Unfettered Letters

Why now, Scott McClellan?

The media and White House surrogates are atwitter about Scott McClellan’s new book with its revelations about the inner workings of our government (5/29, A-1, “Insider faults run-up to war”). Why didn’t McClellan speak up sooner? Why did he not speak louder, and why now? Keep in mind that McClellan’s job as press secretary was to present the administration’s point of view as favorably as possible. That he did. He was not there to critique the president or the administration.

Hundreds of others were in the same position: the Cabinet members who did not agree with many programs, the senior managers in the Pentagon and the hundreds of generals in the field witnessing the mess in Afghanistan and Iraq.

We need only look to Colin Powell, as competent a soldier who has worn the uniform, being a good soldier and going along with the program. Hindsight provides a clearer picture. The truth often hurts.

Robert W. Johnson
Olathe

Why is Scott McClellan publishing a book that bashes the administration he represented as press secretary?

McClellan has said “I fell far short of living up to the kind of public servant I wanted to be.” Was he without morals, naive, misled or stupid?

Why, all of a sudden, does he feel the need to have a public confession? Is it the need to clear his conscience or the way to stab some enemies in the back? Might be a little of both, but I doubt it. After all, he could have resigned anytime.

I submit it is for money. Now that he has joined the Bush-bashers he will sell many more books. Nice way to make millions more.

Glad he is not one of my friends. What a man to trust. I find it hard to believe he has the public’s interest at heart.

John H. Brown Jr.
Independence

Views on What Happened

Democrats and their allies in the media are claiming that Scott McClellan’s new book confirms that the Bush administration deliberately lied about Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction (5/29, A-1, “Insider faults run-up to war”).

I think it’s important to keep this issue in its proper perspective. For more than a decade prior to the invasion of Iraq in 2003, there was a bipartisan, multi-administration and multinational consensus that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

“The consensus was the same, from the Clinton administration to the Bush administration,” said Sen. Hillary Clinton in 2004. “It was the same intelligence belief that our allies and friends around the world shared.”

Kevin Groenhagen
Lawrence

Political spin is an amazing thing. Does anyone really think that former White House secretary Scott McClellan’s memoir, What Happened, revealed something new?

The Bush administration has been spinning tales for many years now. The only thing this book does is corroborate, from an insider, what all of us “outsiders” believe to be true in the first place.

Susan F. Weiner
Overland Park

Only Bush loyalists are surprised by Scott McClellan’s charges of Bush’s mismanagement, blundering, and arrogance. While present Bush staffers and friends like Karl Rove — once known as “Bush’s Brain” — are feeling “sad” and “puzzled,” they’re not denying McClellan’s claims, such as the use of propaganda to sell this disastrous war.

Those who have never been Bush fans find Scott McClellan’s new conscience welcome but much too late.

Steve Walker
Kansas City

Scott “Judas” McClellan should go to Iran and Iraq for a book signing and express his personal guilt and give his book money to the Iran University School of Journalism and Loyalty.

He could take Obama Airlines and fly over New York City and check out the skyline and see if any buildings are missing.

While over there, he could stop and check out the Marine barracks in Lebanon. I forgot, that is gone, too, plus more than 200 Marines.

David L Davis
Leavenworth

Ex-press secretary’s book

Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan admits in his new book that President Bush misled the American public on the war in Iraq (5/29, A-1, “Insider faults run-up to war; Explosive memoirs draw counterattack from colleagues who accuse him of disloyalty”). McClellan is not a politician, but rather an insider in the know.

This war has caused countless thousands of deaths of Iraqis, more than 4,000 deaths of U.S. soldiers, untold suffering and has cost the American public billions of dollars.

I cannot help but remember the fury and public outrage over former President Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky. The press went crazy over oral sex and yet remains nearly silent at proof that President Bush lied repeatedly and deceived the country.

Perhaps it is the fault of you and me, who react more to an affair than an illegal invasion of another country. And perhaps it is the fault of you and me, who think that our press is not manipulated by politics.

Christopher J. Varady
Kansas City

Scott McClellan’s revelations should surprise no one. Whether President Bush was led willingly or duped into invading Iraq will be debated by historians.

The real question is the objective of those who persuaded Bush to invade Iraq. What did these people want? Were American interests secondary to their objectives? Who and why are the real questions.

