proctors – that the game had been rigged and was not “fair” – setting the stage for future tensions and rivalries in the follow on books.

Red Rising had me rolling my eyes from time to time, but by suspending disbelief and going with the story it was indeed a fun read. Not great literature, but as science fiction for action addicts, it has won a devoted following. In the SEAL book club, a number of the younger guys have created a sub-group to read the next 6 books in the series – while many of the older guys put the book down early and chose not to finish it. I’ve been told that book two, which is less about faux battles in the Institution, and much more about Darrow’s political fight as he enters the world of power politics in the Gold community, is indeed better. My Sci Fi book club has decided to read book 2.

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Journey of Souls – Case Studies of Life Between Lives, by Michael Newton

Posted on October 27, 2026 by schoultz

Why this book: It was referred to in Eben Alexander’s book Living in a Mindful Universe and then I saw a hard copy that my wife had (but hadn’t read) on the table in our family room. Interesting coincidence and interesting topic – I chose to listen to it on audible rather than read it. But I did read and review parts of her copy.

Summary in 4 Sentences: The author is a hypnotherapist who after many of his clients under hypnosis referred to lives before their birth, decided to see how common that was and eventually interviewed well over a thousand people who in a hypnotic trance described an existence in a different realm before their birth. This book is in the form of transcriptions and highlights from 29 of his most interesting cases that describe not only an existence but also experiences in a non-physical world with other souls, between incarnations on earth. They describe relations with other souls, how they digested lessons learned from previous incarnations and how they prepared for future incarnations. The author makes his comments on some of the differences in how these subjects describe their experiences and gives his overall lessons and key take-aways.

My Impressions: This is a very interesting read which challenges our common sense view of consensus reality. It almost seemed like science fiction to me – in fact, the between-lives spiritual world he described had some similarities to the other-world dimension that characters in the science fiction book Hyperion experienced.

It was strange – even bizarre – to me to have these “subjects” (which is how Newton referred to those he was interviewing under hypnosis) describe a non-physical, spiritual dimension of reality that has its own hierarchy, structure, and organization, with masters, beginners, teachers, students, training protocols etc, but with no physical existence. There are similarities in the goals and objectives that these disembodied spirits shared from their time in this other, non-physical dimension, but the concept is so different from my empirical experience that I sometimes wondered whether the author/hypnotist wasn’t “leading the witnesses” with the questions he asked.

And yet, there was an uncanny consistency in the stories these subjects told as they described their experiences, and the realm and reality of this discarnate spiritual world from which we all come, and to which we will all return. Many of the subjects recalled multiple previous lives, recalled how issues in one life carried over into future lives, and affected and contributed to the challenges they faced in their current incarnation. While in a trance, each of the subjects described their discarnate existence between lives, fully cognizant of the incarnate life they were living as they lay on the couch answering questions from Dr Newton.

This spiritual world/existence they described in their life-between-lives has a moral and spiritual structure. “Karma” is a key driver in the flow and purpose in the series of lives we lead. At the conclusion of the book, Newton describes the non-physical/”spiritual” reality that he has deduced from his hundreds/thousands of interviews with subjects describing their experiences between incarnate lives. In short, we live each life with the goal of continuing to learn and evolve spiritually, seeking advancement and evolution very similar to the descriptions in the Buddhist and Hindu religions. His subjects describe working out karma with the goal of spiritual advancement toward “Nirvana,” or a one-ness with the Source, and getting out of the cycle of birth, rebirth, and death. In between lives, we digest and learn from the life/lives we have lived, and we enter our incarnate lives to spiritually build on lessons learned, see if and how well we have learned from previous incarnations, as well as how well we have absorbed lessons from our in-between lives experience with our teachers and mentors. Each life gives us an opportunity to try again and do better – this time perhaps in a different gender, different setting, a different body with different genetics, with some different friends, different challenges and opportunities. Though one thing is clear – we often live our lives with many of those with whom we’ve lived before and have associated with between lives.

In that other world – the spiritual dimension – there are masters who teach and provide oversight of intermediate level guides who coach and help less advanced spirits. At the top of the hierarchy is an ineffable “Source” which encompasses all souls including the masters all the way down to stumbling beginners on the path.

As “crazy” and counter to “common sense” that this description of a Greater (spiritual) Reality may be, it is consistent with much of the spiritual teaching that psychics and spiritual teachers have been saying over millennia in many different cultures. It is consistent with what Eben Alexander describes in Living in a Mindful Universe, and consistent with what Edgar Cayce describes in his readings, what Seth and other channelers have reported, when they share perspectives and insights from “the other side.” My own view – though I haven’t directly experienced such phenomena, I can’t believe all these teachers and spiritual leaders are charlatans, and I sense that there is a Truth there, that I should take seriously.

