The closet of Garden of Allah revealed

Book Reviewed: The Garden of Allah by Sheilah Graham

This is the inside story of a playground, and a hideaway for Hollywood elite in the golden era. This was dreamt, and brought to reality by the 1920s screen goddess, Alla Nazimova. Author Sheilah Graham, a well-respected newspaper columnist, also a resident at the sanctuary, gives us a firsthand look at what went on inside and outside the walls. She discusses the residents, the players who hung out, the domestic issues of the celebrities, the movies they were making, and the studio business in a lucid manner. She observes that in its 32 years of its existence, the Garden witnessed despair, drunkenness, marriages & divorces, sex & orgies, fights, suicides, robberies and murders. Well known nightclubs such as; Mocambo, Ciro's, Trocadero, and of course the Schwab's Drugstore were very close to the Garden. Schwab's was handy for celebs; Arthur Miller use to stop by late nights for sleeping medications for Marilyn Monroe.

The Garden had notable intellectuals like, Somerset Maugham, Ernest Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald, and Dorothy Parker. Leading men and women such as Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Rudolph Valentino, Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Errol Flynn, Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra, Spencer Tracy and Kathryn Hepburn were residents. The 25 bungalows built around a swimming pool followed very little traditional rules. The party started at night and go into wee hours, and sometimes much later. Barrymore had a valet carry his portable bar, Tallulah Bankhead use to whiz by the pool fully naked and announcing to the crowd about her nudity; the fist fight between Bogart and his wife Mayo Methot was common. Bogart had a bodyguard to protect him and Lauren Bacall from the tempestuously physical Mayo Methot; John Carradine was chased by his wife Sonja around the pool; and altercation between Errol Flynn and Pat Wymore, and many other types of spectacles were common occurrences.

The dirty laundry is not aired openly like many books about Hollywood scandals. The author uses her discretion in exposing the juicy stuff in a respectable feminine fashion. For example; when writer Eddie Chodorov came to Hollywood in 1932, Kay Francis was the queen at Warner Brothers. He went up to call his mother from a party downstairs, but had entered the wrong bedroom, Kay Francis's bedroom. He apologetically said, "I came to call my mom." "Do it for Christ sake," she said in a drunken voice with an empty bottle of brandy in her hand. Then she said "Come here, kid" and she pulled him into bed. Much later, he called his mother, and she asked how he liked Hollywood, he said in an excited tone, "VERY MUCH." The expression says it all, the magic he found at Garden. Rudolph Valentino met Nazimova at the Garden in its early days. She introduced him to Jean Acker with whom he fell in love and married; and later she introduced Natasha Rambova who became his second wife much to the displeasure of Nazimova even though she was confirmed lesbian; and so were Jean Acker and Natasha Rambova. Pola Negri, another friend of Nazimova seriously fell in love with Valentino; she felt like a schoolgirl having a crush on her male teacher.

Director Johnny Farrow, husband of Maureen O'Sullivan had a snake tattooed near his thigh and it appeared to be emerging from his manhood. He used to show off in front of the ladies at the pool. He was the star at the Garden's swimming pool. Anita Louise, a blond and beautiful actress was a conversation piece at the Garden, and she use to swim in full makeup with every hair on her head in place.

When Mary Astor's personal diaries were published which described her trysts with writer George Kaufman, he moved to the Garden next door to Natalie Schafer, wife of actor Louis Calhern. He continued to show his prowess with Schafer when Calhern was away. The press followed wherever Kaufman went because the Astor's diaries were so hot.

Garden of Allah was heaven for folks who liked this life style. Whenever an "in" person of the crowd passed away at the Garden; there used to be a big party for the departed soul. For Bogart, the party lasted for three days, which indicates his popularity at the Garden

The story of professional foragers on mushroom trail

Book Reviewed: The Mushroom Hunters: On the Trail of an Underground America by Langdon Cook

This book is about the mushroom pickers in the wild and it does not focus on cooking mushrooms. In fact much of the book describes the experiences of professional pickers known to the author. The interesting fact is that in the deep forest and steep mountains along Oregon, Washington and the West coast of Canada have naturally built an eco-system that is conducive for the growth of colorful parade of mushrooms. The heat, rain and humidity in this region have resulted in a fungal trail that has helped a strong commercial market, for wild mushrooms, to grow, and at the same time attracting more professional foragers. There is a large group of consumers willing to pay a pretty penny for these delicacies. The undocumented business in the Pacific Northwest has become a booming business. The pickers spend months at a time in timber communities with base camp ion Washington State's Olympic Peninsula and parts of Central Oregon and sell it to brokers, wholesalers and some restaurants. The buyers also put up their buying stands close to these bases. Exotic mushrooms are a great appeal for innovative chefs at well-known restaurants so that they can have shiny new product on their menu.

Lobster mushroom is an orange delicacy. It is meaty and silky in texture when sautéed slowly and tastes like lobster meat. In fact it has become a staple in high-end restaurants. Most pickers operate illegally unseen by the forest rangers. A single forager can pick up to 200 pounds of mushrooms. Some pickers operate legally with a single permit that would be good at all national forests. Chanterelle with its signature egg yolk color is abundant. The global market for the mushrooms is more than a billion dollars.

This is an interesting book to read, but this is not for cooking enthusiasts. You don't find any recipe or even a picture of the mushroom discussed in this book.

The fascinating history of the studio-era and pre-code Hollywood

Book Reviewed: Complicated Women: Sex and Power in Pre-Code by Mick LaSalle

This is a fascinating book that discusses the movies produced during pre-code period of 1929-1934 and evaluates the impact it had on the careers of Hollywood's leading ladies. The movies of Norma Shearer and Greta Garbo are extensively discussed along with many other leading ladies and how it impacted the studios and the Hollywood culture. Shearer was a smiling subversive and her most characteristic film is the Divorcee and Riptide in which she portrays as woman of questionable morals in spite of being married. In Divorcee (1930) she has an affair with her husband's best friend after she finds out that he cheated on her. Her roles explored women's feelings about love, and sex with honesty. Greta Garbo’s Mata Hari, Camille, and Two Faced woman were also similar in character and spirit. Garbo’s Queen Christina explored bisexuality; that was the most daring examination of gender and sex the studio system ever produced. The author observes, despite some daring stuff and no matter how far off from the societal values, Garbo’ s movies had touching Christian allegories to assert divine faith that enriches the power of love and passion

Dorothy Mackaill, a hard drinking Ziegfeld Follies girl turned actress, was a strong contender of the roles of Jean Harlow in early 1930s, analyzed the effect of war on Hollywood and its portrayal women's sexual freedom as a logical change in values and none of the old taboos can affect them. Shearer began working with director Monta Bell; he shaped her career like Josef Von Sternberg did for Marlene Dietrich, and G.W. Pabst for Louise Brooks. Joan Crawford, Jean Harlow, Marlene Dietrich, were also in top of the pack. They were like Lindberg for speed. From New York stage, came ladies like Claudette Colbert, Barbara Stanwyck, Ann Harding, Bette Davis, and Kathryn Hepburn. Marlene Dietrich was imported from Germany by Paramount Studios as an answer to MGM's Greta Garbo.

Ruth Chatterton in the movie Female, hires young men for her firm, uses them for sexual pleasure, and then let them go. Constance Bennett played a poor girl who slept her way through to become rich in the movie, Easiest Way; she gives birth to a baby out of wedlock in Born to Love; and in Bed of Roses, she slides into the oldest profession. The most outrageous movie is the Common Law where she leaves her live in lover and becomes a nude model. Carole Lombard becomes a kept woman in "Summer in the Sun" to lead a luxurious life style. In Faithless, Tallulah Bankhead turns to the oldest profession when her husband becomes ill and incapable of supporting the family. All movies produced at the height of Great Depression. Ironically, some of these examples were the real life stories of the 1920's stars like Barbara La Marr and Louise Brooks who lurked into poverty. Cecil DeMill's Sign of Cross breached the boundaries of faith which annoyed the Catholic Church and Christian conservatives where in Claudette Colbert plays Nero's wife Poppeae and losses her lover to a Christian woman (Elisa Landi), and she is humiliated by pagans and aroused in a dance that contains lesbian like overtures.

In many pre-code movies women got away with murder. Most notorious example is the Ricardo Cortez. Loretta Young shoots Cortez in Midnight Glory; Kay Frances does the same in 56th Street, and poisons Cortez in Mandalay; and Dolores Del Rio stabbed Cortez in Wonder Bar. He also gets shot by Helen Twelvetrees in Bad Company and by Anita Louise in The Firebrand. Marjorie Rambeau kills blackmailer Arthur Hohl in A Man's Castle and Sally Eilers kills gigolo Ivan Lebedoff in cold blood. Ruth Chatterton kills a woman, Clair Dodd, a Broadway star for stealing her husband.