Al Elton
Leawood

Plastic surgery book for kids

After reading about the children’s book about plastic surgery (5/12, FYI, “Nip and tuck hits kids lit; Plastic surgeon writes book to ease kids’ fears about their moms’ pending makeovers”), I find myself a little disturbed.

First of all, I am concerned about the fact that children are afraid of plastic surgery. Children are often described as the most honest human beings. If plastic surgery is frightening to them, then perhaps we should all take another look at the practice.

Secondly, I am very disturbed with the small glimpses I saw of the book. Lines such as “Not just different, my dear, prettier!” are particularly terrifying to me. What message is this book really sending? To me, this book sends the message that beauty is only skin deep and must be acquired by any means, even surgery.

My own mother complains of the saggy stomach she has acquired from bearing seven children. However, I still consider her a very beautiful woman. Instead of a book for children about plastic surgery, perhaps a book is needed for adults about true beauty.

Mary Clara Hutchison
Kansas City

Barbara Walters’ poor example

Apparently if everything is correct that Barbara Walters writes about in her new autobiography, Walters has fooled the world (5/2, A-6, “Walters reveals affair; Her relationship with a married black senator in the ’70s could have cost their careers, she says.”)

The “View” ladies have always limited their “shady” topics when Walters was on the set so as not to offend the prudish, proper “lady.” Now they must know that anything goes.

She and those who have been interviewing her seem proud of her illicit affair. Wouldn’t you think Walters would be more concerned about the example she could set for young journalists and leave her tales of adultery for her biographers?

No wonder Walters had trouble raising a daughter. Someone should have suggested that setting a proper example would have been the best way to go.

I can’t believe she is able to face the nation with her stories of illicit affairs. Oh well, that’s what sells books. Shame on her.

B.J. Taylor
Overland Park

Terrific Star cookbook

I’ve have read the “Eating for Life” series each week in the Food section and have tried many of the delicious recipes, which are easy to prepare and reasonably affordable. I recently received the new Eating for Life cookbook as a gift from my husband and want to pass along my compliments to Jill Wendholt Silva and The Star for producing one of the best cookbooks I’ve seen.

Eating for Life was well thought out and great attention has been given to every detail. The size of the book is perfect, the binding is fabulous and the pages are a visual treat with healthy recipes in a crisp, easy-to-read format and beautiful colors. I’m also learning a lot from the tips supplied with each recipe. It’s packed with information without being overwhelming. I highly recommend it as an addition to every cook’s library.

Janet Goss
Leawood

Educational gifts

Great teacher

I enjoyed reading the thoughtful Tribute about William Jewell College professor emeritus of communication Georgia Bessie Bowman “College teacher guided many” (12/18 obituaries) and the letter about “Books make great gifts” that appeared in the Dec. 18 Star Local section.

A great teacher like Georgia is like a good Christmas gift that can last a lifetime.

I was a student who appreciated both communication and writing teachers in 1976-79, during my education at Bonner Springs High School, and then 1979-83 at the University of Kansas. I ended up becoming an adjunct instructor in speech and English at Kansas City Kansas Community College from 1987-2005. And I have been a part-time, freelance sports journalist for more than 25 years. I believe my gifted teachers developed a gifted writer. Both are wonderful blessings to think about this Christmas.

I also think books do make great gifts, especially for children now that so many toys have become problems for families due to the recalls. Today I still enjoy laughing at Dr. Seuss, feeling tenderhearted over Winnie the Pooh, relating to all the Charlie Brown characters and appreciating many old Walt Disney stories. Stories from movies like “Bambi” and “Mary Poppins” I hope never leave the shelves.

Mark Lee
Bonner Springs

Gift of reading

How wonderful to feature the importance of reading to children on the front page! Reading together with your children at bedtime or anytime helps prepare them for success in school. Reading, talking and holding your children nourishes the developing brain, builds vocabulary and encourages self-confidence. Reading together can instill a lifelong love of reading and learning.

You are your child’s first, most important and influential teacher. Taking just 10 minutes from your busy day to explore a book with your child will make a difference. Talk to your kids when you’re riding in the car or shopping. Play and laugh with them, read with your children — enjoy the work of preparing them for lifelong success.

The Family Conservancy is committed to helping families raise children. You will find more tips for championing children’s healthy development by visiting our Web site at www.thefamilyconservancy.org.

