A game-changer for children of color?

Listen and learn from people who have already been where you want to go. Benefit from their mistakes instead of repeating them. Read good books…..because they open up new worlds of understanding.

~ Dr. Benjamin Carson


Could this website be a game-changer for black children across the globe? NorthParan.com is adding a philanthropic touch to the business of selling black books. For every book purchased on the site, North Paran will donate a book to a child in need. The site’s slogan is Buy One, Give One.

Drowning In Oil - BP and the Reckless Pursuit of Profit.

The following Book Review has been sponsored by FSB Associates

“My mother had to be identified by DNA because there was not much of her left. She had been severely burned and decapitated during the blast. I will never forget seeing my father’s blood-soaked face with the lines running from his eyes down his cheeks from the tears that he cried before he died. I often wonder what he was thinking at that moment.”

~ Eva Rowe, her parents James and Linda, died in BP’s Texas City refinery explosion in 2005.



WOW!!! This book actually left me speechless. I see now that the “Oil Business” is slimy but it’s not because of the “Oil.” Loren Steffy has done an exceptional job with putting this book together. The title sounds like it could be a bash British Petroleum book. But if you read the book, you will realize that’s not the intent. Steffy gives a documentary style assessment without sounding like a snarky environmentalist. The book gives a thorough background on BP’s humble beginnings to their mega status in the oil game. You also get an understanding of how companies drill for oil in the deep sea. If you never understood the oil business, this is a great book for a quick tutorial. It does take an emotional turn when you hear from the oil workers and their families. All have been changed by trying to get that tricky fossil fuel out of the ground. I hate to sound like a pessimist but we’ll never stop using oil. We are addicted to it like a crack head is addicted to crack. And we are enabled by poor government regulation and an overflow of cash. I don’t think we are really serious about getting “Beyond Petroleum.” I will admit that it is a catchy slogan.

The Kitchen Shrink – A Psychiatrist’s Reflections on Healing in a Changing World.

The following Book Review has been sponsored by FSB Associates

“Have you met Dr. Steve Fleck?” Dr. Byck asks. “No. Who’s he?” “A real character. Before you leave, you must meet Steve Fleck.” One evening, in a quiet corridor, a frail white-haired man shuffles by, his eyes fixed on the floor. He is thin as a skeleton in his long white coat. His nametag reads: “Steve Fleck, M.D., Psychiatry.” “Dr. Fleck,” I call to him, “Dr. Byck says I have to meet you. I’m Dora Wang. I’m applying for psychiatry residencies.” He shakes my hand, nods, and looks back at the floor. “Do you have any advice for a new doctor starting out?” Our hands are still grasped when he utters the only two words I will ever hear from his lips, words I will always remember. “Single payer.” He turns and shuffles down the hall.

~ Excerpt from - The Kitchen Shrink (pgs. 122 – 123)

I was a Psychology major when I was an undergraduate student. I wanted to be an Industrial Organizational Psychologist. I didn’t want to be a Psychologist that listened to peoples’ problems all day long. That would have been depressing to my soul and draining to my spirit. I definitely would have never been a Psychiatrist. I thought this was just going to be a book on Psychiatry. It was and it wasn’t. Dr. Wang talked about her career in Psychiatry from being an eager medical student, to an overworked professional. When Dr. Fleck said the word “Single Payer” to her, he was foreshadowing future events involving health care. Throughout the book, you could see where the Health Insurance Industry had taken over the medical profession. Doctors in the book went from being concerned about patient wellness to meeting quotas. I kept reading the book going “so that’s why my Doctor does that.” It was an eye opener to the reality of our modern healthcare. In my opinion, the beauty of the book was how she humanized her patients. Many of us look at people with psychotic behavior and shun them but we forget they are human beings too. I highly recommend this book for individuals thinking about a career in the medical profession.

Leadership Secrets of Hillary Clinton by Rebecca Shambaugh

The following Book Review has been sponsored by FSB Associates

"Clinton's resilience is more than just a personality trait. It's power."
--U.S. News and World Report

Resilience: It's How You Can Succeed Like Hillary.

Hillary Clinton is the very model of a successful leader, gifted at prospering even in the face of turbulent times. The real question is: Could the same be said about you?

Ask yourself:
Do I bounce back from challenging situations?
Do I know how to learn from my mistakes?
Do I make my words count?
Do I embrace change and take advantage of new opportunities?