The code had significant effect on the work of many stars who built their career around uninhibited and honest portrayal of love, marriage, and womanhood. But this was not tolerated in the code era, consequently Ruth Chatterton, Constance Bennett, Miriam Hopkins, Ann Dvorak, Madge Evans, Glenda Farrell and Kay Frances faded. The code damaged stateside popularity and made Joan Blondell less important. Mae West also faded into the horizon. Ann Harding left Hollywood and triumphed on stage in London. Bernard Shaw, a caustic critique of marriage, said that Harding was the best for the role of Candida. By the end of 1942, Garbo was 36 and Shearer 40 had passed their final phase of movie business.

This book is brilliantly written and contains well researched materials. There are some rare pictures of 1930s stars, and I especially liked the pictures of Greta Garbo, Mae Clarke and Dorothy Mackaill; they are simply gorgeous.

Memory monologues of Eve Ensler

Reference: In the Body of the World: A Memoir by Eve Ensler

This is a fascinating book in which the author, Eve Ensler, narrates her life experience as an activist for women's rights. She speaks of atrocities committed against women in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the war-torn parts of former Yugoslavia, and Afghanistan. Her experiences in working with less fortunate women and her inner thoughts have evolved into a beautiful and creative work of scholarship. She challenges us; who will join those who lived through the atrocities of war; who have lived in the deserts, forests, in the projects, and the cramped cities, and these brave women have carried the sacs of physical and emotional pains, some much scarred, and yet their work and sacrifices are not in vain as the world continues to roll into the future. She writes that the world burns in her veins just like chemotherapy at the Mayo clinic when she was being treated for her uterine cancer. She calls for action; to turn pain into power, victimhood to fire, self-hatred into action, self-obsession into service. Be transparent as wind and be relentless in being a part of the larger humanity that keeps evolving.

When Ms Ensler was young, she drank herself to the extreme, did drugs at 16, snuck out with much older men, lived naked in communes, stole things, and wrote about suicide. She worked as a caretaker of in a Chelsea House of Schizophrenics, and as a group leader of a homeless shelter. Took acid for three days and made love to a famous Jazz musician. In college, she lived half-naked, lived as exhibitionist, experimented with both gay and straight sex without landing firmly in either court. She gave a commencement speech at the college and spoke against racism and sexism and sat down and drank from a bottle of Jack Daniels in a brown paper bag. Eve Ensler was an outrageous woman much of her life. Her theatrical work, "Vagina Monologues," was bold but also ruffled many conservatives. This outstanding memoir begins with her body and the abuses she faced. She has focused much of her latter life on reclaiming her body and herself and leading others to do the same.

When she was on her sickbed at the Mayo Clinic with terminal stage IV uterine cancer, Ensler recalls her life, the turmoil, and the men and women she befriended over the years, and the end of the of humanity she saw through the eyes of sufferings in Congo. It is during this tumultuous time of her life she looks back to understand that her cancer and the mankind's ruthless violence are in fact very similar. She successfully fights off the cancer surrounded by her friends, family and well-wishers. She goes back to Congo, a country she cared so much, to meet her old friends and acquaintances. She persuades the doctors at the Mayo clinic to offer their services to the needy people of Congo. This book is full of her thoughts and experiences; it is very touching.

Palm Springs: The playground of rich and famous

Palm Springs and the surrounding towns were playgrounds for rich and famous which rivaled tinsel town for decadence and excess in the last century. This book was written in the same spirit as that of "Hollywood Babylon," but this book is less on the history and more on tidbits. Palm Spring had its own brand of social futility; sex, drugs, alcohol, suicides, jealousy and fights. This was a place where celebrities came to hide from the glitter of Hollywood and have uninhabited fun. For example, gay bars and gay oriented establishments were flourishing in Palm Springs. Gloria Swanson hung out in the first lesbian hotel, Desert Knight. The Lucy and Desi estate became the most lavish gay-oriented establishment. Liberace's 1925 Cloisters estate reflected a life style of pure opulence, and it was open to numerous young men. Celebrities like Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Dinah Shore, Jim and Tammy Bakker, Cary Grant, Ralph Bellamy, Charles Ferrell, Clara Bow, Greta Garbo, and Errol Flynn hung out in this town and partied like there is no tomorrow. Many hotels and casinos were used to Sinatra's temper tantrums. Kennedy's and other U.S. presidents were known to visit Palm Springs and visible in social scenes. Frank Sinatra helped JFK in the presidential elections but he resided in the home of republican supporter Bing Crosby during his stay. Bobby Kennedy was trying to dismantle mafia and was going after mobster Sam Giancana who was behind Sinatra's help in JFK's campaign. It also appears that JFK and the mobster shared the same woman, Judith Campbell in Palm Springs. Jim Bakker's philandering gay life styles were legendary to the folks in town; apparently this was happening with full knowledge of Tammy Bakker who was busy shopping at the local thrift stores for cheap beauty supplies that included her eye lashes valued at $1.98. Another hot spot for celebrities was the Palm Springs Racquet Club owned by Ralph Bellamy and Charles Ferrell and its clientele included; Clark Gable, Carole Lombard, Marlene Dietrich, Jack Parr, Ernst Borgnine, Ricardo Montalban and Johnny Carson. Marilyn Monroe was discovered by the pool, and Mexican actress Lupe Velez swam in the pool completely naked. Spencer Tracy, Jean Harlow, Errol Flynn, Rita Hayworth, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Joan Crawford, Ginger Rogers, Mary Pickford, John Barrymore and Greer Garson spent hours by the pool for attention and fun. Fatty Arbuckle was well remembered for his prodigious drinking bout. Charles Ferrell was romantically involved with Janet Gaynor and also had numerous women (and few young men) in his life, in addition to his wife Virginia Valli. Apparently she knew his ways and tolerated it for sanctity. Bob Hope became rich in this town due to his investing in real estate in Palm Springs and Los Angeles before anyone could see its potential. He owned some of the choicest parcels of land in Ranch Mirage and vast stretches of ecologically priceless Santa Monica Mountains.

Palm Springs had a different edge than Hollywood that attracted celebrities. In addition to relative privacy, it did not come under the authority of a strong Los Angeles Police Department. The town was run by celebrities and a few mobsters, so whatever happened, the secret stayed here. The bad boys of show business and a few out-of-control women made this place a fun sanctuary for themselves. Promoters of gay life styles had the biggest victory in this town.

Reference: Palm Springs Babylon: Sizzling Stories from the Desert Playground of the Stars by Ray Mungo

A brief history of American cinema from 1930-1934

This is a product of fine piece of work done by Brandies University professor Tom Doherty investigating into the history of Hollywood at the height of Great Depression when much of the nation was reeling under economic turmoil. Hollywood was stressed out not only by the depression and lack of demand for their products and services, but also by the production code requirement of American motion pictures. The studios had no choice but to fight codes in order to make the movies attractive to as many viewers as possible so that folks of the depression have something they can see, enjoy and forget about their financial and domestic problems. During this time, the censorship was weak and Hollywood made movies about anything that looked controversial; sexual liaison, adultery, corruption of mind by wealth, sexism, racism, social inequality, poverty and reckless behavior. This was essentially a reflection of Hollywood, which was the epicenter of all forms of excesses that were of daily occurrences in the bars, salons, restaurants, hotels and other celebrity hangouts in tinsel town.  

The author presents most movies of this time systematically and discusses them to illustrate his point. For example, in the movie “Tarzan and his mate” (1934), the underwater swimming scene featuring Johnny Weismueller and the Olympic swimmer Josephine McKim (doubling for the lead actress Maureen O’Sullivan) is a fine piece of artistry. In this synchronized swimming, you can see fantastic underwater aerobics; McKim is also totally nude which may be found on YouTube in fully restored version. This is not only erotic but also a spectacular show, and a bold move on the part of the studio. MGM faced minimal objections from the censor board. The pre-code era is known to be from 1930 to 1934; the code was officially adopted in 1930, but never enforced until the beginning of July 1934. The production code administration was widely referred to as “Hays office” that regulated the Hollywood productions and its perimeters with the full involvement of the clergy and the politicians. In MGM’s “Faithless,” starring Tallulah Bankhead and Robert Montgomery, the pressure of the depression drives a married woman to the “oldest profession” when her husband is incapable of working. Ironically this role was given to Bankhead who was highly controversial with her notorious, well publicized, out-of-control behavior. In “Blonde Venus” (1932), Marlene Dietrich begins her decent by trading her virtue for feeding her child and herself. Released weeks after FDR’s inauguration, Roy Del Ruth’s “Employee’s Entrance” (1933), shows Warren William at his worst. The film tracks the machinations of a ruthless business executive of a department store. A workaholic with no home-life roams the store after hours, and finds an unemployed young woman (Loretta Young) whom he invites for dinner and in the next scene we see them together in his apartment. Next thing you know she is hired for the store. In Walter Wagner’s production of “Gabriel over the White House,” directed by Gregory Lava, supported by media mogul William Randolph Hearst shows how acute the malady was in president Hoover’s last year. The movie makes you believe that you can have a tyrant president than a passive one. Hays office required many changes but still the final version was allowed to have the president (played by Walter Huston) to have mistress who would roam in the White House. This is certainly the wrong movie for the troubled time. He declares martial law, assumes dictatorial power in order to bring order in America during the Great Depression.