Betsy Vander Velde
Executive director, the Family Conservancy
Shawnee

A different book

Perhaps for soldiers called to fight W’s war in Iraq, Don Quixote would be a more appropriate choice of book than the Bible.

John Van Horn
Kansas City

Books make great gifts

I am a school library teacher in Shawnee Mission. I have heard and read in the news that there are fewer toys being donated for Christmas collections this year in Kansas City, probably because of all the recall lists and the imported toys with lead or other chemicals that could harm children. Instead of toys, why don’t we give books to these donation centers?

Books are available for children of all ages, from board books for babies through books of interest to teens and even for parents.

Everyone needs books!

Reading improves our minds, and educational research clearly shows that reading and being read to frequently, from a very early age, correlate with success in school.

I know from experience as a teacher that books and stories can touch the heart, teach important lessons and give hope.

If you’re in the mood to donate something this holiday season, how about some good books?

Nancy Craig
Shawnee

Bibles for troops

“As Commander-in-Chief, I take pleasure in commending the reading of the Bible to all who serve in the armed forces of the United States. Throughout the centuries, men of many faiths and diverse origins have found in the sacred book words of wisdom, counsel and inspiration. It is a fountain of strength and now as always, an aid in attaining the highest aspirations of the human soul.”

After reading this, liberal Democrats must be screaming, “Bush doesn’t believe in separation of church and state!” “Bush wants a theocracy!” “This is state sponsored religion!” Lee Judge must be foaming at the mouth with ideas for another anti-Bush cartoon. Five per week just aren’t enough.

Read on my misguided, politically correct liberal friends. You will find this quotation of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s, inside the brass plated pocket Bibles given to our heroes that served in WWII. The government giving out Bibles! Sorry Dems, it’s true.

God bless our troops.

Steve Nelson
Parkville

Dictionary Project

This month, we celebrated the 249th anniversary of the birth of Noah Webster. Born on Oct. 16, 1758, Noah Webster felt that the citizens of this new country could not thrive without a dictionary that reflected the words and ideas of its citizens. And now, in 2007, we still believe that this is true.

This month, volunteers from all over the metropolitan area have been presenting personal dictionaries to more than 25,000 third-graders in our community.

Volunteers from the Chiefs Red Coaters, from Sprint, from the area’s Optimist, Kiwanis and Rotary clubs, as well as dozens of individuals and companies, have been helping kids explore the wonderful world of words.

Thanks to their support, Dictionary Project is able to ensure that every third-grader in the 12-county metropolitan area is offered a dictionary. Now in its sixth year, Dictionary Project Kansas City and its partners and supporters have been able to provide more than 100,000 dictionaries to our area kids, free of charge.

While we do not yet have volunteers to present in all of our community’s schools, we are well on our way to ensuring that every one of our kids can say, “I can look it up myself!”

Christopher Hope
Executive director, Dictionary Project Kansas City

Bernstein on book tour

It was nice to see that Carl Bernstein has joined the long list of the anciently famous who still make the rounds living off of their past fame and showing up for book events.

Mr. Bernstein grins like an opossum while favoring us with such penetrating observations as the Bush presidency is “a catastrophe” and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is worse than Watergate conspirator John Mitchell.

Then, astonishingly, he bemoans the atmosphere of intolerance, partisanship and hostility.

Did they not teach the concept of irony at whatever diploma mill gave him his sheepskin?

James B. Jackson
Kansas City

Wrong about Thomas, book

I was offended by Barbara Shelly’s description of Clarence Thomas in her column (10/5, Opinion, “Why is Thomas reliving this bizarre chapter?”). She seems intent on focusing on a small part of his book where he talked about Anita Hill. During his interviews, he talked about how Hill was just a tool that the left used to smear him and he had little else to say about her.

I watched every interview Thomas did this past week, and I saw a man whose theme in life is not to dwell on anger or revenge. I think Shelly must have missed these interviews because she couldn’t have watched them and concluded that he had a “chip on his shoulder.” I saw the exact opposite and find him remarkably healthy after what he suffered through.

We don’t get to choose whether we go through trials in life, but we can choose how we respond to them. Thomas’ response and life story is an inspiration to us all.

Dee Vantuyl
Kansas City

Mother Teresa

When I read of Mother Teresa’s struggle with doubt in God and her faith, I recalled what Dale McConnell, a former pastor, said: “Faith is believing and doubting but acting on the belief.”

I believe that is what she did.