But how? And just what does that mean? That is the question….

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Memories before and After The Sound of Music, by Agathe von Trapp

Posted on October 27, 2026 by schoultz

Why this book: I had loved the movie The Sound of Music and had heard that the actual story of the von Trapp family, and their escape from Austria was very different from the movie. I wanted to know the real story of the family and their lives before and after The Sound of Music.

Summary in 5 sentences: The book is written in the first person from the perspective of Agathe von Trapp the eldest daughter of the von Trapp family and she begins with the story of her parents, their families and the world of the von Trapp family in the Austro-Hungary empire prior to and during WW1. After Austria-Hungary loses the war, she describes how the family survives difficult times for two decades, and just as things are coming together for them, the Nazis assume power in Austria. When Capt von Trapp refuses to serve in the Nazi Navy, he knows he is marked as an enemy of the Third Reich, and they were able to escape to America, made a reputation for themselves as a singing family, and established a home, eventually a lodge in Vermont. The book describes their touring to much acclaim all over America and the world throughout the forties, fifties and into the sixties. When the movie is released in 1965, the von Trapp family singers were nearing the end of their touring, many were engaged with the lodge they’d built, or had moved on with their lives, and the author describes their lives after the movie.

My Impressions: This is an autobiography of the von Trapp family from the perspective of the oldest daughter who lived through WW1 and into the 21st century, having written this book in 2003. She wanted to set the record straight regarding her family, what they had experienced in Austria and later in America, given that so much attention was given to them after the release of The Sound of Music in the mid 60s. She initially was very displeased with the movie as it distorted the character of her father, presenting him in the movie as a gruff, distant and strict patriarch, whereas she insisted that he was in fact warm, personable and easy going in real life. The movie also took many liberties with the facts of their lives in Austria and their escape from the Nazis. She wanted to set the record straight. Later, she came to appreciate the movie when she came to realize how much the movie’s popularity helped her family with publicity for their singing and their lodge in Vermont.

The book is also a fascinating look at the world of an Austrian aristocratic family at the beginning of the 20th century and how the two world wars upset the social order they had inherited from the 19th century. Prior to the WW1, the von Trapp family had been solidly a part of the upper classes, but after the war, they were forced from their home in what had been Austria, but which became Italy after the war. Agathe describes how they struggled and adapted to the new world order, as the European economies collapsed. Life was hard especially for the defeated nations, and then for the seven von Trapp children especially after their mother died. They weren’t destitute but Papa struggled to find work to make ends meet, and for the first time, they worried about money and depended on relatives. Their large slid down the social ladder as former aristocrats from the old order, to essentially middle class status.

When their mother died, the older children had to step in and take care of the younger ones until their father was able to hire a nanny – a nun who’d been a bit overly independent and troublesome in a local monastery. After a while, he asked the children if they liked her and would they like to have her as a new Mother. They did though he was 49 and she 22, he proposed, and they were married. That part of the Sound of Music was accurate. She stepped into their home, took charge, created order out of chaos and began organizing the musical talents of the children. Papa had always played the violin and, as was the norm in upper class families of that era, all of the children had had music lessons. So Maria (who they called “Mother”) stepped into an already very musically inclined and talented family, organized them and they began performing in public.

As noted in the summary above, after the “Anschluss” in 1938, when the Nazis took over Austria, the pleasant trajectory of the von Trapp family life, was again at grave risk. The family had already been performing and touring as singers beginning in the early thirties, and had been invited to tour in America, when Papa was made an “offer” he couldn’t refuse. He had had an exceptional reputation as a submarine commander for the Austrian Navy in WW1, but when the Nazi’s asked (demanded) that he serve in the German Navy, he refused. He then knew he didn’t have much time – they had to leave Austria and escape the Nazis before they – or at least he – would be put in a concentration camp.

So they accepted the offer to tour the US and (at least for public consumption) they left Austria to tour the US, but with bags packed, not intending to return. But their departure was not as dramatic as in the movie – they left on a train, not singing and climbing over the Alps. They did in fact enjoy a very successful tour performing in the US, decided to stay there and were aided by patrons who supported their application to immigrate.