Numerous examples are given in the book that includes; James Cagney’s gunplay, wordplay of temptress Mae West, and many more. This book is a well researched by a respected academic.

Reference: Pre-Code Hollywood: Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema; 1930-1934 by Thomas Patrick Doherty

TCM’s very brief biography of 50 leading ladies of early Hollywood

This book provides a brief profile of 50 of the most adoring ladies of studio era when studios had an identity and style of its own with the films they made and the stars they created. MGM studios built on glamour, class and gut decisions in making movies during the Great Depression when experts said they will fail. Warner Brothers Studios specialized in urban action, gangsters and the gutters. Each movie studio had a stable of stars and penchant for beautiful women. The bio-data of each lady described in this book illustrate that these ladies were superb performers with strong identifiable persona and a sense & style they created that attracted movie fans, and women in particular. The incredible and penetrating eyes of Bette Davis, fragile grace of Lillian Gish, strong characteristics of Katherine Hepburn, stunning and graceful looks of Greta Garbo and Grace Kelly are some of the examples.

The brief biography discusses the career of each lady. The movies she made and the influence she had on others, and the role played by many directors and studio bosses in making them successful. There is also section called “Style Notes,” and “Behind the Scenes,” for each star which provides some tidbits. For example, it is well known that Greta Garbo and Jean Arthur were very reclusive and enigmas in Hollywood who never opened up to the public. Director Frank Capra used Jean’s talents in three of his movies. Clara Bow on the other hand alienated Hollywood by telling the press every sordid details of her life. Her career was tarnished by a string of love affairs and out of control life style with addiction, and a law-suit against her secretary who was stealing money and selling Clara’s personal secrets. After her mother tried to kill her during sleep, she became a life-long insomniac. Louise Brooks was a beautiful, headstrong and erotically charged with sleek and bobbed hairstyle had a meteoric rise in the silent era but made serious error of defiant behavior which annoyed Paramount Studios. She lived in shear poverty until her former lover Bill Paley, the founder of CBS supported her for the rest of her life with financial assistance. Rumor has it that she turned to the “oldest profession” to stay afloat until Bill Paley came to her assistance.  Joan Crawford was obsessive about knitting, cleaning and answering her fan mail personally. Joan had a real cat fight with her longtime rival Bette Davis in the movie “Whatever happened to Baby Jane.” Marion Davis had a jealous boyfriend in the wealthy William Randolph Hearst who shot her boyfriend to death in his yacht. Being practical joker, once she made President Calvin Coolidge get drunk by giving him wine by lying that it was fruit juice. Bette Davis and Carole Lombard were truly patriotic in that Bette organized Hollywood Canteen for soldiers passing through Los Angeles and Carole organized war bond rallies in her home state of Indiana to help in the war efforts. Bette was honored with distinguished civilian award.    

Marlene Dietrich was bisexual and did not believe in monogamous relationship. She was also a strong opponent of the third Reich and refused to work for the film industry under Hitler. She devoted to her new homeland and participated in USO tours and became the first woman to earn the Medal of Freedom.  Screwball comedienne Irene Dunne was nominated five times in the Academy Awards in the best actress category and Cary Grant recalled that it was a lot of fun to work with her. She had one of the longest marriages in Hollywood and that lasted until the death of her husband. A long time republican, she was nominated as the alternate delegate to the United Nations by President Eisenhower in 1959.

Greer Garson holds the record with Bette Davis for the most consecutive Academy Award nominations, five in a row from 1941-1945. During filming of Mrs. Miniver, actor Richard Ney played the role of her son and she eventually fell in love with him. MGM studio was worried that it will have negative impact on the movie and asked them to postpone wedding until the film was released. President Roosevelt honored Carole posthumously by awarding the Medal of Freedom as the first woman to die in the line of duty during the WWII.

When Gish sisters were visiting their friend Mary Pickford at Biograph Studios, director D.W. Griffith drew a prop gun and started shooting at them and chasing them around the studio. Their terrified expressions pleased him and hired them on spot.

According to Hollywood legend Susan Hayward’s cancer was that the result of radioactive fallout that allegedly landed on the sets of The Conqueror in 1956 in Utah. Many of her costars including John Wayne, Dick Powell, Agnes Moorehead and John Hoyt developed cancer. Actress Hedy LaMarr is known for technological discovery of radar guiding system that helped allies fight the Nazi war machine.  

Carole Lombard was tired of seeing how women are used and abused in the film industry. She learnt from her brothers all swear words they knew and used against men successfully not many bothered her except when Columbia Pictures head Harry Cohn made a pass at her and she responded to hi so well that he never did that again. She was also famous for parties, pranks, and impish behavior. Once she hollered across a hotel breakfast room to Bing Crosby, “by the way, Bing, I forgot my nightie in your bedroom.” Once she arranged for cows to greet director Alfred Hitchcock on the sets of Mr and Mrs. Smith, because of his views that all actresses are silly cows.

Myrna Loy was not afraid to speak to authority figures. In 1940s she argued with studio heads about stereotyping African Americans as servants. “What about a black person walking up the steps of a courthouse carrying a briefcase.” Myrna Loy was homebody preferring to spend time with her mother and brothers when she not working.

Kim Novak’s father disapproved her working in the movie industry especially after making the movie, “Kiss me Stupid” which was condemned by Catholic Church for her depicting as an adulteress. Pope turned down her request for an audience with her but relented later but her father was no more when she got to the opportunity. In the movie, Vertigo, Hitchcock did not like to cast Novak but the studio bosses prevailed. He expressed his displeasure by making her fall in the San Francisco bay several times during the suicide scene of the movie.  

Once Debbie Reynolds told her friends that doing the movie “Singing in the Rain” and childbirth are the hardest things she did in her life. MGM assigned Co-star Gene Kelly to coach her numbers for the movie and he was cruel to her that she practiced non-stop for hours until her feet starting to bleed.

Ginger Rogers and her mother were strong anti-communists and supported government’s efforts to rid communist sympathizers in Hollywood. Ginger’s mother testified in congress about the infiltration of the movie industry. In the movie, Tender Comrade (1943), Ginger refused to read one line which said, “Share and share alike, that is the American Way.”

Director Frank Capra was a strong admirer of the acting abilities of Barbara Stanwyck who needed only one reading she always did the best in the very first take. During the filming of “Forty Guns,” a stuntman refused to be dragged by the horse, but Barbara, even at 50, did that stunt herself.

Actress Gene Tierney fell for John Kennedy when he visited the sets of “Dragonwyck,” and their romance ruffled the feathers of her family. They were Episcopalian republicans who were infuriated that she was dating a Catholic democrat with lofty ideas of helping the poor. She confided with one of her friends.

Mae West spent most of her career at war with the censors. She developed a sexually charged act modeled on the moves of female impersonators and African American entertainers and wrote a script called sex which was a hit on Broadway. But NYPD closed the show and sent her to jail for 10 days. She wrote most of her dialogues for her movies and even saved Paramount Studios from bankruptcy by her film, “She done him wrong, an adaptation of Diamond Lil in 1933. Mae appeared in her first meeting with costumer Walter Plunkett wearing 10 inch wedge, two inch eye lashes and a foot long wig and nothing else. “Honey” she said “I thought you would like to see the beautiful body you are gonne have the opportunity of dressing.” Mae was neither a smoker nor a drinker and a contributor to Catholic charities when she became spiritual at the end of her life and ESP was like a religion to her. After her Paramount contract ended she was asked to work for MGM and co-star with Clark Gable. She turned it down.

Actress Natalie Wood had a sense of humor. When The Harvard Lampoon awarded her the worst actress award, she went to Harvard to accept the award. She also had terrible fear regarding swimming after an accident on the sets of movie, “Green Promise.” While filming the ‘The Star,’ she refused to swim, and in “Splendor in the Grass,” she had terrible hysteria and the one seen in the movie was not acting but the fear was real.