Dorothy Gregg
Kansas City

Mother Teresa book

Regarding Nicole Montgomery’s comments that “It is extremely disrespectful and insulting for the church to publish Mother Teresa’s personal letters” (8/30, Letters), she should do a little more research on why the letters were published and by whom.

First, the Catholic Church never published Mother Teresa’s letters; it was done by the Rev. Brian Kolodiejchuk, the priest who is petitioning for her sainthood and collecting the supporting materials. Does this sound like someone who has it in for her?

Second, the real reason why he has done this is because many feel her book will eventually rank with St. Augustine’s Confessions and Thomas Merton’s The Seven Storey Mountain as an autobiography of spiritual ascent. Her book may be remembered as just as important as her ministry to the poor. It would be a ministry to people who had experienced some doubt, some “silence of God,” as Pope Benedict XVI calls it, in their lives.

Do you know who that is? Everybody. Atheists, doubters, seekers, believers, everyone.

Harry McAleavy
Olathe

Phone book trouble

In response to Dianne Reed’s letter (8/20) about receiving four Feist phone books: You say that the phone book is a thing of the past, but why express this opinion in such a dated medium as the newspaper? Do you not have a blog or a MySpace page to whine to the world with?

There are some old-fashioned things that work just fine. The phone book and the newspaper fall into this category.

Also, Feist is owned by Yellow Book (an independent phone book which has nothing to do with the phone company). Your actual local telephone company in Overland Park is AT&T (which is required by the Public Utilities Commission to provide you with your telephone listings).

Keep the AT&T book — it might come in handy if your computer crashes — and throw out the Feist book(s).

Daniel Jones
Lee’s Summit

Growing with books

Congratulations to St. Teresa student Kate Rainey for her brilliant article about regretfully outgrowing Harry Potter (7/29, A+E, “Dear Harry: It’s over between us”).

At a time when most people don’t even read books, I’m glad there are still young people like her seeking ever-greater reading challenges. I hope she reads The Great Gatsby and Elmer Gantry, both “kick you in the stomach” books when they were written in the mid-1920s. They never grow old, as evidenced by today’s newspaper headlines.

Barbara Barton
Kansas City

Potter, Potter and more Potter

Too much Potter

I truly am pleased that so many children (and, apparently, adults) have discovered a love for reading as a result of the Harry Potter series, but I feel that I speak for the silent masses when I say, “Enough already with the stories in the paper!”

I don’t know if The Star is attempting to break some kind of record for consecutive publications containing something about Harry Potter, but it sure seems like it.

Here’s a little secret: Most people who read the paper every day already like to read.

The fact that during the past few weeks The Star has given front-page coverage to a fictional teen-aged wizard instead of — oh, I don’t know — actual events is insulting.

Thanks to David Magnuson (7/26, Letters) for sharing his opinion. “Pottermania” is starting to annoy the spell out of me, too.

Keenan Stump
Kansas City

Never enough Potter

I am writing this letter as a response to a letter published a few days ago regarding Harry Potter. This reader was upset about the amount of media coverage the arrival of the seventh book was receiving.

Would he rather be bombarded by Lindsay Lohan’s mug shot, footage of Britney Spears’ breakdown and live footage of Paris Hilton’s release from jail?

Personally, I would rather watch news celebrating the fact that our youth are enthusiastic about literature than news about some no-talent celebrity getting arrested or going crazy.

Harry Potter has increased the number of children reading all around the world. It is important to continue promoting all the great things Harry Potter has done and attempt to instill positive ideals in the children of today, rather than encouraging reckless behavior.

Keeley Farmar
Shawnee

Reading power

Of books and magic

As a pediatrician and the president of Kansas City’s magic club, I am pleased with the publicity accompanying the release of the last Harry Potter book.

Many pediatricians participate in the “Turn a Page-Touch a Mind” literacy program sponsored by the Kansas Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. We are fortunate to be able to give books to our patients, for free, from age 6 months through 5 years. The excitement on the faces of the kids when they receive books is priceless. The effort is designed to promote literacy at a very early age.

Recently we have been seeing kids getting their school physicals. Many of our school-age patients are carrying and reading copies of Harry’s book. I am thrilled to see kids reading. Any “cultural phenomenon” that encourages our future adults to read is worthy of front-page media attention.

