Year in Review, 2007.

Places I've experienced this year (in no particular order):

1. Maui, Hawaii (biking a 10,000 foot volcano, snorkeling Lanai, and whale watching);

2. Montego Bay, Jamaica (ATVing in a jungle);

3. Belize City, Belize (snorkeling);

4. Merida, Mexico (climbing Mayan ruins);

5. Phoenix, Arizona (deposing a recalcitrant witness who pled the 5th throughout);

6. San Jose, California (lecturing);

7. San Francisco, California (lecturing);

8. San Diego, California (sailing);

9. Cozumel, Mexico (snorkeling and riding dune buggies);

10. George Town, Grand Cayman (snorkeling and swimming with stingrays);

11. Laughlin, Nevada (wave running);

12. Acapulco, Mexico (kayaking);

13. Zihuatanejo/Ixtapa, Mexico (snorkeling and wave running);

14. Manzanillo, Mexico (swimming and touring banana farm and other sights);

15. Galveston, Texas (sailing and sightseeing);

16. Seattle, Washington (visiting family); and

17. Portland, Oregon (visiting family).

Books I've read this year (in no particular order):

1. The Assault on Reason by Al Gore (one part insightful analysis of how television, for example, ruins the American political process and other parts anti-Bush screed that bespeak sour grapes);

2. The Truth With Jokes by Al Franken (funny book that exposes disappointing manipulation by those in power);

3. Outrage by Dick Morris and Eileen McGann (foments multifaceted causes for outrage about American politics but little more);

4. Suburban Nation: The Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of the American Dream by Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, and Jeff Speck (explains how the suburban design benefits cars but not people);

5. Portofino by Frank Schaeffer (semi-autobiographical novel that should be read in tandem with Crazy for God, below);

6. Crazy for God by Frank Schaeffer (eye-opening if not eye-popping insight into those involved in the religious right and evangelical circles through Frank Schaeffer's experiences);

7. God's Harvard: A Christian College on a Mission to Save America by Hanna Rosin (reviewed here earlier [for prior reviews simply type in book title into "search blog" box in upper left-hand corner of this blog]);

8. Death Benefit by David Heilbroner (reviewed here earlier);

9. Rough Justice: Days and Nights of a Young D.A. by David Heilbroner (reviewed here earlier);

10. A Mormon in the White House? by Hugh Hewitt (polemic for Presidential candidate Mitt Romney);

11. Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris (reviewed here earlier);

12. The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferriss (reviewed here earlier);

13. The Secret by Rhonda Byrne (reviewed here earlier);

14. The Operator: David Geffen Builds, Buys, and Sells the New Hollywood by Thomas R. King (reviewed here earlier);

15. DisneyWar by James B. Stewart (reviewed here earlier);

16. Den of Thieves by James B. Stewart (reviewed here earlier);

17. Blood Sport by James B. Stewart (reviewed here earlier);

18. Goldman Sachs: The Culture of Success by Lisa Endlich (wordy discussion of Goldman Sachs that reads more like a dry history text than a business text explaining how these leaders created an enviable corporate juggernaut);

19. The Monk and the Riddle: The Education of a Silicon Valley Entrepreneur by Randy Komisar with Kent Lineback (reviewed here earlier);

20. Confessions of a Street Addict by Jim Cramer (reviewed here earlier);

21. Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner with Quincy Trope and Mim Eichler Rivas (reviewed here earlier);

22. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser (reviewed here earlier);

23. g-d is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens (angry, but well-written book that is more an indictment of organized religions than of God, which are not necessarily coterminous); and

24. Before You Quit Your Job by Robert T. Kiyosaki with Sharon L. Lechter (quasi-schizophrenic book where one co-author [Kiyosaki] essentially promotes entrepreneurship as an end where failures are embraced and one takes a more measured approach endorsing prudent, planned entrepreneurship).