Reference: Leading Ladies: The 50 Most Unforgettable Actresses of the Studio Era by TCM (Robert Osborne and Molly Haskell)

The concept of avatar in shaping the Hindu beliefs

The author has made a concise effort to discuss the concepts of avatar from sociological and epistemological contexts with references to Bhagavadgita and the Puranas. This is a good introductory book for anyone interested in understanding as how concept of avatar influenced Hindu thought and its tradition in terms of its polytheistic nature. Lord Vishnu is known to be the savior and protector of dharma and he is known have appeared in nine avatars and the tenth avatar (Kali form) is yet to come. The nine avatars are; Varaha, Tortoise, Boar, Narasingha, Dwarf (Vamana) Parasurama, Rama, Krishna, and Buddha. 

The avatar concept explains that one god is worshipped in different forms because the Lord took many forms, shapes and sizes to combat the evil and save humanity from death and destruction.   In this process he taught the path of dharma and devotion to man. Implementing the dharma in a world of sins is the central philosophy of the avatar concept. It is a revival of faith in the authority of God Almighty. This is illustrated in Bhagavadgita 4:7, Lord Krishna says; “Arjuna! Whenever there is a decline of righteousness, and the rise of unrighteousness, then I embody myself.” In Bhagavadgita 4:8; Krishna says “I am born from age to age for the protection of the virtuous, for the destruction of evil-doers and for establishing dharma (righteousness) on a firm footing.” The whole universe is the manifestation of the Lord according to Gita 10:41, “Every creature is glorious, brilliant or powerful, know that to be a manifestation of a spark of my effulgence.” Referring to His universal self, He says that “He who sees Me (the universal Self) present in all beings and sees all beings exists in Me.” This implies that the Supreme Lord is everywhere in spacetime through his manifestation. The purpose of avatar according to the Gita is two fold; to uphold the dharma and to lead the human mind from the vicious circle of ignorance to knowledge. There are two aspects of the divine birth. One is descent, the Godhead losing into the human form and the other is ascent, the transformation of man into Godhead: The man gradually rising into the divine form and the absolute consciousness.

Reference: The Concept of Avatars (With Special Reference to Gita) by R. K. Pandey

Fate of Space and Time: Black holes to Big Crunch

This is one of the early books written for those who prefer words to equations to understand cosmology of black holes. The author attempts to answer basic questions such as; was there a beginning of time? Is there an end to the universe? What are similarities of black holes, singularity, and Big Crunch? Is the universe infinite? Or does it have boundaries? What are the effects of the critical value of the universe's density on its rate of expansion? What is the role of God in the creation of the universe and how it can be evaluated by the anthropic principle? Did God create laws of quantum mechanics and theory of relativity and let it evolve itself without leaving an option for him to intervene? How did he choose an initial state or configuration of the universe? What were the boundary conditions at the beginning of time? The author reviews the literature that includes Newton's laws of gravitational force, Einstein's theory of relativity, and quantum mechanics. Problems arise when one combines these theories to understand the four natural forces; the electromagnetic force; the strong and weak nuclear forces; and the gravitational force by one unified field theory (Quantum theory of gravity, and Superstring Theory). This theory must unify the forces of the cosmos and forces of microcosm so that it can explain the grand plan of God in the creation of heaven and earth. The author describes quite a few interesting anecdotes in academic research: The first experimental evidence in support of Einstein's theory of relativity contained errors that were as great as the effect they were trying to measure. In 1920s it was supposed that there were only three men who understood theory of relativity and now thousands of graduate students and many millions are familiar with this theory: Many readers should be encouraged at this. When the author presented his theory that black hole radiates like a hot body, many repudiated his assertion and later accepted it. Max Born, a Nobel Laureate in 1928 told a group that physics research will end in six months, when Dirac published equations for an electron, in the anticipation that the whole of physics problems are solved. This should remind all of us how far the science and mankind has progressed despite this prediction. Newton, one of the greatest scientists of this planet also had a streak of meanness in him. Einstein's honesty as a scientist could be found when he admitted that his universal constant to account for a static universe is a mistake, but he was also less willing to accept quantum mechanics; this is known by his well known comment that "God does not play dice." Hawking having a bet with Kip Thorne over the existence of black holes in Cygnus X-1 for Penthouse magazine to Private Eye magazine shows the fun side of academic rivalry. This is one of the very few books I have read that discusses God's role at the level of quantum mechanics. The reader should feel lucky to have such a book for his/her personal library.

Reference: A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Black Holes

Kip Thorne is an eccentric author who reveals scientific enterprise of quantum gravity and black holes research in a simple language. This book is rich in history, and classical (Newtonian physics and theory of relativity) and modern physics (quantum mechanics) are presented in non mathematical form. We get rare first hand insights of scientific styles and temperament, and his personal involvement in various aspects of black holes research and his interaction with scientists all over the world especially those from former Soviet Union and the impact of communism on black hole research. The first part of the book describes theory of relativity, concept of spacetime fabric of the universe and curvature of spacetime in presence of matter (stars, galaxies, etc.) to generate gravity. The author gives us a good historical background to build his case for black hole concept. Theory of relativity predicts the existence of black holes but Einstein refused to accept it and so is Arthur Eddington another leading exponent of theory of relativity. The idea of black holes remained in academic obscurity among few who believed in it and it progressively became clear that dying giant stars undergo implosions in which nuclear force the strongest of all four forces of cosmos buckles under gravitational force creating a black holes. Black holes have been discovered in the center of dying giant stars and in centers of galaxies, and efforts are underway to detect the black hole gravitational waves carried to earth from distant parts of the universe and to seek the secret of what is inside a black hole: a route to another universe? The author warps up the second part by discussing the possibility of constructing wormholes with exotic matter (tunnels in space connecting two widely separated locations in the universe) through hyperspace for interstellar travel and back to the future. He is one of the leaders in proposing interstellar travel. Physicists and academics are too conservative to get involved in space travel research as it is traditionally linked to science fiction and Star Trek junkies. The author can mesmerize the reader with his incredible knowledge and ease with which he can communicate to the reader; at the same time he is eccentric enough to work in one of his laboratory (Palomar Mountains) nude and draw criticisms from peers. He is also crazy enough to take bet with peers for things such as Penthouse magazine and annoy his wife and family with Mormon heritage. This book is free of marketing strategies of the publisher as the author shares his knowledge with the reader to his best of abilities to make everyone understands it even by offering few simple calculations and formulas. Do not be discouraged by the size of the book (619 pages). The text flows well and it is deeply engrossing. Anyone interested in black hole and space travel must have this book.

Reference: Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous Legacy (Commonwealth Fund Book Program) by Kip S. Thorne

The Best Sitcom Ever Created on TV

Anyone who has watched Three's Company and other 70s and 80s sitcoms would love this book. Author Chris Mann is a Three's Company fan like many of us but he went few steps ahead to do the interview with cast and crew and did research to put it all in the form of a book. He was also interviewed on cable network E!, when they made their own two hour show on this sitcom. It is sad that there were problems between the cast members, but I will not blame that on anyone; but I feel sad for Suzanne Somers, because, John Ritter and Joyce DeWitt distanced from Suzanne for an awfully long number of years. It is good to know that John Ritter reconciled with Suzanne few years before his unfortunate and sad death. Old wounds die hard and this very true when Suzanne Somers refused to reconcile with Joyce couple of years ago when Suzanne detected symptoms of breast cancer. Now John Ritter, Norman fell and Audra Lindley have gone and many actors who appeared on this sitcom have become great actors in Hollywood and TV. It is wonderful to read this book and cherish the memories and the great time many of us had watching and enjoying this show week after week. Thanks for the book Chris Mann.

Reference: Come and Knock on Our Door: A Hers and Hers and His Guide to "Three's Company" by Chris Mann

WKRP: The Best Radio Station on TV

We all enjoyed this great TV show in 1980s and many of still do in reruns on TV. Author Mike Kassel has done an excellent job of interviewing the cast and crew and put it all in the form of a book so that millions of fans of the show can read and enjoy. The book gives history of the show's casting, and what went on during each year of taping of the show. Many fans know that this show had an uphill task of convincing CBS executives to give it a stable and steady time slot in weekly program grid, but CBS chose to do what they wanted to do. In spite of that, the show emerged as winner and entertained millions of fans. We are glad to know that Howard Hesseman got the role of WKRPs DJ and Jan Smithers won the hearts of producers of the show to play the role of Bailey Quarters (producers were considering other actors to play these roles). Tim Reid and Richard Sanders wrote several episodes of the series and Frank Bonner directed many shows of WKRP. The author left out Jan Smithers in the list of "WKRP Creative Alumni" on Page iii, which is sad. The book gives episode (story) descriptions of all 90 shows. I encourage the reader to have this book added to his/her personal library.