Our local Ring 129 of the International Brotherhood of Magicians is also enjoying the “hocus pocus” aspect of J.K. Rowling’s frenzy. More people are attending our club meetings and shows for the fun and excitement of magic.

Thanks for the publicity this fun adventure in reading and entertainment has brought to kids and adults worldwide.

Michael Blum
Overland Park

Teach someone to read

At the Literacy Kansas City site where I volunteer, I see students of all ages, races and walks of life. One in five U.S. adults cannot read at a functional level. For a person who can’t read, the dream of winning the Powerball pales in comparison to the dream of access to the written word.

For the cost of 90 minutes twice a week, you can be someone’s winning Powerball ticket.

No, you don’t need teaching skills. The only credentials needed are that you can read and are willing to give your time to a person who wants to read.

Literacy Kansas City provides materials with step-by-step guidance. You are matched with one student and meet at a time and location convenient for you.

For an adult in our society to admit to not being able to read takes enormous courage. Currently there are far more who have taken this leap of faith and want to learn to read than there are available volunteer tutors. So they wait. For someone like you.

Why not be someone’s winning ticket? Your only cost is time. The payoff is watching hope rise like the sun in someone’s eyes.

Call 816-333-9332 or send e-mail to Info@LiteracyKC.org.

Edna Talboy
Kansas City

Harry Potter books

We should celebrate reading

I, for one, am overjoyed to see all the interest in the Harry Potter books. Who cares whether J.K. Rowling is making a lot of money? When was the last time so much mania was created over a book? You see it all the time about movies, music and television. But reading is entirely different. Words take on different mental images in each person’s head as they read.

There were two very different letters Tuesday: one from a Literacy Kansas City volunteer, pleading for tutors, and one from David Magnuson, bemoaning the coverage of the Harry Potter release. Mr. Magnuson, open your eyes. There are 225,000 adults in the area who are functionally illiterate, and The Star extols the virtues of reading by covering the release.

Yes, it is an economic boon to the author and publisher. But how can you place a dollar amount on literacy? How can you downplay the fact that 8.3 million copies of the book were sold in the United States alone on the first day to people who wanted to and were able to read it?

Mr. Magnuson, instead of complaining about those who have money, why don’t you get out and do something to help? There are plenty more people in the Kansas City area who, I am sure, would love to be able to read Dr. Seuss, much less Harry Potter. Be a part of the solution and stop being a critic.

Bill Eggleston
Lee’s Summit

So David Magnuson (7/24, “Enough Potter hype”) thinks that too much has been made of the new Harry Potter book, and that author J.K. Rowling is “laughing all the way to the bank.” I’m not personally a fan of the books, and my son is years too young for them, but I am extremely pleased that the entire country was waiting with intense excitement and glee for the arrival of a book (as opposed to the newest tacky TV competition or “reality” show, or a new brand of shoes manufactured in developing nations).

I read that Rowling is the richest woman in England. Would Mr. Magnuson feel more comfortable if England’s richest woman were the CEO of an oil company?

If he is so bothered by coverage of hundreds of thousands of happy children and their parents attending book-release parties, perhaps he should confine his reading to the sports section for a couple of days. Of course, obscene overpayment for truly unimportant accomplishments is rather common in those pages.

Emily Lauterbach
Kansas City

Enough Potter hype

I understand that the Harry Potter books and movies are a cultural phenomenon, but is that any reason that the release of the last book in the series is one of the top stories on the local news and that every station had a reporter camped out at some bookstore for the sale at 12:01 am Friday night? I’m sure J.K. Rowling is laughing all the way to the bank, and should send some royalty checks to all the stations that made such a big deal out of a nonevent.

David Magnuson
Kearney

Type too small

I read that the AT&T white page phone book is shrinking (6/26, A-1, “In age of cell phones and the Internet, the White Pages just keep shrinking”).

Perhaps they could use those extra pages to increase the tiny font size to where it used to be so that we baby boomers with bifocals can read the names and numbers without a magnifying glass!

Jim Beemer
Blue Springs

Book stores’ protest

I availed myself of Prospero’s Books’ offer to pick up free books before they are to be burned (6/16, As I See It, “Reading’s decline is our legacy”) and came across a volume in nice condition of Kipling’s Plain Tales from the Hills. Inside the front cover is this quote from Thomas Carlyle: “Of all the things which man can do or make here below, by far the most momentous, wonderful, and worthy are the things we call books.”

