Boys Will Be Boys; The Story of Edgar Sawtelle; The Whole Truth

"Boys Will Be Boys" by Jeff Pearlman was an expose on the Dallas Cowboys dynasty of the 90s. Let me say this up front: I hate the Cowboys. Always have. They're arrogant. That being said, they were an extremely interesting team back then. Sex, drugs, and rock n' roll doesn't even begin to cover their exploits. Pearlman told of players taking limos to practice, transporting hookers to the Super Bowl, and of one player who had the audacity to show up to court ordered rehab with an entourage. Yikes. It was pretty good. I probably won't ever read it again, but it was pretty interesting.
"The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" by David Wroblewski has been getting good buzz over the last few months since it was published, so I was eager to read it. It had a good plot: Edgar was born without the power of speech although he hears just fine. His parents breed and train dogs, and Edgar has a special talent with them, as well as a close connection to Almondine, who has been with him since birth. Critics have called it a modern day "Hamlet", since at the heart of the story is the murder of Edgar's father by his uncle, who then moves into his mother's affections. Edgar knows his uncle is guilty, he just has to find a way to prove it. The characters were interesting and the writing was good, I just didn't like the book. I can't put my finger on why I don't, I just didn't. I probably won't ever read it again.
"The Whole Truth" by Nancy Pickard was a fairly decent mystery set in Florida. Marie is a true crime writer who is covering the case of Ray Raintree, who murdered a little deaf girl. Raintree manages to escape after being found guilty in court, and Marie learns that he was actually abducted as a child himself and meets his family, who has been wondering for 22 years what had happened to him. It was pretty good, but I probably won't ever read it again. The suspense just wasn't there.
On a sad note, Michael Crichton passed away a few days ago. I was a fan of his. It just saddens me to see everyone online arguing about how he lost them as fans because of his controversial book refuting global warming "State of Fear". My question is this: what is wrong with questioning the status quo? How are we ever supposed to foster intelligent debate on a subject if anyone who believes differently is dismissed out of hand as a crackpot or a nut? I thought America was all about respecting other people's opinions, even if you don't agree with them. I try to do that everyday. I wish other people would try to as well. If you didn't like his writing, then fine, but don't attack his personal beliefs, or mine either, for that matter. I won't attack yours. Okay, I said my piece, and I feel better :-)