Reference: America's Favorite Radio Station: WKRP in Cincinnati Ray B. Browne

An Introduction to Loop Quantum Gravity (Three Roads to Quantum Gravity by Lee Smolin)

Since the postulation of theory of relativity (theory of cosmos, which describes the structure of space and time), and quantum mechanics (laws of microcosm, which describes atomic structure, nuclear forces, and nature of basic component of matter); physicists until now have struggled to explain gravity (which is a manifestation of spacetime fabric in presence of matter) in terms of quantum mechanics (quantum gravity). In this book the author attempts to explain three different approaches to quantum gravity; Loop Quantum Gravity (LQG), Superstring - M theory (S. -M), and Blackhole Thermodynamics (BT). While each takes a different starting point, they all agree when viewed on Planck scale, and they also view space and time are not continuous, and space is composed of discrete units. LQG gives us a detailed picture of these units in terms of spin networks, where as S.-M theory proposes continuous space in terms of a continuous string (with compactified extra dimensions) made of string bits, which is governed by uncertainty principle. BT theory states that amount information in any given space is finite and is proportional to the area of the boundary of the region in Planck units. The author is a pioneer in the field of LQG and provides the reader with a good introduction of the theory in a non-mathematical form and then compares with S.-M and BT theories. The book is described in three parts; the first part is a general introduction, which describes historical development of three theories, the second part introduces LQG and then compares with S.-M and BT theories, and the final part attempts to unify the three approaches into a single theory using Holographic Principle.

The author gives us several interesting accounts of physicists working in these fields are in a climate of mutual ignorance and complacency with the belief that their theory is correct and others are wrong. There are instances when one group can't solve certain problems, and they seek the help from the other camp. The author also briefly explains other theories such as Twister theory, and Non-Commutative Geometry. This is one of the few books I have read which describes LQG in some detail, although there are several books in literature, which describes S.-M theory. The author is very honest in comparing the three approaches to offer the best explanation for quantum gravity. Anyone who wants to understand LQG must have this book.

Reference: Three Roads to Quantum Gravity by Lee Smolin

An illustration of Special Theory of Relativity

This is one of the first books which use common sense approach to the understanding of special theory of relativity using illustrations, drawings and diagrams. At one time this theory was considered mysterious, which is in fact obvious and clear-cut extension of ordinary ideas to the realm of high velocities. The author first presents Newtonian ideas followed by the concept and characteristic effects of special relativity in a non mathematical language. Then he introduces Lorentz Transformation (LT) in chapter 10, which involves systems of coordinates moving relative to each other and then uses LT to establish the basics of the theory. Readers with very limited mathematical background should have no trouble in understanding the elementary aspects of the relativity. This is a cute little book (177 pages, size 7.92'' x 5.36"), which is classified into three parts. The first part introduces the classical mechanics; concepts of force, momentum, angular momentum, velocity of light and uniqueness of light. The second part deals with the peculiarities of high speeds, relationship of inertial (uniformly moving, constant velocity) and moving observers and the need for theory of relativity to understand high speed situation and a brief introduction to Lorentz Transformation. The final part discusses the consequences of traveling faster than light, acceleration (non-inertial motion) and high velocities on mass. Chapters 8 and 9 are crucial to the common sense approach to the understanding of relativity. The reader may need time and patience to read these two chapters to understand relativity. Chapter 11 discusses some interesting consequences of special relativity; for travels faster than light there is no link between cause and effect, in other words that effect could precede cause. This book is very affordable and useful; I encourage the reader to consider adding this book to his/her personal library.

Reference: Relativity and Common Sense: A New Approach to Einstein by Hermann Bondi

Verbal Description of General Relativity (General Relativity from A to B by Robert Geroch)

The author presents fundamental ideas of theory of relativity in a non-mathematical form using conversation approach to readers with little science background. The book is highly descriptive and the reader is bound to get bored since this is a discussion of about basic ideas about space and time using two-dimensional space-time diagrams. The first part of the book describes the notion of space and time in terms of Aristotelian and Galilean view points. The second half describes how the idea of spatial distance and elapsed time (interval) are incorporated into space time as geometrical entity. The author uses a general framework in this book for explaining general relativity. This is done by describing an event and assemble them into space-time (in a space-time diagram) and describe what is going-on in the physical world in terms of collection of events, and relationships between events is evaluated using measuring instruments such as light pulses and clocks. The intrinsic relationship between two events is described by interval (measured by physical experiences of observers). From the interval, one determines how light goes and how clock move and tick. The author eventually explains how equating intervals leads to relationship between `real' physical measurements. The interval is a sort of misty thing that stands in the background and integrates into space-time. In the final chapter the author discusses an application of general relativity to understand the properties of blackholes: It is here that the readers appreciate the importance relativity. The reader must have patience to read this book and he/she must be prepared to read chapters 5 and 6 second and perhaps third time to understand the underlying concept. If you do not have patience you will be lost and you will dislike this book

Reference: General Relativity from A to B by Robert Geroch

A Sitcom that is guaranteed to entertain the viewer (TV Show: Get a Life)

This DVD offers a rare opportunity to some of us; the diehard fans of this sitcom, which appeared on Fox Network in late 1980s and 1990s. This is one of the few funniest TV comedies ever created that did not succeed in TV ratings because it was not aired on a major network. This show is about a 30 year old paperboy who never grows up in every sense of the word. He lives with his retired parents and run into all kinds of zany, sometime off-beat antics that provides entertainment to young and old. It was quite disappointing to many of us that it did not reappear in reruns, but this DVD offers a rare opportunity to view four episodes. The Prettiest Week of my Life is hilarious. Spewey & Me is a grotesque episode that producers could have spared the fans from seeing it; you feel like puking to see Chris drink body-exudates of an alien, and at the end he cuts it open and eat the cooked meat. This is gruesome to say the least for a sitcom. The producers could have sold better and funnier episodes of the show; let us hope the success of this DVD may persuade producers to of the show to market all episodes, and a DVD with 12 episodes are made available to all the fans.

Reference: Get a Life starring Chris Elliott

An Introduction to Hyperspace

This is an odyssey into the history of development of the concept of hyperspace that includes fourth and higher spatial dimensions to account for the riddles and unsolved problems of unified field theory. Since the postulation of special theory of relativity, Einstein and subsequent physicists until now have struggled to explain the four natural forces; the electromagnetic force (explained by Maxwell's field equations for electricity & magnetism); the strong and weak nuclear forces (explained by Yang - Mills field equations for subatomic forces); and the gravitational force (explained by Einstein's field equations of gravitation and relativity) by one unified field theory (theory of everything: String Theory). In other words, this is like unifying the forces of the big, the cosmos, and the laws of the small, the microcosm (subatomic forces) by one single theory. The first part of the book describes how laws of nature become so simple to understand if higher dimensions are invoked; the author gives us a good historical background to build his case for hyperspace concept. The second part of the book describes the evolution of quantum mechanics and String theory. An introduction to wormholes, black holes and the use of these cosmic bodies for interstellar travel is given in the third part. The fourth part rambles through the future of the universe with irrelevant and some times out of focus narrative. The book is entirely free of physics and mathematics; from the point of understanding the basic concepts this approach is welcome. This book also gives an insight into the poignant story of Riemann (p.42) and Ramanujan (p.174) who sustained enormous personal and family hardships to contribute significantly in the field of mathematics. We also get a glimpse of academic rat race that involves professional rivalry, name & work recognition, and personal ego that is prevalent in academics. This is illustrated when Einstein delays Kaluza's paper for publication for 2 years (p.102). Bohr calling Pauli's lecture crazy (p.137); Sheldon Glashow ridiculing t'Hooft's work (p.121); a superior discouraging Mahahiko Suzuki's publication about Euler's Beta function (p.161); and Pauli being furious about Eisenberg's claim, Einstein - Bohr argument, and Schrodinger frustrated with Bohr's interpretation (p.261).

The author rambles about symmetry in arts; what is that got to do with hyperspace? The reader can find this discussion in any art book. Time travel has been described in layman's language in many books in depth; this discussion is unnecessary for this book. Throughout the book, the author refers to standard model and the equations of quantum mechanics as ugly; Equations are not ugly, they are complex or non-symmetrical.

The author could have devoted one chapter to describing the field equations in layman's terms; it would have helped a more enthusiastic reader to build a bridge to physics and tensor calculus. The reader should not be discouraged about mathematics in understanding relativity; many physicists themselves are heading to the library to learn about mathematics in String theory (Part 2). More appropriate title of the book could be hyperspace - a historical development of String theory. Despite the minor concerns, this book has strong points as observed above. I encourage the reader to buy this book; if you are not happy with this book, it is less than two-lunch money (page numbers from 1994 edition).

