Customer Reviews

Where Did This Come From?

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Written by Larry Nocella, the former editor-publisher of the award-winning magazine "Question Everything Challenge Everything", Where Did This Come From? is a novel embodying today's modern consumer dilemmas. Set in the fictional South American nation of Palagua, Where Did This Come From? features the struggle for survival among members of the Huapi tribe. When a major American manufacturer discovers a rare and beautiful crystal on the Huapi's sacred land, mining operations commence; as the popularity of so-called "Crystal Clay" increases, the Huapi and the jungle that supports them teeter on the brink of annihilation, all due to the insatiable demands of legions of buyers who never thought to ask "Where did this product come from?" Though the precise events in Where Did This Come From? are fictional, its overall message is all too real and directly relevant in today's market flooded with goods made by child labor, produced with ecologically destructive practices, or even used to directly finance murder and terror (such as "blood diamonds"). Highly recommended.

Mr. Nocella wrote with such description and passion, it was like I was there! It took me only 2 days to read this book! I recommend this book HIGHLY and I'm looking forward to reading future books from this outstanding author!! I have to say that although this book is a work fiction, it has a lot of non-fiction attributes. The Huapi villagers and their pride at keeping their culture and land alive from the US and their greedy, grubby hands, spoke in truth about a lot of what other cultures think of us today. I found this book to be thought provoking and wondered where things come from and what we had to do to get it. What little villages or people have "we" hurt or destroyed to get the blood money that lines "our" pockets? Again, this is an excellent book that I recommend highly. Whatever your reading genre is, you will surely enjoy this!!

WHERE DID THIS COME FROM? is an engrossing, well-written, fast-paced tale that interweaves several interesting storylines into one compelling tale of greed, wealth, poverty, child labor, the clash of different cultures and the bottom feeders of Corporate America. Brilliant! I will recommend it to everyone! KUDOS to Larry Nocella! Looking forward to his next masterpiece!

Larry Nocella has really touched upon a most viable topic. "Where did this Come From?" We should question everything in our lives with this pertinent query from our foods to the products we purchase. "What kind of an effect is my purchase having on other people, or the creatures we share this planet with?" Larry's book takes the reader on a journey where innocent indigeneous people live in a small South American country and shows us the devastating realty of what greed creates. The story encompasses political unrest, the value of friendship, the struggle of loyalty, the consequence of acting irresponsibly and a beautiful love offered by a very special child. It's a fabulous book with a question we should all be asking ourselves. It's a great read.......Once I started, I couldn't put it down until I finished it.

I Highly recommend this book. It is a riveting story about the pitfalls of consumerism. It points out that what we buy and do impacts the world in ways we often can not imagine. It is a real page turner, and I couldn't wait to find out what was going to happen next. While it is fiction, it points out a lot of sad truths about our society, but remains entertaining throughout.

The overall story is very realistic of how large monetary interests exploit others for their own profit. I wanted my grandkids to read it but the language was a little severe for teenagers in my opinion.

Very compelling reading, and a story that needs to be told. I would call it just barely fiction because it's such a likely scenario, and certainly elements of this story are happening every day, right now. The main characters are well-developed, and the story keeps moving. As someone else mentioned, it would make a great movie: Nocella has a great sense for dialogue and action. Looking forward to more from this writer--he clearly has strong opinions as well as good narrative instincts!

Mr. Nocella has, without knowing it, captured the struggle of so many tribes in the world today and it is a message that needs to be heard. I could not put the book down and I felt a huge range of emotions from sadness to inspiration. I was not prepared for the surprise ending, which I felt was masterful and left me feeling that when all seems lost, there is hope. I will highly recommend this book to all of my friends.

This guy can write! What an awesome novel. He provides insight into the issues that are being overlooked in our estranged world.
I can't wait to see what he writes next!

Too often society is irresponsible when fulfilling their material "needs". Too often we never ask the question (Where Did This Come From?) when we purchase products.

This book shines a light on man's greed and the destruction of lives this greed causes. Man is responsible for what they choose to spend their hard earned dollar on. We have a duty to boycott products and services when another's suffering was the result of how that very product arrived on the store shelf. Too often, though, we do not care how it got there.

"All that shines is not gold." No Crystal Clay for me, thank you!