Randy Attwood
Kansas City

The slow death of reading

Enough, already! What the critics of Prospero’s Books (6/1 and 6/2, Letters) should be more upset about is the actual point of the entire “self-indulgent publicity stunt.”
A 2004 NEA survey found that from 1982 to 2002 reading dropped in all groups studied, with the largest decrease (28 percent) occurring among the youngest readers.
It gets worse.
The study also documented “an overall decline...in literary readers” during this period. It further said, “The rate of decline is increasing and...has nearly tripled in the last decade.”
Over half of the American adult population doesn’t read if it isn’t required!
Readers are more involved in their communities, in politics and in the arts.
You want to destroy a culture? You don’t have to burn a book. Don’t read. It is that simple.
Instead of simply throwing away books that Prospero’s couldn’t even give away, they chose to create something that would spark a dialogue about the slow, horrible death of reading in this country.
Literacy Kansas City needs you (816-333-9332).
Do you know someone who will actually take a donation? Take them some books. Today.
Kara Werner
Kansas City
Editor’s note: Werner is married to Will Leathem, co-owner of Prospero’s Books.

Book-burning protest

I just read the article online regarding the bookstore owner in Kansas City who is burning books (5/28, Local, “A modern-day book burning; Midtown shop owner protests what he sees as a diminishing support for the printed word”).
Recently I learned of Operation Paperback (www.operationpaperback.org). This is an organization that collects and then sends recycled paperbacks to our troops.
What a waste to burn when these books could bring some pleasure and relief to our men and women in the military. This is surely a better solution than burning them.
Rhonda Sitzes
Bella Vista, Ark.

Tom Wayne’s decision to burn books is nothing less than appalling. He was free to thin his inventory privately without an egocentric media-driven bonfire.
His “funeral pyre for thought in America” seems more a personal whine about his lack of sales than woe for the demise of the written word. It was also a blanket societal insult to us read-for-pleasure-and-for-education adults.
As in my area, the books probably would be welcome in Kansas City area nursing homes, senior centers, rehabilitation centers or — as a last resort — boxed at curbside or at a trash bin where some would surely find takers.
Applause for your firefighters for putting out the fire. I hope that Wayne will be barred from further pyromania.
June Jurek
Brockton, Mass.

Book burning?

Stunt not productive

Tom Wayne’s perverted logic has caused him to turn against the very thing he allegedly loves: books (5/28, Local, “A modern-day book burning; Midtown shop owner protests what he sees as a diminishing support for the printed word”).

Not long ago I culled through my books and took a bunch to Prospero’s. When I came back later, I had a chunk of credit waiting in exchange for some of the books. The rest, he said, he threw away. OK. Well, they were a little musty, but jeez.

Next time I walk into the store, I find that Tom has skewered a tall stack of hardbacks to create a tottering tower. Not a new idea, but eye-opening. As I left the store that day, I walked past a pile of books set out in the rain to melt into a papier-mache mess before being thrown in the trash bin.

And now he’s burning the things and getting more attention and adulation from his peers who “love” books.

I’m sorry, but this display of angst is more suited to a preteen than a grown man. If he can’t sell his books, then maybe the issue is a sales problem, and not that people don’t appreciate books anymore.

Perrin Blackman
Kansas City

What a self-indulgent publicity stunt. This man mismanaged his store inventory over the years and is now blaming society.

When he tried to donate the books, no doubt he went to the library and said, “Hey, I’ve got 20,000 books I want you to take,” then became indignant when they said they couldn’t take that many.

It would take effort on his part to give small amounts of books to many entities — schools, libraries, senior centers. Heck, give them away on the street.

But instead he called the press and staged a protest, which only demonstrated the self-interest and media pandering that are the real drain on society’s intelligence.

Margo Morgan
Denver

How disheartening that today, when newspapers are struggling for subscribers, The Star would not only publish an article about the printed word being destroyed but would show it in a photo.

Tom Wayne makes his point — that reading for pleasure is in decline — by burning books he can’t sell for a profit. Did he not hear about the high school student who collected books in his neighborhood so that Children’s Mercy Hospital would have reading material to offer patients as well as visitors? Is he not aware that schools in those areas devastated by weather have lost all of their books? Has he never heard that, for people of all ages who are just learning to read, any printed word is something to be used for practice?

