What Do You Call BS On?

Granny M is always calling Bull Shit on things.  No not BS....she says "Bull Shit" at least 10 times a day.  I swear it has been some of the kiddos first words around here.  I have told her that maybe it is not really good to say that around young ears only be told....Bull Shit.  Honestly what is a girl to do...but adapt and understand.  At 70+ years old you have the right to say and think anything you wish.  And she is right....lots of life is nothing but BS.

So when I opened my email last month from Nicole of Tribute Books and saw Gotta Call BS on That One, I was tickled as can be.  I shot off an email right away begging to be on this book tour.  I mean it is the perfect book for me to have for Granny M.  RIGHT?  Thankfully Nicole is like my best online book bloggy friend and was happy to add me on to the tour.  She has even set up a giveaway of 20 paperback copies via the Tribute Books Blog Tours with a rafflecopter widget at the end of this post.  So you can call BS too!  

Now that I have the book what is it about?  Well I am finding it is a lil deeper than I expected and not full of BS.  Instead wrapped up in humor and logic (oh two qualities that I so admire) is some good old fashion common sense.  BS has suggestions on how we can look at issues, problems and daily events with fresh eyes and actually step up and be part of solutions if we so choose.  What is refreshing is that Dr. Gerry Steiner does not suggest we go charging out the door on a one man (or woman) crusade but to look at our life, how it is influenced, and decide if the quality we desire is there.  If it is not then maybe we would like to change what we allow to effect us.  

You can read excerpts of Gotta Call BS on That One by Dr. Gerry Steiner for yourself here.  What I do like is the fresh eyes approach to the obvious.  What I did not like is the feeling of a rambling conversation.  At the same time I think that my own thoughts skip around quite a bit.  I presume others can follow my train of thought forgetting that while I am at the train station they all took the plane.  In other words sometimes I have to re-read a section several times to get on the same wave length as someone else.  Dr. Steiner may very well be on a plane of direct thought while I am still chugging along on a train winding around the hills and valleys.  

Gotta Call BS on That One Book Summary

Was missile defense started to save the free world or start a new empire? Do religions help us understand God or help keep God a mystery? Do schools prepare us for life or delay our lives? Does Congress help protect us or help exploit us? Has there ever been any BS involved in any of the above? Have we embraced or challenged the BS.? Could we make a difference? Would we want to make a difference?

Whether reading a newspaper, watching TV, or listening to a song, we are probably observing and absorbing a certain amount of BS. Do we recognize it, realize it, reject it or absorb it. This book provides a beginning to considering these questions. It can provide a basis for understanding, a basis for action, a cause of laughter, a foundation for tears, or some combination. This book often states the obvious, but it’s the obvious that often we collectively don’t seem to own up to. Much of the strife of life, the inequities of the world, even the causes of wars and disasters of the economy might be rooted in our collective self-deception.

The adventure starts with a reflection on a fairy tale from our childhood and one from Washington. It then joins a pair – a professor and his young assistant on an American adventure. They look at such topics as social interaction, sports professional and local, and our individual fitness. Business and education provide many examples and insights. Next, religion and science provide contrasts and similarities.

Government, politics, the legal system, and military service complete this brief trip. In each area, the presence and effects of BS are noted. The final section is devoted to the three greatest downfalls of society in the last century. They are identified and their drastic effects on our society are briefly examined.

Dr. Gerry Steiner's Bio:

Gerry Steiner has enjoyed a life that is varied in location, vocation, and activities. He started in the land of tradition and history, Hampton, Va., the oldest continuous English speaking settlement in the United States. After high school and eighteen years surrounded by history. Gerry was ready to venture away from Virginia. After considering Cornell, he caught a train to California and went to Caltech. He left Caltech after a couple years to work in seismic oil exploration. His Uncle invited Mr. Steiner to visit Asia. Gerry picked the Navy as the best way to get there. This kept him busy for ten years. A year of Navy school as an electronics technician started the process. Fortunate circumstances led him to his wife and “stability?” for the next 40 years. Gerry then finished his BS and an MS in oceanography before sailing for Vietnam, There gunfire support and chasing aircraft carriers kept him in touch with the real world. Receiving fuel and supplies at sea gave him an appreciation for close quarters’ steerage. A pleasant break provided a week in Olongapo followed by a week in Hong Kong. His wife, Marilyn joined him.

After the Navy and back in Seattle he continued his work in sonar research at the UW Applied Physics Laboratory. He started work on a PhD in electrical engineering. He made sonar measurements from an ice floe in the Arctic Ocean north of Barrow, Alaska. Two visits by polar bears approaching to 20 ft. added to the excitement Dr. Steiner moved to Ridgecrest, CA where he held a position at China Lake Naval Weapons Center. Several years in automatic target recognition included radar field measurements from Pt. Loma, San Diego. Next he started the Airborne RF Targeting Branch. Gerry also completed his doctorate in electrical engineering.

From China Lake Dr. Steiner ventured off to Denver, Colorado to join Martin Marietta. The initial year in Denver was focused on space based radar plans. A movie and a president changed his focus. The movie was Star Wars, the president was Reagan, the focus became the Strategic Defense Initiative. He spent the next decade on issues related to SDI. After the space based interceptor there was a space based laser concept. His efforts contained analysis, management, design, and testing. A couple years were spent developing a new rocket to provide a re-useable single stage to orbit vehicle. Only physics stood in the way.

Gerry’s wife was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer and given six months to live. They had great times that were ended. Dr. Steiner moved to Maui five years ago. He has written this book to share his observations on how the world works and how it could work better.

Price: $13.99 paperback, $6.99 ebook
Publisher: Two Harbors Press
ISBN: 9781937928919
Pages: 178
Release: August 5, 2012

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