The remainder of the book is about how the family adapted to America – by continuing to tour, not just in the US but internationally. Eventually they decided to settle in Vermont on a farm which they then built into a family-style hostel. Later that home caught fire and burned down, and they replaced it with a larger Lodge which remains today in the family. Papa von Trapp passed away at age 67 in 1947, and Maria became the matriarch of the family until she passed away at age 82 in 1987. The book concludes with Agathe sharing the various paths taken by “children” of the von Trapp family, going their separate ways but staying engaged with the family and the lodge. The Trapp family lodge in Stowe Vermont continued to evolve and is still run by the family. Agathe passed away in 2010 at age 97.

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The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler

Posted on October 22, 2026 by schoultz

Why this book: I’d read The Big Sleep by Chandler and was impressed. I was looking for another highly regarded book and page turner for my long flight to Europe.

Summary in 4 Sentences: Philip Marlowe (Chandler’s Private Eye) meets a guy who who needs help – he helps him, and then encounters him a few more times, they become familiar but not particularly close, and finally this fellow shows up at his door and mysteriously asks for a ride to the airport to fly to Mexico, and Marlowe obliges. Not long afterward, Marlowe is accused of being accessory to murderer – and Marlowe gets to deal with the police and justice system trying to frame him. Then this issue is left hanging as Marlowe gets involved in some additional seemingly unrelated sticky situations which in the end are indeed very related to the murder and the escape of his “friend” to Mexico, but it remains unclear how. And of course, Marlowe figures it all out while the authorities are left scratching their heads.

My Impressions: As was The Big Sleep, this is a fun and good read, though for much of it I really wasn’t sure what was going on. Marlowe is an appealing character – pretty much fits the mold of the hard-boiled private eye of the popular mystery-detective genre. The setting is LA in the early fifties and Chandler clearly enjoys pointing out the self-centered extravagances and eccentricities of the wealthy class who our humble hero Marlowe encounters – the beautiful women who manipulate men for their own ends, the wealthy weirdos who buy beautiful trophy wives and trophy houses to show off their wealth and success. How they then are able to manipulate the justice system to support their goals and extravagant lifestyles.

Marlowe’s meeting and discussion with Mr Potter in chapter 32 is precious. Mr Potter is a multi-multi-millionaire – which is really wealthy in 1952. It was his daughter that Marlowe’s “friend” was accused of murdering. When Marlowe questions the pat solution to the crime that the police, the DA and the press are reporting, Mr Potter summons Marlowe to a meeting to carefully warn him to back off, and in the process, tells Marlowe about how the world works:

“We live in a democracy, rule by the majority of the people. A fine ideal if it could be made to work. The people elect, but the party machines nominate, and the party machines, to be effective must spend a great deal of money. Somebody has to give it to them and that somebody, whether it be an individual, a financial group, a trade union or what have you, expects some consideration in return. What I and people of my kind expect is to be allowed to live our lives in decent privacy…There’s a peculiar thing about money…. In large quantities it tends to have a life of its own, even a conscience of its own. The power of money becomes very difficult to control. Man has always been a venal animal….The average man is tired and scared and a tired and scared man can’t afford ideals. He has to buy food for his family. …. (p 233-234)

There were a number of subplots, branches and sequels to this story and how Marlowe inadvertently got himself wrapped up in this very strange case. In the end the actual solution and surprise ending confused me, and I had to think about it and go on-line to help me sort out what Chandler (through Marlow) actually uncovered as the answer to who committed the crime, why and how – which included a couple more dead people.

Raymond Chandler was one of the original masters of the true detective crime novel genre. Chandler’s Philip Marlow was clearly a model for John D. MacDonald’s Travis McGee who came along in the early 1960s. Marlowe, the world weary hard-boiled detective, worked in the Sin City environment of Hollywood and LA, whereas McGee was the easy-going society drop-out living on a house boat in Florida. But as characters, they had much in common and both appeal to me for their honesty, lack of personal ambition, insightful about people, each is compassionate but not a chump, favoring honor and principle over personal advantage and self aggrandizement.

The story was interesting though at times, hard to follow. Chandler’s commentary through his characters about the lives and eccentricities of the wealthy elites of LA is worth the read itself. If you like this genre and excellent writing, you’ll like this book.

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The Red Hot Typewriter – The Life and Times of John D. MacDonald by Hugh Merrill

Posted on October 21, 2026 by schoultz

Why this book: I’ve read several of MacDonald’s popular Travis McGee series and really liked them – and wanted to know more about the author whose views are expressed through his character McGee.

