SUPER FRANK

This is some book. As a lifelong fan of Douglas Thompson, the Jimmy Greaves of pulp fiction, I am not surprised he brought to life one of football's famously reclusive personalities.

King of the King's Road - no suggestion here of the nasty rumours sweeping the net about Frank's leanings! - and a vital player in England's bid for victory at the 2006 World Cup, Frankie Lampard is a footballer of genuine, dynamic majesty, limited only as Douglas says by his penchant for stodgey food. The East End boy who's become a West End star, he's hailed by fans, women, critics, players and managers worldwide as a player of great value.

So does this book tell us anything new? Yes and no. Yes, we learn that Franky is a rich chap and no we don't know what makes him tick. Even so it's a great beach read. Personally I think Douglas should stick to novels which is where his strength is. Why waste such talent on a footballer of such limited brain power? Douglas was built for bigger things than this.

LAURA : AMERICA'S FIRST LADY,FIRST MOTHER

This book will delight every Laura Bush fan who has followed her journey from the woman who first appeared as a shy, self-conscious shadow behind George W. Bush to her new image as a role model for all American women everywhere. Now we can learn more about Laura without having to resort to reading the tabloids. Antonia Felix has written a fascinating, informative book filled with insider tidbits from Laura's friends and family, showing us a more fully drawn woman than the one we are used to seeing on TV for quick glimpses.

The author takes us on a journey from Laura's birth and childhood to the woman she is today. Her commitment to her marriage and her family is so important to American families today, with all the stresses and bad influences around them. Her mother's recollections of Laura are very revealing and probably the best thing about this book, written with obvious care to detail by Ms.Felix.

IF you're looking for a harsh expose, you'll be disappointed. The author is as respectful of her subject as the First Lady is those around her,starting with her own family. It's about time someone wrote a nice book about a very nice woman who happens to be our First Lady, and is certainly our First Mother.

WALK ON WATER

A real fan of Ruhlman's previous books, I knew that this would make for good reading. Squeemish at times for those of us not use to inside O.R. environments with all the procedures and organs being talked about, this rivets one to pediatric heart surgery.

Fashioned around a premier surgeon at a leading hospital, the reader is taken on a whirlwind of living on the edge of technology and skill and emotions as heart defects are diagnosed during pregnancy while others found at birth and thereafter are the daily routine of this top notch surgical team which Ruhlman lived with and writes about.

One is touched by the intensity of the whole enterprise, the stark reality of it all, day after day, year after year. The enormity of it all. Patching this, switching that, shunting here, stiching this together---all to keep young precious life.

The history of the discipline and current happenings are reviewed, with its emphasis on comparative mortality stats for various surgical procedures. Scary to think one's future might well be determined by where one lives and where taken when heart defects occur.

The precision and dedication of those who live in this arena is beyond most of our scopes to even begin to fathom, but this book seems to take one there in spirit and interest. The compassionate care looms ever large.

Thoughtful, provocative and reflective view of speciality surgery at the leading edge and all the while on edge.