Here's a great book that has developed the writing from perspective to a new level of the art! Every chapter is done from the standpoint of one of theHere's a great book that has developed the writing from perspective to a new level of the art! Every chapter is done from the standpoint of one of the four protagonists: Beulah, Cora, Nettie Mae, and Clyde as they live and work together after a tragedy the places each one in a particular position of dealing with their past, grief, anger, love, hopes, and survival in the wilderness of Wyoming in 1872. I was absorbed by the idea that author Olivia Hawker could get herself around each of the personalities so completely that they come to life as different persons in every chapter. As the tale unfolds, it is often told two or three times but each time from an immersion into the personality of the particular person to the point that it becomes their own story, rather than a repetition. Woven into the quartet of personalities thrown together by infidelity, murder, and the needs to simply survive through a desperate winter, are the accidents, emergencies, floods, fires and chores that any farm person will understand and empathize with completely. The underlying love/hate triangles are always changing and modified by the relationships that develop day by day, week by week in ordinary life patterns with which we can all empathize. The subtle undertow of the latent personality of the murdered man, Substance, pulls both Cora and Nettie Mae in opposite directions while the need for teens to break away from their parents grows within Beulah and Clyde. The realization by all of how their lives are intertwined in different manners, is well set out from beginning to end. Excellent reading at bedtime. ...more
This well researched book is probably the best amplified history and documentation of an era, 1933 through 1945, that contains the most massive seriesThis well researched book is probably the best amplified history and documentation of an era, 1933 through 1945, that contains the most massive series of political mass murder and crimes against humanity in all of history. I would recommend that Snyder's book be required reading for all students in High School, coupled with the viewing of a few of the post WW2 actual concentration camp films. Society needs the constant reminder of the kind of human horror and devastation that can be brought upon any region of the world by any political system that has leaders who are not firmly bound in their behaviors by strongly enforced moral and ethical codes of society and governance. The horrors of Stalin's Communistic Socialism and Hitler's Fascist regimes turned the entire section of Central/Eastern Europe from the Black Sea to the Baltic, into a human fed butchery of massive proportion. Whether the crimes were perpetrated against Germans, Russians, Ukrainians, ar Belarusians, whether the innocent victims were Jewish or Christian, the monstrosity of the crimes committed can only be understood by reading a volume such as this, containing personal witness and survivor stories nestled alongside the detailed written plans of the perpetrators and facilitators of the horror. Read it slowly, digest the picture of humanity that appears which tells us that any population of humans is capable of taking on the role of being perpetrators or victims if we do not place firm checks and balances on our leaders and educate or children that we can never allow this to happen again. ...more
The Beginning of this book is right up to snuff with the other "Memory Man" series and the story line runs smoothly through the first 275 or so pages.The Beginning of this book is right up to snuff with the other "Memory Man" series and the story line runs smoothly through the first 275 or so pages. Amos Decker is in his fine fettle and the scenes he is able to draw upon with his perfect memory to solve a crime. Author Baldacci builds us a gradual picture through the eyes of Amos Decker of what really happened, that day outside the J. Edgar Hoover Building in Washington D.C., when Walter Dabney approached Anne Berkshire from behind, shot her in the back of the head, and then proceeded to blow himself away in front of Decker and the FBI security officer. As with a lot of sequeals, there comes a time when the author has a relatively coherent novel which just calls for a hundred page conclusion. In this particular book, author Baldacci carried that thread just about two hundred pages too far. In the process, the key threads of excitement and anticipation grow thin in a maze of rehashes that replay over and over and over ... that initial moment of the stalk and kill. Too many chickens spoil the stew and by the last chapter the book has fallen into our face as we lapse into a deep snore of ennui. Splitting the book into two, and working to spice up the second half into a work of its own would have been a better solution. I await the Amos Decker # 4 in hopes that the mojo of # 1 and # 2 comes back. ...more