Summary in 4 Sentences: A relatively short biography of the popular mystery- detective novel writer beginning with his childhood and parental relationships to his early jobs as he tried out various options, went to college then joined the Army just prior to WW2. While serving with the OSS in the Burma-China-India theater, he sent s couple of short stories home to his wife, which unbeknownst to him, she submitted for publication, were accepted and received a check. Upon learning this after the war, he chose to become a writer rather than work for a large organization. Over the next 4 decades the biography recounts how he became initially a hack paperback detective novelist and how he who evolved into a highly respected mystery and suspense novelist and author well into the 1980s, authoring 22 Travis McGee novels as well as a number of other highly regarded non-serial novels, each with an iconoclastic message against mass and depersonalized culture.

My impressions. This is not a long nor detailed biography – only about 190 pages which outlines the highlights and key events and periods of MacDonalds life, concluding with a long interview with him, and a list of one scholar’s favorite MacDonald stand alone novels – NOT of the Travis McGee series.

I learned of John D. MacDonald from a podcast interview by Tim Ferriss with Mike Rowe – both of whom had loved JDM and had read most or all of the Travis McGee novels. So I gave him a try, and have since read a mere four of the more of the 22 in the series. I’ve talked to friends who have read all of the Travis McGee novels, some of them twice. After reading the last one, I realized how I really liked the views expressed through the character of Travis McGee – so I wanted to know more about the author. After looking him up and seeing that he had served with the OSS in Burma-China-India I was intrigued, so found and bought this book.

JDM was a man of his era – but more a writer and introverted author and less the easy going sail-boat-bum and risk taking adventurer of his character Travis McGee. I read somewhere that JDM built his Travis McGee character based on his ideal independent man of character and courage, who had the freedom to live his life without obligations to the ordinary constraints of modern urban living – such as a corporate job, a boss, a mortgage, a wife and family.

Where JDM’s and McGee’s characters converge are that they are both men of their times – each solidly “a man’s man” of the 1940 and 50s – proud, independent, each enjoyed their alcohol but didn’t get drunk, didn’t worry much about health or fitness – just depended on their natural fitness and health, ate and drank what they liked. They each respected and were attracted to women, but still with something of a 1940s/50s patronizing approach to them. They are both committed to honesty, moral courage, living their values and being fair and respectful to others – even toward those “bad guys” who McGee tracks down to bring to justice. But neither are saints – both prudent in applying their sense of morality to the practical needs of their clients and their own survival.

He was an extremely prolific writer publishing 78 books in his lifetime, and receiving numerous awards – the most prestigious being the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award and the National Book Award for the Travis McGee novel The Green Ripper (wh I haven’t read yet – but will.)

The book gave insights into the subculture of mystery/crime writers, their relationships to publishers and editors – a very important relationship for writers who want to get paid to get their et their books printed, and to have them printed as they choose to write them – which involves the back-and-forth negotiations to change the plot, the title, the characters from what the author originally wrote. JDM had at least one of his original story lines “stolen” and used by another author in a different setting – JDM threatened to sue, but withdrew the suit when the perpetrator and his publisher agreed to take all the copies out of circulation and register a public apology.

JDM was very dedicated to his writing – churned out sometimes several books in just a few months, writing alone in his office regularly for 8 hours a day, putting his ideas for great stories and mysteries to print. He was devoted to Doros his wife of nearly 50 years and their son Maynard. At the end of their lives, both were in ill health at the end, until he died of cardiac issues at age 70 in 1986, and she died 2 years later.

I believe there are longer biographies of JDM available, but this one served me well – and I’d recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed the Travis McGee series and would like to know more about the author. Also the brief summaries it offered at the end of his best “stand alone” novels (not Travis McGee) inspired me to read one or two of these highly regarded works – I’d lean toward beginning with Slam the Big Door.

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A History of Sardinia, by Franco Aquilina

Posted on October 16, 2026 by schoultz

Why this book: I was getting ready to travle to Sardinia for a cultural and hiking trip and had heard this was an excellent short summary of the key events and issues in the history and current situation in Sardinia

Summary in 3 Sentences: The book is written in chronological order, briefly covers the little known very early pre-history but begins largely with the Nuragic Age going back 4 thousand years ago. It then walks us through the complicated and multiple stages of Sardinian history when the island was conquered many times by multiple European entities, to include the Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals in the middle ages, Spanish, Genoese, French, and finally the Italian’s. It concludes with the more recent years under Italian rule and concludes with the political, cultural, environmental challenges Sardinia is dealing with in the 21st century.