Before I started reading this book, I had to suspend my dislike for Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. With that being said, it wasn’t a bad read. The book dealt with the qualities that effective leaders have by using Clinton as an example. Whether you like Clinton or not you have to admit that she is on the top of her game. As a child you could see how she was learning skills to be an effective leader. Clinton never let any perceived limitations hold her back. Her whole life has been about adapting and growing. If I never read this book, I wouldn’t have known these things. Now this doesn’t change my opinion about Clinton, but I do see her in a different light. I never understood why women were so inspired by her but now I know why. At the end of each chapter, Shambaugh provides Clinton’s secrets. Some of her secrets are the following: Creating Your Personal Brand, Building and Leveraging Your Connections, Blending Your Ambitions with Your Aspirations and Listening with Intention. I would highly recommend this book for Women Studies Programs in college. I hope my wife enjoys reading this.


BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE:
Rebecca Shambaugh is founder and CEO of Shambaugh Leadership, a global consultancy company. She is also the author of It’s Not a Glass Ceiling, It’s a Sticky Floor.

COMPLICIT – How Greed and Collusion made the Credit Crisis Unstoppable by Mark Gilbert.

The following Book Review has been sponsored by FSB Associates

The rulers of the exchange of mankind’s goods have failed. There must be an end to a conduct in banking and in business which too often has given to a sacred trust the likeness of callous and selfish wrongdoing.

~ President Franklin D. Roosevelt

For every crisis there is a critique. The crisis that led to our current economic situation is no exception. We have been informed of what happened but we’re still shaking our heads. Anyone that works in Banking/Mortgage/Wall Street has been made out to be the scapegoat (whether right or wrong). So if we know who the culprits are, why isn’t anyone in jail? To me that means we really don’t know what happened. But if more books like Complicit are written we just might. Mark Gilbert, bureau chief for Bloomberg News in London, has written a very detailed book on the crisis. With so many books out there, sometimes it’s hard to separate them. What makes this book different is Gilbert’s approach to the subject matter. Because he is based in the United Kingdom, he provides the view “from across the pond.” Because we live in America, sometimes we are short-sighted to the world around us. This economic crisis didn’t just make ripples in the Midwest but the Far East. Factors in China have more influence on the U.S. economy than we can imagine. Gilbert provided a behind the scenes look at this “Global Economic Crisis.” I liked his detailed approach in explaining financial terms and processes. I always feel that’s important because most people don’t know about financial instruments (as proven by these floods of bad mortgages in America). As for the title of the book, it matches the content perfectly. If you felt that this crisis could have been prevented, you’re correct. If you felt that people were motivated by greed, you’re correct. If you didn’t believe in bank regulation before reading this book, afterward you will be a staunch supporter of it. I especially recommend this book for students with majors that involve international subjects. Overall it was a good read.

Where are the Swing Voters on the Climate Bill?

Article by Scott Bittle & Jean Johnson,
Authors of Who Turned Out the Lights: Your Guided Tour to the Energy Crisis

As the Senate environment committee starts to hold hearings on the climate change bill, we think there's one critical question for the senators: Who are you talking to?
That's not an obvious question, or an (entirely) sardonic one. Legislation is almost always shaped more by leaders and lobbyists rather than the public at large, and given the complexity of the climate bill that's even more true here.
But you can't solve the climate change problem if the public isn't ready to accept some level of change. In the end, this is an argument about how we get the energy to fuel the life Americans want to live. You can't change the energy picture without getting the public to reconsider where our energy comes from and what practical alternatives there are for developing a more climate-friendly mix. If too many Americans believe there's an easy, cost-free answer out there, or conversely, if too many believe that we can't tackle our climate problems without destroying the American way of life, we're not going to get very far.

Right now, too many Americans are heading into this fight unarmed. Four in 10 Americans can't name a fossil fuel, according to Public Agenda's Energy Learning Curve survey. Even more can't name a renewable energy source. It's a fair assumption that most people aren't going to understand the ins and outs of the climate bill.
What's worse is that most don't understand the fundamental challenge here: that the world needs to change the kind of energy we use, even as we need more and more of it. World energy demand is projected to rise 50 percent over the next 20 years, mostly because hundreds of millions of people in China, India and the developing world will be buying cars and living better lives. Production of fossil fuels, particularly oil, is going to have trouble keeping up with that demand anyway. And even if we could meet that demand with fossil fuels, we'd end up with irreversible climate change.

But there is a coalition to be built here, if you talk to the right people in the right way. When our organization, Public Agenda, conducted its Energy Learning Curve survey of Americans, we found they fell naturally into four broad categories: the Anxious (40 percent), the Greens (24 percent), the Disengaged (19 percent) and the Climate Change Doubters (17 percent).