I liked this book because it takes the "memory man", Amos Decker, and uses his skills in the solution of the complicated murder frame-up which has senI liked this book because it takes the "memory man", Amos Decker, and uses his skills in the solution of the complicated murder frame-up which has sent former NFL prime prospect, Melvin Mars to prison for twenty years on death Row. As he's about to walk that last symbolic mile to the "chair", Mars has a "Texas Reprieve" which is one of those good old boys "Indian Giver" games in which the stay of execution and release from prison with the caveat that even if you are innocent, if you don't come up with "Who Done It", you'll probably be chucked back in prison and executed just because "That's the way we do things here in Texas." So all in all, I enjoyed the entire book, finishing it in a couple of days so I could start in on the next one. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did! It's a good follow-up to the Amos Decker #1....more
A GREAT three day read! I got started on this particular C. J. Box novel and couldn't put it down1 It keeps moving and the interplay of themes which iA GREAT three day read! I got started on this particular C. J. Box novel and couldn't put it down1 It keeps moving and the interplay of themes which include the real-live wolf pack as well as the human "wolf pack" keep you thinking about what the outcome of this series of murders and Sheriff Joe Pickett's life problems will be. Author Box got it just right with the trade-off of chapters between the deliberate actions by Joe and the his sidekick Nate and the mayhem and chaos sown by the human wolves of the Sinola Cartel. The Western setting of Wyoming is where author Box does the best descriptive work being familiar with the Bighorn Mountains. I loved the falconry and the episondes with the drone as it sets the wildness of the area against the technology that is invading it. A couple of the murders are a bit over the top for Box's normal action writing, but still do a very good job of setting the stage for the action in Saddlestring, WY and the fitting triumph of justice in the very fitting end. ...more
This is my first book by author Ben Coes and I think I'll go right ahead and look for another of his books because he gives you a bit of everything inThis is my first book by author Ben Coes and I think I'll go right ahead and look for another of his books because he gives you a bit of everything in this action thriller starring Dewey Andreas, a former Ranger and Delta operative. The motion never stops, the motives for revenge are strong and the characters on both sides are cunning in their planning, double crossing and execution of plots that lead to the assassination of an Israeli Mossad mole, the killing of a U.S. National Security Advisor, the Kidnapping of a Russian arms dealer and the drawing out of Dewey's most formidable opponent in covert warfare, Fao Bhang of North Korea. The author keeps you engaged, involved with the characters so that at times you actually empathize for the bad guys although you know good will triumph in the end. Enjoy the read....more
A super good coming of age book in Africa and the U.S. during the late sixty's hippie protest era of the Vietnam War in the U.S. and the 4th Peace CorA super good coming of age book in Africa and the U.S. during the late sixty's hippie protest era of the Vietnam War in the U.S. and the 4th Peace Corps group out in Botswana, Africa. Two sisters, separated in mid-childhood life by the estrangement of their parents, grow up in very different cultures on separate continents and face the challenges of late adolescent development. The questions to be resolved abound in this book and are dealt with by author D. Lou Raymond directly, but with cultural sensitivity and understanding that can only be found in those who have walked in the shoes of that period. They are the universal questions for all persons at some point in their lives and are excellent ones to be discussed by book groups, senior high school classes, and university level courses including: Do I love or hate my mother/stepmother/father? Do I go off to college and pursue the direction my parents and interests have selected for me in life, or, do I rebel, and run away, to a drug experimenting flower culture? How can I fit my multicultural experiences of African life and native medicine into my interests in pursuing modern medicine in an upper middle class white community? Do I explore premarital sex and learn the consequences in the the school of hard knocks? Those of us who are products of the era will love the back and forth discussions, displays of emotion and decisions made by the two protagonists, Willa and Nora as they wend their way through the journey of life. An excellent multicultural book. Enjoy!...more
I enjoyed the side stories that accompany author Jance's very interesting murder mystery and the personality descriptions and characters of Sheriff JoI enjoyed the side stories that accompany author Jance's very interesting murder mystery and the personality descriptions and characters of Sheriff Joanna Brady and J. P. Beaumont, from two different worlds of law enforcement, who need to cooperate to solve a very complex murder of a Bisbee, Arizona artist. The personality clashes along with the character descriptions make the story. Right up to the final hundred pages, you won't know who ratted out the Washington State Witness Protection Program, who killed the three Arizona citizens and how Beaumont's former wife played a part in this whole story. The book deserves a good 4 stars, but I wasn't drawn into it so heavily as to have a two day binge on the 400 pages of the novel. J. A. Jance is an excellent author and story teller. I will go on to read some of her other murder/suspense novels. Enjoy!...more