My Impressions: A great concise history of Sardinia, from the stone age to the 21st century. Only 143 pages, with short chapters, all of us who went to Sardinia and read this book swear by it as, not only a concise but also an educated overview of key elements in the history of Sardinia.

A few things I didn’t know before, but that I learned from this book.

  • The Phoenicians were based in the Eastern Mediterranean what is now Turkey and Lebanon area, and were primarily traders with good trading relations with cultures and peoples throughout the Mediterranean including those in Sardinia. They had people living in Cagliari to facilitate trading.
  • Carthage was originally a Phoenician settlement in North Africa which rebelled and essentially took over the Phoenician empire. Whereas the Phoenicians were a trading culture, Carthage was imperialist and conquered and ruled Sardinia for several centuries, but were replaced by the Romans when the Romans defeated Carthage in the Punic wars. The Romans ruled Sardinia as a colony and breadbasket for several centuries.
  • After the Roman empire fell, the ships from the Vandals from northern Europe pillaged coastal towns in the Mediterranean with impunity, including and especially Sardinia, forcing many settlements on the coast to move inland where they would be less vulnerable.
  • Genoa and Pisa in what is now Italy had a long standing rivalry and control of Sardinia was a key point of contention.
  • The Sardinian brigade was the most effective and courageous of the Italian forces fighting the Austrians in Northern Italy in WW1.
  • Though there were no allied ground forces or ground battles on Sardinia in WW2, Cagliari was bombed nearly to rubble by the allies as part of the Operation Mincemeat the remarkably successful deception plan to make the Axis believe they would be launching their assault on Italy and Southern Europe by landing in Sardinia, rather than Sicily where indeed they did land.
  • Malaria was a huge problem in Sardinia for centuries until after WW2, when extensive use of DDT and draining of swampland virtually (but not completely) eliminated the Anopheles mosquito population in Sardinia.
  • Tourism has brought in much wealth and employment to Sardinia but also created a number of environmental concerns and other challenges. There is a strong movement in Sardinia to protect and preserve the natural environment, while also supporting sustainable tourism

Below is the table of contents which gives you an idea of the structure of the book. If you are interested in Sardinia, and may be planning a visit ( which I highly recommend) then this book is a must read.

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Living in a Mindful Universe by Eben Alexander

Posted on September 22, 2026 by schoultz

Why this book: I had recently read Eben Alexander’s Proof of Heaven and was impressed. I’m exploring ideas in this alternate/expanded view of reality and I was/am interested in following Alexander’s journey since his NDE and learning form his insights.

Summary in 3 Sentences: This is a follow up to Proof of Heaven in which he shares insights from his experience in the six years after publishing his highly successful and widely read Proof of Heaven. The first five chapters address possible scientific explanations for his experience and addresses the arguments from the skeptics who claim that the alternate reality he describes in his Near Death Experience (NDE) could not exist. In the following eleven chapters he explains the many implications of of his experience of this alternate reality, and his and his co-author Karen Newell’s experiences teaching, lecturing, and facilitating others in understanding and even having their own experiences.

My Impressions: This is a good book for someone who, though skeptical and uncertain, is willing to accept the possibility that Eben Alexander truly experienced something “real” in the NDE he wrote about in Proof of Heaven. At least initially in the book, he tries to remain detached and objective, and speaks to those of a more practical and skeptical mindset, anticipating their questions and objections (he’s heard them all) and providing responses and explanations. He notes that readers who are primarily interested in or lean to the more objective and scientific perspective on NDE’s will find the first five chapters most instructive. These chapters have titles like “A Hard Problem Indeed,” “Science Meets Spirituality,” “Moving beyond Materialist Science,” “The Primordial Mind Hypothesis” But he warns us that those who may not be interested in examining how different theories of quantum physics, time, and epistemology apply to the issue of NDEs and the “paranormal,” may want to skip these early chapters and go on to chapters six through sixteen. These chapters will be of greatest interst to those who generally accept that his and other NDE’s and other demonstrated paranormal experiences indeed point to a greater reality. I found the first five chapters enlightening, even if I didn’t fully understand all of the physics and quantum theory they described.

In the second section of the book (chapters 6-16) Alexander and his co-author Karen Newell relax and are clearly in their element. He reinforces the point he made in Proof of Heaven that the mind is not the brain. He reminds us that his brain was “out of commission” during his NDE while his mind had an incredible, “transcendent” experience. The mind he points out, has qualities and characteristics that are not tied to the limitations of the biological brain. Alexander and Newell explore what these powers and capabilities are, with examples from their own lives and their work with others.