Barbie J. Dierks
Overland Park

Literary Festival

The Kansas City Literary Festival was a wonderful event. My husband, Louis, and I participated as exhibitors, hoping to promote our first book, Adventures in the Vortex, and our small publishing company, Rune Publications.

We had so much fun talking to book lovers of all ages. Everyone seemed to be thrilled with the festival. “I canceled a meeting to be here. I wish I’d known about this sooner,” one woman told us. Nearly everyone we talked with agreed, “It’s about time Kansas City did something like this.”

Beautiful weather, three stages featuring authors reading from their works and dozens of booths devoted to all things literary made for a perfect day. For our part, being filmed by KCPT for a documentary about the festival, then catching sight of numerous people in the crowd carrying copies of our book were magical highlights we’ll never forget. We’re absolutely looking forward to next year.

Lane Lambert
Merriam

Congratulations and many thanks to those who were responsible for the recent Literary Festival. Listening to authors and poets like Malachy McCourt and Ted Kooser will be one of our favorite memories for years. We look forward to a repeat next year.

A special thanks to the person in the information booth who, after hearing that I lost my reading glasses, set up a lost-and-found location and took my name and phone number. Within an hour, my phone rang because some kind person had returned my glasses. You have reinforced my faith that goodness is alive and well. We were twice blessed that day.

Violet Huey
Kansas City

Man up, book club

The article on the domination of book clubs by women (5/13, A+E) offers an unfair stereotype of men.

As a rare male participant in a book club, let me offer an equally unfair stereotype of the typical book-club selection: “A young girl, intelligent beyond her years, rebels against a well-meaning but tragically flawed mother. A crisis arises. Angry words are exchanged. A wise friend intervenes. Mother and daughter learn to love one another and rejoice in their differences.”

It’s like one big “Cathy” comic — all talk and no action.

Not every book is this bad. As I said, it’s a stereotype.

Men do indeed read. We read graphic novels, horror, science fiction — books with action. If all your book club choices are mawkish “coming of age” stories, try something different like 300 by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley, a book drenched in testosterone.

Steve Simon
Leawood

Honest, not anti-Semitic

The Star printed an excerpt from the New York Daily News (2/1, Opinion, U.S. Excerpts). It claims Jimmy Carter is anti-Semitic because, it says, Carter’s book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, is “dripping with malevolence” toward Israel. I read the book. I didn’t see even one drop of malevolence. What I did see are innumerable reasons why some pro-Israel extremists are terrified that people will read it.

Holly Franking
Leawood

Book about death penalty

It’s obvious that Larry Martin (12/11, Letters) supports the death penalty. It’s also obvious that he hasn’t bothered to research his position. Due to space limitations, I’ll focus on just one of his “facts”: That it serves as a crime deterrent.

According to research done by Joan M. Cheever, who wrote Back from the Dead (2006), in 1972 when the death penalty was abolished for a short time, 589 death row inmates were given a second chance at life. She followed 322 of them and discovered that only 36 returned to prison on violent crime charges. Out of that number, seven were convicted of murder and manslaughter.

Seems to me prison is enough deterrent.

The phrase “throw out the baby with the bathwater” doesn’t even fit here. We only need to change the baby’s bathwater.

You can read about Cheever’s book here: www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/chronicle/4093082.html.

Dolores Owen
Kansas City

Like Cruz Smith novel

Have any other fans of Martin Cruz Smith’s detective Arkady Renko (Gorky Park) noticed the similarity in the real murder of ex-KGB spy Alexander Litvinenko to the one in Cruz Smith’s Wolves Eat Dogs?

In this sequel, Renko has to solve the murder of an ex-KGB official by unknown means. He discovers that the ex-official was killed by the use of a minute quantity of the radioactive element cesium.

Guess the real killers couldn’t find any cesium handy and had to make do with polonium.

Does this mean that reformed Soviets are still cadging Western ideas?

David McBrayer
Kansas City

Great libraries in KC

I’m a resident of Kansas City, and the service our public library system performs is second to none. Getting books from the library in a timely manner has been a great service.

My hat is off to the best service the city provides: the Kansas City Public Library.

Garry Gribble
Kansas City

O.J. Simpson book

O.J. Simpson has a new book out called If I Did It, in which he “hypothetically” details how he would have killed his wife and Ron Goldman (11/16, A-3).

Not to be outdone, I also read that God has a new book out titled When I Send O.J. Simpson to Burn in Hell Forever.