The Greens, as you can imagine, are probably at a 350.org rally right now, the Doubters are still chanting "drill baby drill," and the Disengaged are watching the playoffs instead. The most interesting group -- and the most significant -- are the Anxious. They don't know much about energy issues, but they know enough to be worried. Almost all of this group worries "a lot" about the cost of energy (91 percent); They report higher levels of worry than the other groups on scarcity and on increased worldwide demand for oil. Global warming is a lesser concern, but even here 69 percent say it's real and 54 percent say they worry "a lot" about it.
Most importantly, the Anxious are the largest single group, at 40 percent. They're the "swing voters" of this issue, and you can't build a majority without them.
A lot of environmentalists seem convinced that the key to success is making everyone else as concerned about climate change as they are. That's no help in persuading the Anxious; they're already worried about it and convinced it's real. Making sure there's enough energy to go around, and at a price that people can afford, are even more important to this group.

So what's the takeaway here? There are two key points:
Back to basics: We've been doing a lot of work to educate the public on energy (in fact, we've just written a book on the subject). And one thing we've learned is you can't assume people know the fundamentals. And we're not talking about the science of global warming here. We're talking about the fact that there's a relatively short list of options that can provide the energy we need in the volume we need. Right now, 80 percent of our energy comes from fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas and only 2 percent from wind and solar combined. Given that, we have some practical choices to make here, and in our experience, people are pretty good at making them, if you lay them out and are honest about the pros and cons. Plus, a little information up front can head off a lot of misinformation later on, as the health care reform advocates found out to their dismay.

Speak to people's real concerns. People can approach a problem from entirely different perspectives and still end up at the same place. The Anxious are actually strongly supportive of alternative energy, ranging from ethanol to solar, and they strongly favor conservation over exploration. So do the Greens. But the rationales are different -- Greens favor alternative energy because it's clean; the Anxious favor it because they want to stretch the supply.

The groups who will play a major role at the Senate hearings -- cabinet officers, environmentalists, businesses -- are all critical. But the public matters, too. If we let the concerns of lobbyists and policy experts drive this debate, we'll never build the coalition needed to move forward.

Then, if the lights go out, we'll have no one to blame but ourselves.

Author Bios

Scott Bittle, co-author of Who Turned Out the Lights: Your Guided Tour to the Energy Crisis, is executive editor of PublicAgenda.org, where he has prepared citizen guides on more than twenty major issues including the federal budget deficit, Social Security, and the economy. He is also the website director for Planet Forward, an innovative PBS program designed to bring citizen voices to the energy debate.


Jean Johnson, co-author of Who Turned Out the Lights: Your Guided Tour to the Energy Crisis, is co-founder of PublicAgenda.org, and has written articles and op-eds for USA Today, Education Week, School Board News, Educational Leadership, and the Huffington Post Website.

Searching for Whitopia - An Improbable Journey to the Heart of White America by Rich Benjamin

The following Book Review has been sponsored by FSB Associates

The glow of Barack Obama’s historic election cannot obscure the racial and economic segregation that still vexing America. Obama’s presidency has actually raised the stakes in a battle royale between two versions of America: one hat is broadly comfortable with diversity yet residentially segregated (Obama Nation), and one that does not mind a little ethnic food or a few mariachi dancers-as long as these trends do not overwhelm a white dominant culture (Whitopia).

~ Rich Benjamin




When I first saw the title of this book I was psyched about reading it. I am always curious about race relations in America because I believe we skirt around the issues. After reading this book my views have been validated. This book was fascinating and disturbing all at the same time. Who knew there was a nation of white folks that have decided to check out of America to live their concept of Utopia? Mr. Benjamin travels to cities and counties where whites are in the 90% and above majority. And the residents are extremely happy with being in the majority (to the point of being joyful even). Benjamin surprisingly weaves his way through the maze of Whitopia with such ease you keep forgetting that he is black. He lives in these communities for months at a time and converses with their members. The most amazing thing about the politicians, white separatists, and other community members is how human they appear. They are not the red faced angry white males that have a rope in one hand and a shot gun in the other. But regular American’s that long for the “days of old.” Benjamin also gives a thorough analysis of the forces that have led to the formation of these communities. But for every Ying there must be a Yang. So for Benjamin to discuss Whitopia, he must discuss the opposite end of the spectrum – “The Projects”. Benjamin doesn’t pull any punches on minority issues but he doesn’t purposely beat blacks and Latinos up. This book should challenge us as individuals to take a deep look at ourselves. Our Presidents always campaign on uniting the country. If they are serious, they are going to have to work a lot harder.