The second section begins with the premise that the reader accepts the possibility of the existence of a greater, non-materialist reality, and includes chapters with the following titles: “The Power of Prayer,” “The Practice of Going Within,” “Riding the Wave of Consciousness,” “Be the Love that you are,” “The Answers Lie Within Us All,” and “Mind over Matter.” If it sounds pretty woo-woo, it is, AND it is well done and credible.

They note that in our daily vernacular we speak of “love” in many guises and contexts and with many meanings. But one of the most important insights Alexander had in his NDE, and which common to many others who’ve had NDE’s, is that “LOVE” is not “merely” an emotion, but “unconditional love” and the interconnectedness of all beings are fundamental to the reality of the universe. They note that the experience of such unconditional love and interconnectedness was THE overwhelming insight in Alexander’s NDE, and in so many (nearly all) other NDE’s, as well as in the mystical experiences of sages and saints throughout history.

They provide evidence to support their belief that all our minds are part of an interconnected collective mind, what they refer to as “non-local consciousness,” which is similar to what Carl Jung called the “collective unconsciousness,” and that for each individual, their mind is restricted by the limitations of the biological brain. They offer extensive evidence that the mind has powers and insights that are separate from and not often realized by the physical brain. They provide guidance for how we can access this “collective mind” in ourselves, through meditation and quieting the brain’s preoccupation with worldly concerns. You don’t have to have an NDE or a mystical “road to Damascus” experience to access the power and interconnection that each of our minds possess.

If one accepts that the mind exists separate from the brain, that helps explain many paranormal phenomena that otherwise run counter to our materialist view of the world. They explore how telepathy, reincarnation, remote viewing, miracle healing, and other such phenomena can be explained by this understanding of the non-local consciousness, and that the mind as a separate entity is connected to a larger reality. A materialist view of the world can’t explain and often ignores these paranormal phenomena. Rather than accept that materialism may be incomplete and that these phenomena could be indicative of a mystery worth considering, true believers in scientific materialism choose to look the other way.

This is a great book for anyone who is intrigued by NDE’s, and by Alexander’s NDE in particular, and is open to looking at a scientist’s perspective on the broader implications of NDE’s and paranormal phenomena. Since that describes me, I found the book very enlightening – it covers ALOT of territory in 246 pages, and I’ll be reviewing it again soon.

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The Quick Red Fox, by John D. MacDonald

Posted on September 19, 2026 by schoultz

Why this book: I was ready for another Travis McGee novel – as a break from more “serious” reading. I like the author’s style and the character McGee and the other characters in his books.

Summary in 3 Sentences: A very famous movie actress has been blackmailed and continues to get blackmail threats based on indiscrete pictures taken at a sexually uninhibited party, and McGee is requested to find out how this happened, who is doing the blackmail and to stop it. It is an awkward process in part because McGee doesn’t care for the actress who has hired him, and because he does begin to care for the actresses executive assistant who is tasked with helping him. As usual, it becomes a fairly complicated story as McGee finds himself wandering into some of society’s less respectable and more pretentious sub-cultures, and as usual, finds that the culprits are not who he expected.

My Impressions: As usual, a fun and engaging read. If you like MacDonald’s Travis McGee series this is a good one. It is one of his earlier novels, published in 1964 – and I’ve found I’m a bit partial to his earlier novels – that more reflect the culture of America in the 50s early 60s when I was growong up.

McGee’s main client in this novel is a Hollywood super star sex-symbol actress – Lysa Dean – representing perhaps Ava Gardner, Lana Turner, or Elizabeth Taylor from that era. When McGee meets Ms Dean to work out the details of his contract with her, she throws her charm and beauty at him and McGee resists. At that initial meeting we see McGee expressing MacDonald’s disdain for the culture of the super rich Hollywood stars and McGee doesn’t allow himself to be manipulated by the starlet’s sexual appeal and charisma. That he keeps his distance from her and doesn’t respond to her flirtations, of course intrigues her and she subtly sees him as a challenge.

The story requires McGee to peek into and explore some of what surrounds the sexual licentiousness of that libertine, pleasure seeking subculture in Southern California, how it draws in and seduces young and old libertines, and self-centered pleasure seekers from all classes. Such a group will naturally include some who see a chance for exploiting their access to the star, and so blackmail her with pictures of her “inflagrante.”

