Books: 'The Messenger'

This is where you can get information about books featured on The Early Show in July that don't have their own, separate stories.

Saturday, July 29, 2006

"The Messenger"

Best-selling author Daniel Silva has a new book out, "The Messenger." The story features the spy novelist's most popular character, Gabriel Allon, an Israeli spy with an unusual cover: He's an art restorer. Silva talks about it on The Saturday Early Show.

Silva, a former Middle East correspondent for United Press International and CNN producer, has written nine novels; "The Messenger" is the sixth one with Allon as the central character. The plot focuses on a circuitous network through which money from the upper echelons of Saudi society trickles into the hands of terrorist organizations.

In this novel, Silva introduces a new heroine, Sara Bancroft, whom he describes as "an American curator working for a small museum in Washington who is recruited by Gabriel and his American counterparts for a covert operation. She's young, very attractive, and lost someone close to her on 9/11. She actually tried to join the CIA after the attacks but was turned down because the CIA screeners thought she was too independent-minded. Now she's going to be given a second chance because she is exactly that sort of person Gabriel needs for the operation he has in mind. She's a deeply symbolic character. In many ways, she's representative of America itself. Wounded by 9/11, well-intentioned, but perhaps in a bit over her head."

To read an excerpt, click here.

To visit Daniel Silva's Web site, click here.

"Never Stop Pushing"

The youngest of nine children, Rulon Gardner was born to Reed and Virginia Gardner on Aug. 16, 1971. He was raised on a dairy farm, where the family grew crops and milked cows twice a day, and where Gardner learned his work ethic. That work ethic would later earn this Greco-Roman wrestler a Gold Medal in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. After a near-death experience resulting from a snowmobile accident and the subsequent loss of a toe to amputation, Gardner returned to the mat to win a Bronze Medal in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Gardner was often ridiculed as a young boy for his size (he was much larger than the other kids his age, weighing 120 pounds by the fourth grade). He was also diagnosed with a learning disability. Beating the odds has been a common thread running throughout Gardner's life. He did it as a young boy, as an athlete, and at the hands of Mother Nature. He credits his ability to "never stop pushing" to his family.

To read an excerpt, click here.

To watch the segment, click here.

To visit Rulon Gardner's Web site, click here.

Saturday, July 22, 2006

"Lights Out Tonight"

Author Mary Jane Clark, who is also a producer at CBS News, drops by The Saturday Early Show to talk about her ninth book, "Lights Out Tonight."

Drama critic Caroline Enright travels to the Berkshire Mountains to cover a summer theater festival. While she's there, a world-famous actress disappears and two of the apprentices at the festival are killed in what appears to be an accident. Caroline tries to figure out what's going on and ultimately learns that sometimes the person you'd least expect — a friend, a co-worker, a spouse — might have no conscience, no remorse and will stop at nothing to get what he or she wants.

To read an excerpt, click here.

To visit Mary Jane Clark's Web site, click here.

"Literacy And Longing in L.A."

Longtime friends Jennifer Kaufman and Karen Mack always have shared a love of reading. Now they also share the same job description: first-time author. Their joint debut novel, "Literacy and Longing in L.A.," chronicles the adventures of an avid reader who uses fiction to escape from the craziness of her real life.

To read an excerpt, click here.

To watch the segment, click here.

"Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City"

Nearly a year after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans is still struggling mightily.

The story of one of America's worst natural disasters is well-known, but the government response was a man-made disaster that many feel is still going on in some ways.

Jed Horne, an editor at the New Orleans Times-Picayune, tells the story of the city after Katrina in his new book, "Breach of Faith: Hurricane Katrina and the Near Death of a Great American City."

He visited The Early Show to talk about it.

To watch the segment, click here.

Horne calls it "a story that needs to be told: how poorly the federal government served us, the importance of race and how that cropped up," and the roles of media coverage, and rumors.

To read an excerpt, click here.

Many of us complain that we never have enough time to do everything in our busy lives.

But there are ways to, in effect, find more time, as productivity expert Laura Stack explains in her new book, "Find More Time: How to Get Things Done at Home, Organize Your Life, and Feel Great About It."

Stack stopped by The Early Show to talk about it.

To see the segment, click here.

She explains that, while family life can seem overwhelming, with more chores and activities than time to do them, more time isn't really the answer; the real key is getting control of our lives.

To read an excerpt, click here.

To go to the Web site of The Productivity Pro, a Denver consulting firm Stack heads, click here.

"The Foreigner's Gift"

Most of us only see Iraq through the bloody violence reported every day on the news. But that shows only part of Iraq's struggle to heal the wounds of its past and build a better future. Middle East expert Fouad Ajami, a longtime CBS News consultant, takes a first-hand look at Iraq, as seen through the eyes of Iraqis from all walks of life, in his book, "The Foreigner's Gift."

Ajami discussed the book on The Early Show with co-anchor Harry Smith. If you'd like to watch the segment, click here.

To read an excerpt, click here.

"My Parents Went Through the Holocaust, And All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt"

Humor isn't usually associated with the Holocaust, but it plays a pivotal roll in a new book that offers a funny and poignant look at the tragedy.

Hanala Stadner, the daughter of two Holocaust survivors, writes about the impact it had on her life in "My Parents Went Through the Holocaust and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt."

It's a mix of pain, sorrow, humor and joy.

On The Early Show Monday, Stadner addressed the possibility her book's title could be deemed insensitive by some. She told how humor helped her family survive and how, as an adult, she turned to drugs, alcohol and men to escape the pain of a life time of denying her emotions. She explained how she overcame those problems, as well as how she learned to repair her relationship with her mother.

To watch the segment, click here.

For much more information on this book, click here.