Racing Toward Armageddon by Michael Baigent

The following Book Review has been sponsored by FSB Associates


This battle of Armageddon and the return of Christ is, according to thousands of Christian fundamentalist preachers, coming soon. In fact many are convinced that our modern military involvement in the Middle East is linked to this fiery end. In the book of Revelation, Babylon is the source of all evil and is ultimately overthrown; Babylon, of course, is in Iraq, which has presently fallen to U.S. forces and their allies. To Christian fundamentalists, the connection, and the importance, is obvious.

But the Christian fundamentalists are not the only ones to believe in a final battle. Muslims, too, with increasing urgency speak about the coming of their messiah, the Mahdi, who-with the aid of Jesus will fight against the demonic forces of the Dajjal, the Islamic anti-christ figure. Especially important is the belief held by many Muslims that the Mahdi will rule from Jerusalem, which the Muslims claim as their own. Muslims who follow these beliefs expect the final battle to come very soon, and this is affecting their politics, which in turn, is affecting all of our lives.


~ Michael Baigent, author of Racing Toward Armageddon – The Three Great Religions And The Plot To End The World.







I first thought this book was going to be against organized religion. I really need to stop judging a book by its cover. Mr. Baigent doesn’t make a case against all religions but the extreme sects of the religions. Christian, Muslim and Jewish fundamentalists are the subjects of this book. I don’t know if he meant to scare the readers but there is some frightening subject material in this book. Because of the fact that I live in America, the Christian fundamentalists peaked my interest. Baigent describes how fundamentalists have infiltrated the top echelons of our Government and how they use their beliefs to shape public policy.

My only regret is being not as well versed in scripture as I should be. It helps to know your way around the bible before reading this book. You don’t need a religious background to comprehend the book but it does help in understanding some of the biblical texts. The wars that are fought because of perceived religious doctrine are subjects in the book as well. Baigent evenly discusses each religion so there are no playing favorites. He also makes a good case for the separation of church and state. A subject that should possibly be revisited due to America’s last 8 years. Baigent doesn’t knock the concept of a religious foundation but does want us to question how we use it in our lives. Are we practicing our different religions in the way they were meant or are we misguided by our interpretation of the doctrine?

The Audacity Of Help: Obama’s Economic Plan and the Remaking of America by John F. Wasik.

The following Book Review has been sponsored by FSB Associates



Focusing on the restoration of prosperity, Obamanomics relies heavily on humanistic economics – that is, placing social concerns before the altar of economic expansion. Obama came into office knowing the economy would probably contract further, so he didn’t make any pronouncements on growth of the gross national product. Instead of touting numbers, he emphasizes people-centered principles by focusing on health care and education. Having built much of his historic campaign with social capital---the powerful networks of people throughout the country, text messages, e-mail, and the Internet---Obama wants to show how social goals can be combined with capitalism. As he moves to remake the economy, his social capitalism is a stark rebuke of the folly of laisez-faire capitalism. Instead of a free-for-all in which only the well-positioned financial elite would benefit, he wants to create a culture of sharing and responsibility for the entire population.

~ excerpt from The Audacity of Help



Mr. Wasik was able to do what all of Congress apparently doesn’t have the time or smarts to. Reading actual legislation!!!!! Mr. Wasik has provided his readers with the skinny to what’s exactly in these bills that people are fighting over. If you want insight into President Obama’s economic policy, this book is for you. This book breaks down all of the economic legislation passed since President Obama has been in office. We know that there is a lot of “Horse Trading” on Capital Hill. And unless you are an Uber NPR Junkie, you don’t have time to read each bill.

I like that this book explains economic policy in easy to understand terms. That doesn’t mean that Mr. Wasik has dumbed down the book. It means that he gives detailed information regarding each subject. He tells you what economic legislation Congress promised and what they eventually passed. Then he explains how the legislation will affect you. For full disclosure, I’ve read a previous book by Mr. Wasik called "The Cul-De-Sac Syndrome: Turning Around the Unsustainable American Dream". What make his books credible are two things. The first is that he has a background in Financial Reporting. The other is that he always gives suggestions on what could be done.

For all of the President Obama haters out there, this book is not a Pro-Obama book. It’s actually a good read whatever your political persuasion might be.