In an interview, God said his book should be considered just as hypothetical as Mr. Simpson’s.

Bob Jenkins
Kansas City, Kan.

Radical Islam

I will get a copy of the book suggested by Pat Bivins (11/6, Letters). I also suggest The West’s Last Chance and While Europe Slept. These are nonpolitical and informative books on the subject of Islamic radicals and terrorism.

Einar Swanson
Leawood

Mickey Spillane

I’ve enjoyed The Star’s coverage of Mickey Spillane on his recent passing. Although never a favorite of the literati, Spillane was one of the best-selling writers in the world at the height of his popularity in the 1950s. Film writer Paddy Chayefsky had one of butcher Marty’s pals, in the movie “Marty,” speak for the common man: “Oh, that Mickey Spillane — boy, he can really write.”

Spillane attended my alma mater, Fort Hays State University, in 1939. Ironically, he received a low grade in English there.

The college was nonetheless very proud of its former student, using him to lead a large fundraising campaign in the 1990s and to serve as grand marshal of its 1987 homecoming parade. He also received the school’s Distinguished Service Alumni Award in 1992.

On one of Spillane’s last visits to Fort Hays, a friend of mine asked him whether he was still writing. “Only when I need the @!#$%& money,” he barked.

They don’t make ’em like that anymore.

Larry Heffel
Lenexa

Great library

Linda Hall Library (5/21, Star Magazine) was one of my pleasant surprises when Yellow Freight Systems brought me into Kansas City in the fall of 1981.

I’ve spent 40 years in around the trucking industry, mainly in traffic departments dealing with tariffs and having to be familiar with all types of lading (freight/cargo). When I couldn’t come up with an answer with the references on hand, I went to Linda Hall Library. I’ve never been disappointed. The facts and answers are there.

I now work as an outside transportation auditor. My source of hard facts is still Linda Hall Library.

The Star’s article was great, and it pleased me that the article brought out the diverse information available.

Bill Kauffman
Raytown

Movie controversy

With the release of the movie this past weekend, the debate has been stirred up once again. Pastors are preaching sermons. Water cooler conversations abound. But after much thought and detailed research, I have solved “The Da Vinci Code” once and for all. As with most great mysteries, the answer was in plain sight the entire time. I found it on the spine of the book. It says “fiction.”

Brian E. Carrender
Blue Springs

Movie claptrap

In all the uproar about the movie “The Da Vinci Code” (particularly from the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church), I would offer some homespun advice: You can’t talk yourself out of a situation you have behaved your way into.

Anyone who has studied religion or history knows that Dan Brown obviously subscribes to the theory of “don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story.” It’s a pretty good thriller, but historically it’s claptrap.

Students of religion and history also know that actions of some Catholic civil and religious authorities down through the centuries, from Constantine to the Inquisition to the most recent sexual scandals, give credence to the suspicion that if there was a coverup of some kind, certain elements in the Catholic Church were quite capable of being part of it.

Lest my Protestant friends get too smug about this, much of the anti-Catholic rhetoric over the years has done its part to add fuel to this firestorm.

Ross Warnell
Liberty

Truth or fiction?

With such a plethora of religious organizations scrambling so diligently to disprove all of the ideas presented in Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, I have to wonder how much truth is actually contained in the book. William Shakespeare’s line about protesting too much comes to mind.

Of course, if it turns out that all of Mr. Brown’s hypotheses are accurate, the business of religion will quickly cease to exist. Are religious leaders and organizations so terrified of losing their huge fortunes that they are willing to work so incredibly hard to discredit Mr. Brown?

I have a strong hunch there may be more truth than fiction in Mr. Brown’s writings.

Charles Ballew
Kansas City

Dictionary project

In the midst of the news of the negative exploits of college and professional athletes, it is a delight to see news of positive commitments of local athletes.

Tony Richardson’s move from Kansas City sparked some concern among supporters of the Dictionary Project Kansas City that we would not be able to continue to provide dictionaries to local third graders.

However, Tony has assured us that his roots are deep in Kansas City and that he will continue to support this program publicly and financially in the coming years.

He also will take the knowledge of the excitement that a personal dictionary brings to kids on to Minnesota and will support the efforts of dictionary distribution in his new community.

Thank you, Tony.

Christopher Hope, executive director
Dictionary Project Kansas City
Kansas City