Doug Lewars's Blog, page 33

The Vanished Collection

The Vanished Collection by Pauline Baer de Perignon

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

This wasn't a bad book but it was classified under history and it was more memoir than history. In addition it was a little boring. You probably know someone who likes to talk about various friends even though you don't have a clue who these people are and don't care either. That's what this book reminded me of. Possibly someone with considerable interest in the details of recovering valuables looted by the Germans during the second world was might find it interesting but for the rest of us it's rather tough sledding.



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The Rescue Artist

The Rescue Artist: A True Story of Art, Thieves, and the Hunt for a Missing Masterpiece by Edward Dolnick

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

This was an excellent story of one individual attempting to locate and retrieve stolen art. Some reviewers have complained there are too many digressions and there are a lot of them; however, they're so interesting I didn't mind. Although non-fiction, this book reads like a thriller.



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The Colour of Magic

The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

I've never met a Terry Pratchett book I didn't like and this one is no exception. The ending is a little weak but this was the author's first book so some allowance must be made.



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What the Ermine Saw

What the Ermine Saw: The Extraordinary Journey of Leonardo Da Vinci's Most Mysterious Portrait by Eden Collinsworth

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

If you're interested in art in general, or this particular painting in particular, you probably want to skip this book. The amount of material directly related to the subject is pretty thin. On the other hand, if you like snippets of history and some of the political maneuverings going on, then you'll likely enjoy it. I enjoyed it but I'm no art connoisseur. It was classed under the subject 'history' and that was good enough for me to give it a try. It's not the most coherent history book but I liked it anyway.



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Roughing It In The Bush

Roughing It in the Bush by Susanna Moodie

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible spoilers ***

I thought this book was interesting and informative. Unlike some reviewers, I didn't find the narrator overly complaining. True, she encountered lots of problems but i thought her grievances were valid. After all, this book is set in the 1830s and life in Canada, particularly in backwoods Canada, was extremely difficult. It didn't help the family encountered a number of people who where highly exploitative and being newcomers, didn't have the experience to detect them before it was too late; nevertheless, no matter how bad things got, they dug in their toes and persevered. They had no choice. In those day it was either make the best of bad situations or die.

This is a very long book and possibly not for the faint of heart. Depending on how much time you have to dedicate to reading it can easily take three weeks or more to get through.

I was particularly interested in the last couple of chapters. Though written in the latter half of the nineteenth century, much of what the author said parallels goings on today. If your a history buff and want a good day-to-day look at pioneering in Canada, this is a good book to read. Frankly I would recommend this over much of what passes for Canadian history in schools today.



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Me Talk Pretty One Day

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

Some of these stories are quite humerous. A couple are unpleasant. Neither the author nor his family are people I would care to know on a personal basis although I quite liked the description of his father. He seemed the most rational of the lot.



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Coffee Withy Hitler

Coffee With Hitler: The Untold Story of the Amateur Spies Who Tried to Civilize the Nazis by Charles Spicer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

This book was well written and interesting. That said, I don't know how much credibility to assign to the author. I'm sure he has his facts correct. There was a club dedicated to improving Anglo-German relations prior to the second world war and considerably socializing did take place between upper class British and German citizens but I have to wonder if perhaps the individuals attempting to woo their German counterparts and find some sort of compromise to war weren't being played from the start. In any event this book puts a different light on certain events prior to WW2 and suggests there was sufficient resistance to Hitler in Germany the war might have been avoided if a few pieces of the puzzle had fallen differently.



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The Ukranians

The Ukrainians: Unexpected Nation, Fifth Edition by Andrew Wilson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

Although I quite liked this book there are a number of caveats you should consider before diving in.

It's a very long book. If you want to read it prepare to spend a month or more unless you have more than an hour per day free time for reading.

It's in a number of editions and the author kept adding on to the end as new things developed. As a result, the latter chapters tended to be a bit choppy.

Some people have criticized the author for his academic approach to the subject. This is true, the book is written in an academic manner; however, I regarded that as a plus more than a minus. Depending on how factual you like history books, you may or may not like this one.

If you happen to be a writer of fantasy novels this author unintentionally provides a master class in world building. In addition, as you begin to get closer to the end, he illustrates how to develop intrigue and conspiracy in your work. And in this case, he's drawing on real life.

I do recommend the book and I think I gained an appreciation for the complexity of the situation in the Ukraine but it is long and a bit dry in places.



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Athens: City of Wisdom

Athens: City of Wisdom by Bruce Zee Clark

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

Mr. Clark has done an excellent job relating the story of Athens from antiquity to the present. The book is long so you really need to enjoy history to read it but I think it's well worthwhile.



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Housebroken

Housebroken: Admissions of an Untidy Life by Laurie Notaro

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


*** Possible Spoilers ***

This consists of a number of first-person slice-of-life stories, which, while likely exaggerated, are mostly humerous. There are a couple of duds but you can skip by, and may even find interesting if you happen to like recipes. Exaggeration is a valid form of humour so enjoy what you read and maybe don't take things too seriously. Overall, the book was enjoyable and I recommend it.



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