The CUL-DE-SAC Syndrome Turning Around the Unsustainable American Dream by John F. Wasik

The following Book Review has been sponsored by FSB Associates

The American Dream or Nightmare? The roots of the worst housing bust in generations lie in the mythology of the American dream.

I grew up believing in the “American Dream”. I believed in having a yard with a picket fence, 2.5 kids and a home in a nice community. But the recent economic collapse has made me reconsider the “American Dream”. I was holding on to my one last strand of hope and then I read this book. John F. Wasik, you have officially ruined the DREAM.


In the books preface Mr. Wasik makes this very stinging statement:

The American dream – and what it has cost us – is what underlies the crisis and what this book explores. How did we come to believe that a home should be an investment worth enough to propel millions to leverage beyond their ability to pay? In an age of burgeoning info-technology, why are we still building homes with the latest nineteenth-century techniques? What was the market behavior that drove homeowners into subprime loans and moving ever farther away from jobs and cities? How did we come up with the idea that we should buy as much house as we can afford, with no regard for the cost of heating and cooling it and the time and expense of getting to it?




Before I read the book I assumed it was going to be a bash the suburbs type deal. This book was not exactly what I thought it would be. Mr. Wasik talks about the dying concept of the suburbs from the way houses are built to the location of the communities. This is a real policy wonk book that gives figures along with timelines. It’s a book that should be used for classes on Real Estate and Urban Planning.


This book also breaks down what it means to own a “Green” house. And I emphasize an actual “Green” house. I bet you didn’t know we were getting suckered when people say the phrase “this is a green house”. He also explains why our commute to work everyday is making us ill. If you want to know more, you are going to have to read the book.


In the end, Mr. Wasik wraps everything up by giving solutions to the problems. The solutions, in my opinion, have some merit. This is one of those books that you hope your elected official is reading but they probably aren’t. This book is not for the faint of heart. If you are in love with the concept of the “American Dream”, it’s actually a tough pill to swallow. But it’s what we need right now. We need to start thinking about the way we live. Based on the information in this book, this is the start of that conversation.

Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed, a novel by Marc Blatte

The following Book Review has been sponsored by FSB Associates

Outside one of New York’s hottest night clubs, at 4a.m., a young man is found murdered –no robbery, no clues – only yellow socks and bling to tell the victims tale...

To be honest, I don’t read much fiction. I am more of a non-fiction guy. I read biographies and stories about history and other real life events. I was always curious about reading a fictional book but never got around to it. Well better late than never. “Humpty Dumpty Was Pushed” is about New Yorkers and how they are connected due to a crime. It started off like a roller coaster when it goes up slowly before the drop. Then once it got to the top of the track it was off and running. I kept reading the book and yelling, “Who did it? Who did it?”

You had a wanna be rap group trying to break into the business, one of New York’s most decorated cops, a record mogul, a vengeful bouncer from Eastern Europe, a club called Kiki and one of New York’s wealthiest families. Mr. Blatte is from New York and you can tell by the story. His writing makes the city pop and come alive. You can feel the streets that they walked and almost taste the food they ate. I usually end up watching movies that first started as books. The only book I read before it became a movie was “The Autobiography of Malcolm X”. While reading “Humpty Dumpty”, I kept wondering what this would be like as a movie. Or maybe a television show at least.

The rap group called Proof Positive had an interesting story arc. Kids from the hood that wanted to live the lifestyles of the rich and famous. But as the saying goes, “You can take the cat out of the jungle, but you can’t take the jungle out of the cat”. They reminded me of every cliché rap group that ever had a demo tape. You've seen them in the barbershop or on public access television. Did you know they let anyone on public access television these days? Anyway, the way their story was told gave the raw emotion behind the want for success.

My favorite character was Detective Salvatore Messina aka “Black Sallie Blue Eyes”. He was serious about his job but he did have a level of compassion for people. Sometimes fictional cops are written with such a depressed state of mind. They are pessimistic because they have seen things that many of us can’t fathom. Detective Salvatore Messina was cool under pressure. His cat and mouse game with suspects was funny to read. This was one of the times I wish I could watch this on screen.

Overall it was a good read. I think that it’s a captivating story that will keep a reader engaged. I also think it would be a good read for folks that like Hip Hop. I wouldn’t mind reading another book by Mr. Blatte involving Detective Messina and his crew. Maybe he can make a series out of it. Then he can give me a cut for coming up with the idea. We are in a recession; you can’t blame a brother for trying to hustle.