Jim Alkon

Navigating the 2020 Dating Scene in “The Man’s Guide for Online Dating Success”

A few decades ago, I met a girl at a bar in a prearranged setup, and we have been married for over 30 years. I tell you this because I want you to understand my credentials – or lack thereof – for reviewing a book about the online dating scene.…

Jim AlkonJuly 15, 2020

Nonfiction

“Hollywood’s Trains & Trolleys:” The Forgotten “Stars” Film Buffs Should Know About

But another “star” for many of those films, an essential “role player” without legions of fans cramming for autographs, was a vehicle that got actors to their locations and often served as backdrops or even on-screen “performers” minus a speaking part: the streetcar. The transportation modes so crucial to this…

Jim AlkonJuly 15, 2020

Business Business - Featured Nonfiction

Determining Which Way to Lean With “8 Paradoxes of Leadership Agility”

Tim was willing to give extra attention to a challenged team member, but it came at the expense of effectively managing the whole team. Adeline as a leader was an agent of change, but her middle managers were stuck within the safety of the status quo. “The road to leadership…

Jim AlkonJuly 14, 2020

Better Self Nonfiction

“Tripolar:” A Devastating and Inspiring Memoir of Addiction and Mental Illness

How many blows can a fighter take before deciding to throw in the towel? Why does he think he is invincible, picking himself up off the canvas only to be pummeled again and again. Poundings to the midsection. Punches to the head. Until he finally sees what everyone else has…

Jim AlkonJuly 1, 2020

Thrillers

A Dead Rabbi and His Contentious Congregation in “Two Jews = Three Shuls”

Being the rabbi for a highbrow, highly opinionated congregation can be murder. Literally. Ask Rabbi Saul Levinson, religious leader and guiding light of Beth Torah Synagogue on the north shore of Long Island, NY. Ask him figuratively, that is. After all, he’s dead. In Two Jews = Three Shuls (Resource Publications)…

Jim AlkonJune 22, 2020

Nonfiction

“The Room Where It Happened:” A Comprehensive Account of the Trump Administration

It wouldn’t be a stretch to expect any Broadway aficionado to be able to whistle the tune, “The Room Where It Happens,” from the ever-so-popular, long-running show Hamilton. The song describes the Compromise of 1790 between Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. “Compromise” is not a word readers likely…

Jim AlkonJune 18, 2020

Better Self Business Nonfiction

“Serving to Lead:” The Steps to Leadership on the Battlefield and Beyond

It’s hard to imagine there was ever a time, even for a fleeting moment, when Sgt. Major Keith L. Craig (R) did not appreciate the concept of practice. “When I was a young soldier, I didn’t respect or understand the reason for training.” This coming from an organizational man whose…

Jim AlkonJune 17, 2020

Book Club Network

Humanizing Monsters and Monsterizing Humans in “Monsterland”

Sure, Michael Okon’s Monsterland (WordFire Press) has its suspense, its horror, even a mini family saga and some coming of age playing out around the edges. And let’s not forget a plot to take over the world. But what about the basic premise: a playland where guests can interact with vampires, be chased…

Jim AlkonJune 1, 2020

Book Club Network

“Hansel and Gretel” Meets “Friday the 13th” in Bulwark

Welcome to Bulwark, a fictitious small town near Georgia you try hard to believe is cute and quiet. Now welcome to Bulwark, the novelette by Brit Lunden that is not long enough to capture even the slightest tranquility you want this town to have. Seems like Sheriff Clay Finnes picked…

Jim AlkonJune 1, 2020

Audiobooks Fiction

“The Midnight Call” Audiobook Delivers on Heart-Pounding Courtroom Thriller

“'I think I killed someone,' the man’s voice whispered across the phone lines.” What a compelling way to start a book, let alone an audiobook that requires the perfect tone to properly engage the listener. In the just-released audiobook version of Jode Millman’s The Midnight Call (Immortal Works) — a…

Jim AlkonJune 1, 2020

Fiction

“The Number of Man” Explores Playing God With Clones and Trackers

Sounds like a wonderful world: tracking devices to help find missing children, protect against identity theft, provide instant access to medical information in the event of an emergency. The list goes on. But without legal authorization, who gives researchers, technicians, scientists and others the right to, in effect, play God…

Jim AlkonMay 20, 2020

Book Club Network Thrillers

“The Hierophant Card:” Tarot Reader Plays the Hand She Is Dealt

Truth to tell — I was about to embark on my first cozy mystery. You know, that subgenre of crime fiction in which sex and violence are downplayed or treated lightly, and the crime occurs in a small, intimate community. The detectives are almost always amateurs and are frequently women.…

Jim AlkonMay 19, 2020

Fiction

Fiction Imitates Fact in Unique Chronicle of U.S. Marine Family During WWI

Somewhere beyond the halfway point of the fascinating World War I chronicle The Remains of the Corps: Volume I (EG&A Publishing), protagonist and Marine Second Lieutenant Kenneth Remain, grandfather of author Will Remain, has his first brush with the enemy, a German U-boat spotted from his ship’s crow’s nest: “His…

Jim AlkonMay 15, 2020

Thrillers

Checkmate! “Enemy Queen” Has This Lawyer and Professor in an Unlikely Mess

The two protagonists in Robert Steven Goldstein’s Enemy Queen (SparkPress) are reminiscent of those intelligent and respected pairs in entertainment who bumble their way through dubious decisions and actions. One can only imagine Enemy Queen was as much fun for Goldstein to write as it is for readers to read.…

Jim AlkonMay 12, 2020

Thrillers

“Danger in Plain Sight:” This Unlikely Duo Makes a Formidable Team

As former bartender and smuggler Cash Logan tells it, a scorpion meets a frog on the bank of a stream and asks the frog to carry him across. The frog asks how does he know the scorpion won’t sting him. The scorpion explains that if he stings the frog, he…

Jim AlkonMay 5, 2020

Thrillers

TV Newswoman Pursues Elusive Serial Killer in “The Last Scoop”

Curiosity is the hallmark of any journalist – especially those old-school news hounds working major city metros, where sources are sacred and scoops are the Holy Grail. “Sometimes that curiosity takes you places you wouldn’t normally go,” says Clare Carlson, news director of a major New York TV station who…

Jim AlkonMay 5, 2020

Jim Alkon

Navigating the 2020 Dating Scene in “The Man’s Guide for Online Dating Success”

“Hollywood’s Trains & Trolleys:” The Forgotten “Stars” Film Buffs Should Know About

Determining Which Way to Lean With “8 Paradoxes of Leadership Agility”

“Tripolar:” A Devastating and Inspiring Memoir of Addiction and Mental Illness

A Dead Rabbi and His Contentious Congregation in “Two Jews = Three Shuls”

“The Room Where It Happened:” A Comprehensive Account of the Trump Administration

“Serving to Lead:” The Steps to Leadership on the Battlefield and Beyond

Humanizing Monsters and Monsterizing Humans in “Monsterland”

“Hansel and Gretel” Meets “Friday the 13th” in Bulwark

“The Midnight Call” Audiobook Delivers on Heart-Pounding Courtroom Thriller

“The Number of Man” Explores Playing God With Clones and Trackers

“The Hierophant Card:” Tarot Reader Plays the Hand She Is Dealt

Fiction Imitates Fact in Unique Chronicle of U.S. Marine Family During WWI

Checkmate! “Enemy Queen” Has This Lawyer and Professor in an Unlikely Mess

“Danger in Plain Sight:” This Unlikely Duo Makes a Formidable Team

TV Newswoman Pursues Elusive Serial Killer in “The Last Scoop”

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