Reference: Hyperspace: A Scientific Odyssey through Parallel Universes, Time Warps, and the 10th Dimension by Michio Kaku

Paradox of Parallel Universes

This is a difficult subject to comprehend and the author does not help the reader to make it any easier: He not only confuses the reader but also makes it boring by repetition, innumerable references to; fiction, TV shows and other literature that is not directly related to physics. Although the book is free of physics and mathematics, the author could have spent few chapters to concentrate on the physics of parallel universes in layman's language to make the reader understand the physical principles on which physicists want us to believe in parallel universes. The book is described in six parts related to quantum physics, relativity, cosmology, time and parallel universe, understanding of our universe (with parallel universes) and psychology. The idea of parallel universe was first conceived by Hugh Everett III in 1957; his accounting of the famous double-slit experiment and wave particle duality is that since wave is not real but it is probability wave or quantum wave function that may be associated with two particles (in two universes) and not one particle (in one universe).

The author could have hammered on topics such as Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle (UP), the Observer Effect (Schrödinger's Cat, Wigner's Friend, EPR Paradox) on split and collapse of quantum wave function, antimatter, black holes (Einstein-Rosen Bridge), invisibility of time, and better explanation of quantum mechanics and theory of relativity (both support the existence of parallel universes) in few short chapters and stay focused on the topic without wandering to fiction or other narratives. This would have helped a reader in understanding the concepts better. It is clear from this observation that the reader is not deprived of anything if he/she chooses not to own this book.

Reference: Parallel Universes by Fred Alan Wolf

Wonders of Hyperspace

This is an introduction to the understanding of fourth dimension. Most books, science-TV shows, and websites introduce fourth dimension by comparing the interaction of the three dimensional beings (us) with imaginary 2-dimensional dwellers (flatlanders). Our interaction with flatlanders causes mystery and miracle to them simply by the virtue of us having the freedom of an extra dimension. From this we can extrapolate to the interaction of imaginary four dimensional dwellers with our world and they certainly appear to us as mysterious. This book illustrates these comparisons in the form of conversations between two (male and female) fictitious FBI agents. Although the author does a good job of helping the reader develop a good feeling for the fourth dimension, the dialogue between FBI agents sometimes gets sensual, which the author could have certainly avoided in a science related book (sometimes it gives you a feeling that you are reading a semi-romantic novel). There is no doubt the author is influenced by the TV show X-files as he often quotes from the show. Towards the end of the book, the author briefly touches upon the fifth dimension.

Hyperspace is not excluded by the laws of physics. Can human beings access fourth dimension? Could we learn to see the fourth dimension? Is it true that the evolution of human brain is such that it can understand only three dimensions? Do we need three dimensional retina to see the fourth dimension? Is hyperspace a survival zone for humans in the event of a catastrophe to this planet? Some of the suggestions made in the conclusions are less scientific, but the author touches some interesting topics that include biology of evolution and psychology.

The author gives many simple problems (brain-teasers) to help reader to reach the peak of his imagination and thoughts to visualize hyperspace. The book is almost free of physics and mathematics. I encourage the reader to buy this book despite the author's unorthodox approach in the writing a book on a scientific topic.

Reference: Surfing Through Hyperspace: Understanding Higher Universes in Six Easy Lessons by Clifford A. Pickover

Geometrical Illustrations of Fourth Dimension

Living in a world of three dimensional space makes it hard for us to conceive fourth dimension and it gets even harder to visualize the fifth and higher dimension. Superstring theorists predict the existence of 10th and 26th dimensions in universe; hence it seems reasonable for many of us to understand how it would be like to be living in fourth dimension. Thomas Banchoff is one of the leaders in the study of higher dimension using computer graphics; he has illustrated fourth dimension using basic geometrical approach such as slicing the spatial dimension, observing the shadows of structures, comparing the folded and foldout versions of polytops and description of configuration of spaces. This book is useful for someone who appreciates geometry, but for a reader who likes to visualize the fourth dimension he/she may read Clifford Pickover's Surfing through Hyperspace, which does a better job in illustrating fourth dimension.

Reference: Beyond the Third Dimension: Geometry, Computer Graphics, and Higher Dimensions (Scientific American Library) by Thomas Banchoff

An Introduction to Superstring Theory/M Theory

This book offers an enjoyable ride through a lovely landscape of Superstring theory/M theory. The author is an active researcher and a popular writer in this field who is also known for his presentation on PBS's NOVA about quantum cosmology. Since the postulation of special theory of relativity, Einstein and subsequent physicists have struggled to explain the four natural forces of the most basic components of matter; the electromagnetic force; the strong and weak nuclear forces; and the gravitational force by one unified field theory (a.k.a., theory of everything: Superstring/M Theory). This theory must unify the forces of the cosmos, and forces of microcosm thereby explaining the creation of heaven and earth. The author covers significant amount of material in simple clearly written non-technical and non-mathematical form. The book is described in four parts; first two parts introduces theory of relativity and quantum mechanics and the unholy marriage of the two that results in the complexity of understanding the forces of the cosmos and subatomic forces. The latter two parts describes Superstring theory that evolves into more focused M theory to explain all physical forces of nature. This theory suffers from lack of experimental evidence, but rests solely on mathematical calculations. Hence it was subjected to heavy criticism during early years of the theory by leading physicists. However it has emerged as a winner as the theory grew out of academic obscurity to leading contender in quantum cosmology. The book has interesting tales about the leaders of the field such as Ed Witten who is strongly favored as the true successor of Albert Einstein. The author's enthusiasm and excitement about his involvement in this field is evident abundantly, when he discovers that fabric of space tears and repairs itself. This book is lot more informative and enjoyable than Michio Kaku's Hyperspace (see my review of this book). At the end of the book, notes to each chapter, Glossary of scientific terms, and suggested books for further reading offers stepping stones to more enthusiastic readers for furthering their knowledge. The author has done an excellent job of writing this book, and I encourage you to buy it: But he could have considered writing a chapter on mathematical methodology and some basic approaches to calculations that probably would have made this book one of the top few in this field.

Reference: The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory by B. Greene

Edging Islamic Terrorism to Khyber Pass: The Indian and Israeli Ways

From the title of this book and the introduction, it is clear to the reader that the author has performed a comparative analysis of Islamic terrorism against India and Israel (for example, see pages 9 and 17). I read this book with the hope that this is a comparative study of Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism, followed by an examination of the two cultures stressing the similarities of two civilizations, and finally describing the impact of Islamic terrorism in the history of these two nations. If you read this book with this thought, I bet you would be disappointed. The book lacks focus; the narratives are too diffused. The reader expects the author to start with a brief history of Indian religions and culture since the author is born and grew up in India, but he chooses to start the book with the history of Jewish culture. Chapter 2-15 rambles, and reads like an essay written by a high school student on Jewish history. Sentences using simple words instead bombastic language would have attracted more readers. In many instances the reader would be confused since book focuses on Christian and Jewish conflicts (for example, see pages 62-63, 84, 98-99, 115, 120, 130, 136-138, 160 and 163). A very brief discussion on Israel's three wars with Egypt including the 1973 Yom Kippur war known for its military prowess and superiority of Israeli military logistics could have been compared with the three wars of India with Pakistan (pages 109, and 170-173, 175-179, 286). This could have emerged as an interesting chapter by itself. The second part; chapters 16 - 19 describes the history and culture of India. Brief references to the common features of Hinduism and Judaism are found in few paragraphs but fails to expand this into useful discussion (see page 81-82. 194-195, 208-209, 305). The author clearly wants to focus on the destruction brought about by Islamists on India and Israel, but key historical points have not been used in an advantageous way. Sometimes the author shifts focus from paragraph to paragraph. Buddhism was completely decimated by Islamic invaders of India, and Sikhism suffered significantly during 18 and 19 century India, but vague references if ever have been made about these two faiths. In light of these observations, the statement about Mohammed is confounding (see page 305); no expert of Islamic terrorism has found anything positive about the teachings of this Prophet. Chapter 19 -21 are perhaps well written sections of the book that summarizes the impact of growing autocracy of Islamic population around the globe. The comparative analysis of India and Israel are fairly presented in chapter 20 and 21.

Bangladesh is known for being one of the poorest economies and also a nation on the list of emerging terrorist nations (pages 286-289). Refugees and illegal immigrants from Bangladesh could be problematic as they threaten the security and integrity of India (page 324). Similarly the return of Palestinian refugees from Arab countries could threaten Israel, and hence Israel unequivocally opposes any increase in Palestinian population. The author could have compared these future problems facing India and Israel. The leftists, liberals, apologists, surrender-prone activists, and losers are legitimizing Islamic terrorism not only in India and Israel but also in Western Europe and North America. The author has made a reasonable presentation of this problem in India, but ignored similar problems that exist in Israel (see pages 214, 278, 294-295, 329). One last note is that the author could have compared the economic, political, scientific, medical, technological, and cultural infrastructure of Pakistan with India; the reader would come to a quick conclusion that Pakistan will not sustain the arms race with India; just like former Soviet Union collapsed in the arms race with United States.