To assist McGee with his task of unravelling the mystery of who took the pictures and how, stopping the blackmail, the starlet Lysa Dean loans McGee her very efficient, and impersonal executive assistant Dana Holzer to help him with investigation. Initially Holzer is distant, responsible and unaffected – almost computer-like. The relationship between McGee and Holzer slowly takes center stage in the story, as his honesty, intelligence and competence, and his caring and respectful treatment of her break down Holzer’s cold and distant demeanor. They eventually develop a trusting and intimate relationship, as the mystery of the blackmail unfolds and uncovers violence and other sordid aspects.

After having recently read Frank Sinatra’s long-form biography, and the insights it gave of the uninhibited and licentious life-style and culture of wealthy Hollywood celebrities of that era, I appreciated how MacDonald (through McGee) responded to it – with a bit of detached prurient interest, but also disgust. I also enjoyed his comments and insights about “love” – and how sexual intimacy is enhanced, in fact only of worthwhile, when accompanied by affection, respect, and love, and how his experience has taught him that sex without at least affection and respect is very hollow, often not worth the trouble, and frequently can lead to trouble.

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AFTER – A Doctor Explores What Near Death Experiences Reveal about Life and Beyond, by Bruce Greyson MD

Posted on September 12, 2026 by schoultz

Why this book: I had just read Proof of Heaven and asked my friend John Alexander who is very well read in this arena, some questions about other research regarding Near Death Experiences around the world, and he recommended this book.

Summary in 4 Sentences: Bruce Greyson is a psychiatrist who often got called in to talk to people who’d survived suicide attempts, and in one case the patient was comatose on a gurney, yet when she revived, she described to him what he’d been doing in another room while she was unconscious, telling him what he’d done and said and that she’d observed it all. Greyson being a scientifically trained doctor was confused, decided to look into this phenomenon and spent the next 40 years interviewing over 1000 people who’d had Near Death Experiences (NDE) looking for patterns and anything that would give scientific rigor to his investigations into these bizarre experiences. The book describes a multitude and variety of NDE’s, various efforts to test and explain them, and lays out how most are similar, how and perhaps why some diverge, and the impact they have had on those who have them. He concludes with a summary of his findings over the years.

My Impressions: I was impressed by the stories he told of the many fascinating NDE’s that had been related to him in his research, but also by his skepticism – his examination of the obvious question -“Could there be other explanations?” As a psychiatrist with a strong tie to and belief in evidentiary science, he makes every effort to remain impartial and to to explore these phenomena from a scientific perspective. In order to give some structure and legitimacy to his explorations, he created a matrix that I understand is still used, to evaluate NDE’s that are reported and described. This matrix helps him and other researchers compare NDE’s for their similarities, differences, andn to better understand whether and how some of what the patient reports might relate to their conscious lives.

Early in his career and after his initial incongruous experience with the woman in a coma, as a psychiatrist he was often called upon to meet and help people who had had traumatic “near death” experiences, to include failed suicide attempts. This at least in part because these people were often believed to be hallucinating or mentally “challenged” and also because eventually he became well known as a researcher in such hallucinations or bizarre experiences while in a life threatening coma. He eventually realized that bizarre out-of-body experiences were not uncommon. As he began exploring these phenomena, he realized that to ignore the possible implications of such phenomena would be disingenuous and that it is unscientific to ignore phenomena or evidence that is counter to what one expects. So he chose to explore these phenomena and to consider the possible implications.

The book is a compendium of his interviews and explorations with people who’d had experiences that seem to defy what conventional thinking believes is possible. He selects the most interesting cases, and also provides comparisons – where such experiences have differed, where there are similiarities and what these differences and similarities might mean. He never reports as a true believer, but remains carefully skeptical, always looking at and considering various possible alternative explanations for what people tell him that they experienced. He notes that he has not had any such paranormal experiences himself, but after his questioning and interviews, absent any reason not to believe their stories, he accepts that indeed they had these experiences, they believe they were real, and that there was no intent to deceive. BUT he also acknowledges that their sense that the experiences denote alternate realities doesn’t necessarily mean there are indeed such alternate realities, or that such realities are legitimate for all. A challenge of the scientific methods is that it demands that results can be replicated, reliably, which is not the case with NDE’s, out-of-body experiences, precognition or other paranormal abilities. He is clearly moved, continues to explore stories he hears, but his goal is to explore and understand, not to proselytize.

The titles of some of his chapters: “Are Near Death Experiences Real?”, “the Biology of dying,” “The Mind is not the Brain,” “Does Consciousness continue, ” “What about God?” “What does it all mean” “Life before Death.”

