Where credit is due

It just occurred to me that you may have read reviews somewhere else that sound a lot like the reviews posted here. Ahem. It's time for me to admit that sometimes I borrow whole paragraphs from reviews that I post at Epinions.com.

So yeah, some of this stuff has been published before... and I wrote it all. (In spite of some really ugly exceptions that make the news from time to time, plagiarism is something journalists don't take lightly, folks.)

One of the reasons I started blogging here, and posting reviews there (Epinions) was to create a sort of catalog of the books (and articles, and other stuff) that I read. So, while I'm still sorting out my place in cyberspace, I am not "borrowing" the opinions, words, or reviews of any other writers.

Better Than Most Political Bios

Write It When I'm Gone: Remarkable Off-the-Record Conversations with Gerald R. Ford is not chock-full of remarkable remarks by the 38th president of the United States, but it is a fitting tribute to the man, who I believe was one of the country's truly great statesmen.

Unfortunately, the writing was sloppier than I'd expected from Thomas DeFrank, a Newsweek and Daily News reporter. With the author's considerable experience and credentials, I was stunned to find redundancies and out-of-sequence segments in almost every chapter, pluse a few just plain grammatical gaffes. Why it was allowed to surf through copyediting at publisher (Putnam) may be because they wanted to hurry to market, but still... the oversights were disappointing. (On page 12 readers can marvel at the gem, "Usually, we never knew which.")

Grumblings aside, the book is worth reading for those who like a little - but not too much - political perspective.

I knew how the story would end, of course - Ford died in 2007 - but I found myself surprisingly sad as I read the final chapters. Grumblings aside, I believe this redeems DeFrank's writing. I'm pretty sure (that is, I sure hope!) DeFrank could've written a better quality book, overall, I'm glad he wrote this one.

Certainly, what readers take away regarding Mr. Ford is subject to individual interpretation. Personally, I gained a greater appreciation for the man who seems to have lived every day, and served many decades, according to an (unfortunately) uncommon set of principals - and I think that's worth slogging through a few sloppy paragraphs.

Read that Rx

I've been sick lately and of course, I read the (rather lengthy) material that came with my prescriptions. I had to call the pharmacy, anyway, because while it was clear I was to take a series of six pills, then five, then four (you get the idea) each day until there were no more, it was not clear if I was to take the lot at once, or spaced throughout the day.

I got my answer but the experience made me, even in a weakened state, rise up on my soapbox. (Yes, there are several soapboxes. In this case, it was the be-careful-what-you-write soapbox.)

Speaking about prescriptions, I was really taken by an AP article that ran in my local paper today: Thou shalt see a doctor. Reportedly, last month the Rev. Keith Troy made every man in church stand up and agree to go to the doctor in the next three months. Rev. Troy had had a rough week, having seen four of his parishioners die. And he knows many more will follow soon if they don't start taking care of themselves. According to CDC statistics, Black and Hispanic men are the least likely to see a doctor regularly, and not because their health is especially good.

Rev. Troy had the good judgment to make the men in his congregation not only stand up publicly - he also had them write down their name and phone number so the church could follow up with them, and help get them to an appointment if necessary.

Amen to that - and praise be the power of words.

Here's to your (and their) health!