On a lesser note; the historical dates of Hindu epics and civilizations of ancient India presented in this book are not widely accepted in academic circles since they lack rigorous support by academic research in related disciplines (see pages 216, 228, 249, 269-277). Similarly Indo-European language is the mother of all languages and Sanskrit is one of the offspring; this is widely accepted in academics as it is supported by research in linguistics and related disciplines (page 261). The Aryan invasion theory supported by Max Muller and other Vedic experts is a direct product of the conservative environment that existed in 19 century Europe (page 246-247). Many references cited at the end of the book are incomplete; name of the author, publication info etc., are not cited (pages 341-343).

For readers who are interested in comparative analysis of Hinduism and Judaism, I recommend; Veda and Torah: Transcending the Textuality of Scripture by Barbara A. Holdrege; and Between Jerusalem and Benares: Comparative Studies in Judaism and Hinduism by Hananya Goodman, and of course Frontpagemag.com, a daily internet newspaper that focuses on conservative values and threat of Islamic terrorism to civilization. Many interesting articles and news stories about Israel and India are published in this newspaper by academics and professional journalists.

In spite of many instances of deficiencies found in this book, this is still the only work that addresses this rather important aspect of Islamic terrorism. One last note; the front cover picture is a misrepresentation; the Indian and Israeli flags should have been NE and NW of Islamic flag respectively.

Reference: India and Israel Against Islamic Terror: Old Nations, New Leaders by B.N. Sharma

How a living cell overcomes constraints of the Second law of thermodynamics

This book is not for the faint hearted! It requires an undergraduate level of thermodynamics, and some working knowledge of biology, and laws of relativity and quantum physics. The author has done her best to write this book to a general reader about physics and biology of life; a monotonous and tedious job to describe in a book of 250 pages. She is influenced by the work of celebrated physicist Erwin Schrodinger and his passion for understanding life. The reader can see Schrodinger's influence throughout this book. Chapter 2 to 6 deals with Schrödinger's concept in explaining how a living cell exports entropy in order to maintain its own entropy at a low level or near zero there by circumventing the constraints of Second law of thermodynamics.

In the second half of the book the author explores various physical and chemical concepts to show how nature keeps cellular entropy production to a minimum. First, the author discusses how the energy transductions in living cells occur, and she determines that heat transfer is not the major form of energy transduction. The bio-macromolecules are setup within the cell to near solid state or liquid crystalline like state such that it promotes synchronicity and coherence through electric, electromagnetic and electro mechanical interactions, which are primary source for energy. Coupled electron transfer reactions and other cyclic process that occur in a nested space - time organization within the cell helps minimize entropy since, for a coupled molecular process the entropy production is zero.

Intermolecular dipolar interactions among membrane bound proteins/enzymes, and nucleic acids which act as biological semiconductor devices; and quantum tunneling operate in many electron and proton transfer proteins. DNA and RNA are large dielectric molecules that can sustain coherent excited sates. In chapter 8 - 10 the importance of coherent process that removes biochemical processes away from thermodynamic equilibrium by energy flow have been discussed. The operation of quantum coherence, a coherent state that maximizes both global cohesion and local freedom such that micro domains and nested compartments within the cytosol or nucleus or membrane right down to a single bio-macromolecules all functioning autonomously doing different things and at different rates generating flow patterns yet all coupled together in supporting the cellular process. A high degree of coherence, coordination, compartmentalization and regulation of multiple biochemical reactions involving numerous proteins, enzymes, nucleic acids, carbohydrates and lipids is proposed as a compensating mechanism to minimize entropy. While the author does her best to bring everything in literature together to support a reasonable hypothesis, but the experimental evidences in support of these concepts operating in a cell is not very strong and hence it is some way to go for universal acceptance.

One important feature devised by nature in electron transfer reactions is a metal mediated reaction that has never been addressed in this book. These transfers are facile quantum chemical reactions where nature has used transition metals (with vacant 3d orbitals) to promote electron transfers between low molecular weight biomolecules that otherwise would be thermodynamically disallowed. Iron, copper and manganese perform key cellular reactions. Alkali metals such as sodium, potassium and calcium also participate in many ionic reactions that offer thermodynamic advantages to a living cell.

I found this author to be enigmatic since the book is heavily regionalized in its assertions. She refers to the scientific thought conveyed in this work as Western science throughout this book. Chapter 14 offers a very interesting discussion of entropy, and chapter 15 reminisces about the philosophy of life.

Reference: The Rainbow and the Worm: The Physics of Organisms by Mae-Wan Ho

Touched by an Angel - A Heart Warming Story (Movie: The Bishop's Wife)

If you are looking for a movie to watch on Christmas day with your family, you must include this heart warming story about an angel who intervene the busy lives of an Episcopalian bishop, named Henry Brougham (David Niven) and his wife Julia (Loretta Young). This movie set in Yuletide sprit with bells ringing, choir singing, Christmas wreaths decorating the walls of churches, homes, shops and buildings, and streets and neighborhoods covered with fresh snow. During this time, an angel named Dudley (Cary Grant) enters the lives of the bishop and his wife as an office assistant. At the Victorian home of Bishop Henry not everything is going well. Years of neglect about his own family left Julia on her own while the bishop is busy raising funds for a new cathedral. Dudley's attentiveness, charm, and sheer magical powers drive Julia to him, but Dudley is only interested in helping Henry to get back with Julia. The writers have cleverly crafted many moments between Dudley and Julia that would be purely romantic, but writers did not forget to remind us that Dudley is an angel and he is not romancing Julia. Several instances of walking down the street, driving in the country and having lunch at local cafeteria, makes her feel that she is appreciated as a woman. The magical ice-skating scene where Dudley charms everyone with his skating ability, and helps Julia to glide on ice is a memorable scene of the movie that the viewers will never forget.

Dudley's "angelic" effect is felt by many people: He touches the lives of people he comes in contact with. As the friendship between Julia and Dudley becomes strong Henry begins to feel Dudley is a devil trying to steal his wife, but all ends well when Dudley finishes his job by helping Henry to raise money for the cathedral. Cary Grant is spectacular and charms not only Julia but many viewers. I was most impressed by the performance of Julia who is attracted to Dudley; she is tender, a romantic and vulnerable woman who also knows that she is a wife, and a mother.

Reference: The Bishop's Wife, DVD, starring Cary Grant

A Spiritual Adventure - Heart Warming Story of Ernest Bliss (Movie: The Amazing Adventure)

Cary Grant plays modern day Buddha in this classic movie set in London (1937) during the post depression era. Ernest Bliss (Cary Grant) temporarily gives up his riches to become working poor to understand his apparent illness, and seek enlightenment. He rents an apartment from an old lady who is compassionate and understanding. He works for a limousine service company as a driver where he meets a caring worker. He falls in love with a young woman named Frances Clayton (Mary Brian), and learns a crucial thing in life; to be in love, the lady doesn't have to be beautiful or wealthy, but all heart will do. During his adventure; he sees life, people, poverty, suffering, and sadness. He understands that people in spite of all uncertainties in life find happiness with what they have, and they care about another human being. He gradually realizes that his wealth is an obstacle in pursuit of happiness and to have peace in eternal life. Cary Grant has performed brilliantly with his usual caliber and charm, but I was impressed most with the performance of Mary Brian, who is loving, yet so vulnerable in life. My favorite scenes are when she interviews Ernest Bliss for his first job and later when he proposes to her on the steps of the building Frances works. This is a heart warming movie which doesn't have Christmas theme or set in Christmas time, but very appropriate for Christmas time viewing

Reference: The Amazing Adventure, DVD, starring Cary Grant

An incredible story of Todd Bridges of Diff’rent Strokes

In promoting this book, Todd Bridges in his interview with 'Today' show co-host Meredith Vieira on NBC on March 15, 2010, and later with Joy Behar on her show on CNN, spoke openly and honestly about his ordeal of physical, sexual and emotional abuse he faced from the very people who were responsible for his best interest and safety. He has lived through the most difficult days of abuse, the harassment from police; intense racism in Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) in 1980s and 1990s, addiction to controlled substances, life on the mean streets of South Central Los Angeles, repeated criminal charges including a murder charge, and bad publicity surrounding Diff'rent Strokes other actors, Gary Coleman and Dana Plato. Incidentally Dana died tragically at a very young age due to drug addiction and drug overdose on May 8, 1999. It is absolutely overwhelming for any man let alone a kid to face this trauma, yet Todd proves that you need to fight your way out, never relent to momentary setbacks, and you can still emerge as a reformed positive role model for kids who face similar challenges. He has turned his life around by becoming an author, a family man, a responsible father, working actor, director and a producer. This is absolutely incredible saga of an individual who had everything to the very lowest point in life. This is especially hard for fans who watched Diff'rent Strokes on TV regularly during 1970s and 80s.