I asked ChatGPT to recommend some books to me that as dispassionately as possible explore NDE’s and other such phenomena, and After was at the top of the list it gave me. If someone were to ask me to recommend a book on NDE’s, I’d recommend this one first, then perhaps Eben Alexander’s Proof of Heaven. But there are several out there that are well regarded that explore this phenomenon from various perspectives. Fascinating stuff – I’ll read more. Stay tuned….

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The Dreadful Lemon Sky, by John D. MacDonald

Posted on September 11, 2026 by schoultz

Why this book; I was looking for something “light” and fun to read, and I had enjoyed my previous two John D MacDonald-Travis McGee novels: A Purple Place for Dying and The Deep Blue Good-bye. I listened to Lemon Sky on audible.

Summary in 4 Sentences: Travis McGee, our laid back protagonist, gets a visit on his houseboat The Busted Flush from an old fling from 6 years ago who is in trouble and asks him to keep a LOT of cash for her (in exchange for a cut) but she won’t tell him anything about why or what trouble. But when he soon learns that she has been killed, by accident or suicide in a town up the coast in Florida, he feels there’s clearly something fishy going on. Before he gives the money to the young ladies sister, which is what she had demanded should anything happen to her, McGee and Meyer, his good friend (a sort of “Sancho Panza” to him) go to where she had lived, to try to uncover a bit of this mystery, and in the process, stumble onto a drug smuggling operation the lady had been involved in, and which involved a wide net, to include local political and other prominent figures. As he continues to pull the string, he stumbles upon several murders, is almost killed himself, and as he and Meyer put the pieces of the puzzle together, McGee himself had to decide how to handle a romance that he also stumbled into in the process.

My impressions: Travis McGee is an unemployed, easy going sailor who lives on a well appointed boat he’d won in a poker game, who works only when he needs money. This, like the other two John D. MacDonald novels I’ve read, has McGee minding his own business, doing whatever feels good and right, when out of the blue, a person shows up needing some help.

The other two novels were written in the late 1950s/early 1960s -this one 10 years later, so the context of South Florida had changed, in the aftermath of the turbulence of the 1960s. We see more itinerant youth, marijuana is widely used, cocaine is out there, but a more serious drug and doesn’t play a significant role in this novel.

Travis McGee is an appealing character as a laid back, mature man living in Southern Florida. Like MacDonald himself, McGee is a WW2 vet who’s seen and experienced evil, doesn’t like it but is not afraid of it. He isn’t greedy for money, treats women with respect, but is not immune to their charms and has a red-blooded appreciation for an intimate session with a beautiful woman, but doesn’t chase it and won’t compromise his values for it. Kind of like his attitude toward money.

He is also practical, sensible, and principled – willing to take risks for the right thing. He will confront liars, hypocrites and those he suspects are up to no good for their own perceived gain – and will come to the aid and assistance of victims of such bad guys – which he does in this short novel.

What I enjoy about McGee in this and in the previous Travis McGee novels, is that the MacDonald has him regularly digress and share his views on a variety of topics, and MacDonald uses him as a mouthpiece to share his world view with some very interesting and insightful comments on life, people, nature, the world, philosophy and more. MacDonald had lived through the depression, had degrees from Syracuse and Harvard, served with the OSS in the China-Burma-India theater in WW2, reaching the rank of LtCol, and after the war, he chose to become a writer. Through Travis McGee, he shares with us opinions, insights and prejudices, and some golden nuggets of wisdom, some serious, some clever and a bit cynical, especially about middle class consumerism, corporate greed, hypocrisy, and more. MacDonald, through McGee, is clearly a well educated and thoughtful man, and it is enjoyable to hear his views in McGee’s voice in the context of McGee’s adventures and misadventures.

I had read the previous two books – but in the audible version, I didn’t particularly care for the voice of the reader – Robert Petkoff. In my opinion, he made McGee sound a bit too much like a 1940s “tough guy” while I had imagined McGee as more of a tough guy with a deceptively mild mannered, easy going, nice guy demeanor. I checked and learned that after MacDonald died, which was before “books on tape” or audible versions became “a thing,” Petkoff had been selected by MacDonald’s estate to read all of the Travis McGee novels for audible.

Bottom line: This is the Travis McGee I got to know and enjoy in the previous two novels I had read. This time he’s having a different adventure in a different context. I enjoyed the writing and will again enjoy a book in this series as an escape from “heavier” fare, when I’m looking for well-educated, buy relatively light entertainment. Kind of like I enjoy watching the old Law and Order episodes on TV.

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