Lest Earth be Conquered, Frank Belknap Long, Belmont Books, 1966
If aliens were planning to invade Earth, would they send ships full of green-skinned monsters, with guns blazing? Perhaps they would take their time and infiltrate Earth, altered to look and act human, working to undermine Earth from the "inside."
Bobby Jackson looks like your average teenager in Anytown, USA (but he really isn't). He has his suspicions about the Martin's, a married couple that just moved in next door. It's as if they are trying too hard to fit in. He sees Mrs. Martin at the local supermarket, holding a tomato like she has never seen one before in her life. No one knows just what Mr. Martin does for a living. Invited into the house for a glass of lemonade, while staring into Mrs. Martin's eyes, Bobby suddenly finds his consciousness transferred into a neighborhood cat that wandered into the house.
Bobby's intellectual abilities (his IQ is 150, but he doesn't act like a genius) have gotten Mr. Dyson, his teacher, very curious and a little spooked. After an encounter at the town library, where it seems as if Bobby has been telepathically communicating with Laura Hartley, the town librarian, she sees another man in the library re-arrange his face. She was not supposed to see that, so, soon afterwards, she is kidnapped by unseen forces, right through a blank wall. Bobby also talks to a local encyclopedia salesman, who, soon after ringing the doorbell at the Martin's, and hearing things he shouldn't have heard, finds his consciousness switched with that of a local cat.
The focus shifts to a complex of caves on the edge of town, where Bobby brings Mr. Dyson (with help from a telepathic suggestion planted in Mr. Dyson's brain). There they find "the Martin's", along with four other town residents who are not exactly what they seem to be.
This book is surprisingly good. It's a "quiet" tale of alien invasion, with real characters, that does a fine job of keeping the reader's interest.
Showing posts with label long. Show all posts
Showing posts with label long. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Thursday, November 1, 2012
The Upside of Fear
The Upside of Fear, Weldon Long, Greenleaf BookGroup Press, 2009
This is the true story of one man's journey from rags to riches.
The author was a twenty-something alcoholic high school dropout; overall, a pretty dislikable person. One night, driving around in his pickup, he picks up a hitchhiker. Fueled by large amounts of beer and cocaine, they rob a couple of businessmen coming out of a Colorado restaurant. They are arrested later that night, which begins a decade-long journey through the criminal justice system.
After several years in prison, he is sent to a halfway house. While living with his son and second wife, he commits several armed robberies. In prison for the second time, the author begins to realize that his life does not have to be a downward spiral. He reads every book he can find on success, from authors like Napoleon Hill, Wayne Dyer and Stephen Covey, and begins to take it to heart. While out for the second time, he gets involved in shady telemarketing, and finds that he is really good at it. For a time, he runs his own "boiler room," until the authorities catch up with him. A central part of his new philosophy is to take responsibility for his actions, which means a third trip to prison on federal fraud charges.
The biggest reason for wanting to change his life is to not be an emotionally distant father to his son, like his father was to him. In prison, he gets his GED, a Bachelor's degree in Law, and then an MBA. To show how much he has changed, he saves a guard's life (not a path to popularity in prison). Out of prison again, he gets a sales job for a heating company, and is really good at it. After a couple of layoffs, perhaps for being "too good" or "too ambitious," he and Wife #3 start their own heating company, which becomes very successful.
Long does a fine job of showing how anyone can change their life. No one is beyond help. The first steps are to want to change, and then to visualize yourself as a changed person.
This is the true story of one man's journey from rags to riches.
The author was a twenty-something alcoholic high school dropout; overall, a pretty dislikable person. One night, driving around in his pickup, he picks up a hitchhiker. Fueled by large amounts of beer and cocaine, they rob a couple of businessmen coming out of a Colorado restaurant. They are arrested later that night, which begins a decade-long journey through the criminal justice system.