The middle pages are especially hard to read as Todd Bridges describes in great detail his unfortunate addiction to various controlled substances and then becoming a drug trafficker himself living on the most dangerous streets of South Central LA, and dealing with worst offenders. Constant harassment of LAPD, racism he experienced from them at a very young age when he could not understand what it meant. Todd describes a very happy childhood growing in San Francisco where he faces very little racism, but moving to Los Angeles would change everything; it is not only fame, money, girls, drugs and sex but also the law going incessantly after him.

From this book, we also get to know the working relationship between three young actors of the show. Gary Coleman guided by his father was mean and unfriendly. The friendship between Dana Plato and Todd Bridges is not so sweet after all. Dana had addition to drugs since the age of 13, and everyone on the set knew her problem because she was using them on the set and was a highly unreliable cast member. Both of them had several years of sexual relationship and drug use, but Todd Bridges still regards her as his best friend whom he wanted to help in her final days by persuading her to check into a rehab clinic. This story is deeply saddening and hard to read especially for fans who adored the show.

Reference: Killing Willis: From Diff'rent Strokes to the Mean Streets to the Life I Always Wanted by Todd Bridges

How do we reconcile our existence with God's creation?

This book appears to capitalize on the much publicized controversy regarding the teaching of Biblical evolution, referred to as intelligent design, as a biology subject. In the federal trial of Tammy Kitzmiller vs. Dover Area School District during the fall of 2005, Professor Behe of Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, a leading proponent of intelligent design gave significant muscle to the argument of fundamentalist Christians that creationism has scientific backing. His argument rested solely on the fact that certain biological systems are too complex to have evolved through natural selection, hence they are created by an "Intelligent Being." Television and the media gave significant publicity to this trial which generated enormous public interest. This book makes references to Professor Behe, and attempts to relate God (the author refers to as Judeo- Christian-Islamic God) with laws of physics. The author is a physicist, and I was hoping to read a physical and philosophical discussion about space, time, and matter (or energy) from which life evolved, and invoke God's existence (or His non-existence) through His design of physical laws: These laws hold the ultimate truth. If physical laws are fully set to govern the universe; how would God give himself the option to intervene? The mystery perhaps lies in the physical laws themselves. In quantum reality, matter has wave-particle duality, hence physical existence at subatomic level becomes less-certain, and in fact certainty can be predicted only with a probability (in less certain terms.) Then how do we reconcile the classical reality we observe and experience with quantum reality? This is the area that needs most attention if anyone is addressing a serious physical and philosophical question such as, if God is real? This thought has crossed the mind of mankind ever since man set foot on this planet, but the author conducts his analysis in a "careless" manner. He asks himself several key questions, one of them is with respect to the origin of the universe. The author suggests that no known laws of physics are violated during the beginning, therefore it is not God created. The author has discussed the big bang purely from a classical standpoint without giving quantum physical treatment. It is widely believed that there are billions of parallel universes, also known multiverse. Our universe is just one island in Infinite Ocean, with billions of tiny islands, each of which could have there own laws of physics, more than three spatial dimensions, made of antimatter, different kind of forces, and different fundamental particles. Each of these universes is completely isolated by special theory of relativity.

On the lesser side of science, the author widely uses the term "Judeo-Christian-Islamic God" to refer to God, but doesn't explain how Christian God is the same as Islamic God. Is the author trying to be politically correct to increase marketability of his book or he doesn't understand the difference. The God of New Testament deeply believes in peace, forgiveness, harmony, coexistence and acceptance. This is quite contrasting to a "holy book" which preaches jihad, holy war, fatwa, death for apostasy, and intolerance to infidels which are based on revenge, retaliation, and tit-for-tat concepts. Author Moorthy Muthuswamy observes that about 65% of Koran and 75% prophet Muhammad's biography (Sira) call for violent conquest of infidels; one can see where the global Islamic terrorism is coming from.

At the end of each argument (many of these are not very convincing), the author concludes that "God doesn't exist." I did not itemize how many times I read that phrase in this book. In a scientific assessment, God is regarded as an entity, a creating potential, and the all pervading Supreme Consciousness. Albert Einstein, the greatest physicist of all time frequently referred to God in his discussions, but he did not imply any particular faith. Einstein saw beauty in God's design of spacetime, matter - energy relationship, spacetime - matter relationship, the symmetry in physical laws, mathematical elegance in the physical descriptions and cosmic wonders. One has to accept that religions are man-made and laws of physics are God-created. As long as this simple fact is not recognized, man will continue to fall into the pit he himself dugout.

Reference: God: The Failed Hypothesis. How Science Shows That God Does Not Exist by Victor J. Stenger

An interesting discussion about God, religion and science

The author is an experienced host on public radio, and I was pleasantly surprised by the depth and knowledge she brings in her conversations with well known physicists, biologists, philosophers, psychologists, theologians, and medical experts. It is fascinating to discuss Einstein, God, and religion with Physicists like Freeman Dyson, and Paul Davies, and about Charles Darwin with biologist James Moore. If there is anyone who understood God more than any anybody else, it is certainly Einstein and Darwin.

In a scientific assessment, God is regarded as an entity, a creating potential, and the all pervading Supreme Consciousness. Albert Einstein, the greatest physicist of all time frequently referred to God in his discussions, but he did not imply any particular faith. Einstein saw beauty in God's design of spacetime, energy - matter relationship, spacetime - matter relationship, the symmetry in physical laws, mathematical elegance in the physical descriptions and cosmic wonders. Similarly, it is fascinating to read how Darwin struggled for 20 years, in 19 century, before he published his monumental work on the origin and evolution of living species. At that time it would be unthinkable to question Genesis and New Testament. In fact it was met with ferocious opposition in United States especially in the Bible-belt, but Darwin remained steadfast in making it clear that species evolved, and one species came from another, and all living species came from unicellular organisms. He came to this conclusion through his intensive and prolonged research in natural selection, biodiversity, species adaptations, specificity and individual variation. The discussions in this book illuminate the fact both Darwin and Einstein struggled immensely to understand God though their scientific work.

In her conversations with V.V. Raman, the author has focused on the cultural and social issues of Hinduism. Although a brief discussion of dharma and karma is interesting but I would have expected a more focused dialogue on the philosophical side of Hinduism, especially Vedanta, which is very closely related to philosophy of quantum physics. Leading physicists like Erwin Schrodinger and David Bohm were life-long believers of Vedanta. A discussion on Vedanta could have been natural flow of ideas after reading her conversation with Dyson and Davies.

Physicist Janna Levin describes the fascinating side of our universe in which certain truth can never be proven true; there are limits to what we will ever know. This is according to the mathematical work of Kurt Gödel and Alan Turing, the two eminent mathematicians of 20th century that has deep philosophical consequences. This is reflected in the laws of physics; theory of special relativity puts an upper limit on the speed of light and matter, consequently the concept of present and future becomes relative. Uncertainty at the most fundamental level, the Heisenberg uncertainty puts a limit on our ability to define matter and a wave separately, and according to quantum dynamics the observed reality depends on the observer. Gödel believed that there is a surreal vagueness about reality. Quantum physics further alludes to the fact that everything in the universe is preordained, there is considerable doubt about cause preceding the effect, and the individual freewill is non-existent. Janna Levin reflects on the personal tragedies in the lives of these two great men of science and the impact it had on her thoughts.

Charles Darwin waited for 20 years to publish his theory, which reflects on the times and social surroundings of Darwin. It was clear to him from his upbringing that God plays a central role in the affairs of the world he created, and the church directed people into the path of God, and New Testament gives the correct description of God. Commenting on one of the letters of Darwin, James Moore recounts that Darwin labored very heavily during this time, but when he convinced himself, he decides to publish the results of his monumental work. He revolutionized the thought within the church when he suggested that nature is self-developing, only God created the laws of physics which formed chemical structures, molecular forms and life. Life forms change into another species. A gradual trend in certain behavioral characteristics or physical features indicated that they evolved independently. He found interconnectedness among all living creatures, but he never denied God's existence.

In her conversation with physicist John Polkinghorne, it becomes apparent that his invoking a religious God and a Christian God in particular is unrealistic. He moves from the position of a physicist to the position of a pastor, as if he is speaking from the pulpit. He suggests that power of prayer is an interaction between God Almighty and a human. Polkinghorne's philosophy is a sellout of his academic credentials to find a non-existing path between physical laws and New Testament. In one of Einstein's letters written in 1927, Einstein states that he can not conceive that a personal God would directly influence individual actions of a living being, or judge a creature he created. He believes in this thought in spite of the fact that cause preceding the effect is in doubt according to quantum physics. It would be unlikely that the infinitely superior spirit, the God Almighty reveal himself through the physical reality we experience, when we can not comprehend our own existence. Einstein observes that morality is of highest importance for us, and not for God.

Reference: Einstein's God: Conversations About Science and the Human Spirit by Krista Tippett