After several years in prison, he is sent to a halfway house. While living with his son and second wife, he commits several armed robberies. In prison for the second time, the author begins to realize that his life does not have to be a downward spiral. He reads every book he can find on success, from authors like Napoleon Hill, Wayne Dyer and Stephen Covey, and begins to take it to heart. While out for the second time, he gets involved in shady telemarketing, and finds that he is really good at it. For a time, he runs his own "boiler room," until the authorities catch up with him. A central part of his new philosophy is to take responsibility for his actions, which means a third trip to prison on federal fraud charges.
The biggest reason for wanting to change his life is to not be an emotionally distant father to his son, like his father was to him. In prison, he gets his GED, a Bachelor's degree in Law, and then an MBA. To show how much he has changed, he saves a guard's life (not a path to popularity in prison). Out of prison again, he gets a sales job for a heating company, and is really good at it. After a couple of layoffs, perhaps for being "too good" or "too ambitious," he and Wife #3 start their own heating company, which becomes very successful.
Long does a fine job of showing how anyone can change their life. No one is beyond help. The first steps are to want to change, and then to visualize yourself as a changed person.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
If Your Dreams are Big Enough, The Facts Don't Count!
If Your Dreams are Big Enough, The Facts Don't Count!, Michael S. Long and Karl Williams, Massey-Reyner Publishing, 1999
This is the autobiography of Long, who was born in 1962 with mild cerebral palsy and mental retardation as a result of the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck at birth. Growing up on a California walnut farm, it would have been very easy for his parents to put him in the disabled "system,"
sheltered workshops, special classes, etc. But his parents were determined to raise him as normally as possible, so Long spent his school years in regular classes.
Long does a fine job talking about his experiences in school, a mostly forgettable time. If the problem wasn't that the school work was too much for him, then it was being picked on by the other students. In, and after, high school, when it came to the opposite sex, Long made friends very easily. But, when he suggested a more serious relationship, they backed off, because of his disabilities. After graduating from high school, Long told his parents that he realized they had to keep him in the regular classes, but except for one high school course in government, he hated school.
After high school, Long discovered a talent as a motivational speaker. Working for a regional organization for the disabled in northern California, he traveled all over the region (by bus or getting a ride with others) giving talks on disabled issues. His eloquence really comes through in this book. Speaking to civic groups and special education teacher candidates, he attracted attention in
Sacramento, California's capital. In 1992, Governor Pete Wilson appointed him Consumer Coordinator in the Department of Developmental Services, the first disabled person appointed to a state-wide position in America.
This book works on a couple of levels. It's a very well done look at life with a disability, as seen from the "inside." It's also a fine motivational book that shows that anyone can achieve great things. For those who think that life is too difficult, read about someone who started with less than most people.
This is the autobiography of Long, who was born in 1962 with mild cerebral palsy and mental retardation as a result of the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck at birth. Growing up on a California walnut farm, it would have been very easy for his parents to put him in the disabled "system,"
sheltered workshops, special classes, etc. But his parents were determined to raise him as normally as possible, so Long spent his school years in regular classes.
Long does a fine job talking about his experiences in school, a mostly forgettable time. If the problem wasn't that the school work was too much for him, then it was being picked on by the other students. In, and after, high school, when it came to the opposite sex, Long made friends very easily. But, when he suggested a more serious relationship, they backed off, because of his disabilities. After graduating from high school, Long told his parents that he realized they had to keep him in the regular classes, but except for one high school course in government, he hated school.
After high school, Long discovered a talent as a motivational speaker. Working for a regional organization for the disabled in northern California, he traveled all over the region (by bus or getting a ride with others) giving talks on disabled issues. His eloquence really comes through in this book. Speaking to civic groups and special education teacher candidates, he attracted attention in
Sacramento, California's capital. In 1992, Governor Pete Wilson appointed him Consumer Coordinator in the Department of Developmental Services, the first disabled person appointed to a state-wide position in America.
This book works on a couple of levels. It's a very well done look at life with a disability, as seen from the "inside." It's also a fine motivational book that shows that anyone can achieve great things. For those who think that life is too difficult, read about someone who started with less than most people.
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