Writing master, Frederick Forsyth, is back at it again with a great book linking IT to current and past events in the world of international intrigue Writing master, Frederick Forsyth, is back at it again with a great book linking IT to current and past events in the world of international intrigue and power games. The occurrences that happen worldwide are real. The methodology by which Britain's IT genius, Luke Jennings, pull off the intrusions are fictional, but not that far-reaching in a world where the race to build the ultimate quantum computer to spy on others is going full blast. Adrian Weston, the resuscitated former MI-6 chief, running Jennings and the global intrusions is also a picture of a truism that the old ways of running spies and deceiving the enemy may still be needed in a world where every movement can be traced using our cell phones, our credit cards, camera facial recognition, etc. Kudos for this work to a writer who understands that the spy world is not an adrenaline rush of dodging bullets but rather a cat and mouse game of piecing together seemingly unrelated bits of information and making the chessboard moves with the knights and pawns before the opponent recognizes the deception and the true plot. ...more
Olive Fredrickson's story of her early life growing up in the Canadian wilderness is an exciting adventure suitable for both young and old, male and fOlive Fredrickson's story of her early life growing up in the Canadian wilderness is an exciting adventure suitable for both young and old, male and female as she deals with the death of her mother at an early age, grows up knowledgeable of the world of trapping and hunting in a part of the world almost completely unknown to the majority of North Americans. The knowledge she gained from her hardscrabble family upbringing in the wilderness carries her through to adulthood and marriage to her first husband, a trapper named Walter Reamer. Olive and Walter follow the trails of the Canadian North on trapping expeditions that place them and their young child in danger of drowning in the icy waters of Lake Athabasca and the Slave River as they treck into the wilderness for a winter's trapping and hunting. Fate steps in during the winter as the young couple makes one slight mistake after another in their choice of cabins, food supply, and preparation for living off the wilderness. On the doorstep of starvation and death by exposure to the elements, the couple set off in a desperate attempt in the subzero weather to reach another trapper's cabin. Lady luck peeps out for a moment as they stumble through a twenty mile ordeal. Returning to civilization, Olive remains in the safety of town with her children as her husband continues to trap each winter. When she is widowed, Olive moves briefly to the States and then returns to Canada, working hand to mouth for a number of years until she meets her second husband and they are able to make a living in a less hostile section of the wilderness up the Stuart river where they pan for gold, encounter grizzlies, and fabulous fishing. It's a memorable story with lessons for all of us about the realities of making choices in life and the consequences of making the wrong choice in the unforgiving climate and environment of the Canadian wilderness. An excellent read-aloud book! ...more
When I wrote my initial notes on this book, I was only half-way through and thought that I had already read the best of the author's short stories witWhen I wrote my initial notes on this book, I was only half-way through and thought that I had already read the best of the author's short stories within the first 120 pages. Not so! In fact, the two fishing stories were yet to come and both kept my attention to the end. In particular, the story entitled "July Fourth" got my best laugh of the book upon reading the last page of that story. No skipping ahead and cheating allowed on this one! The other fishing story is a work of brilliance showing how we all eventually reap the rewards of continual lies that build and build as we cheat on others. Excellent bedtime reading one story per night. ...more
The sniper has always been one of my favorite themes to read about whether that person is a villain or a hero. Author Lee Child has found his firm nicThe sniper has always been one of my favorite themes to read about whether that person is a villain or a hero. Author Lee Child has found his firm niche for the second time with a book that gives insight into the psyche of the sniper/killer and all of the factors that go into tracking down a single human being who has decided to do someone in, long-range style. Because of the international setting and the weeding out of possible sniper candidates from Israel, the U.S., Britain, and Russia, our hero, Jack Reacher spins his wheels for a while stateside before venturing to the European theatre where the killer is due to strike next at an international trade convention. Who is the killer really after? One of the big-wigs of the conference? One of the numerous members of the international team of GRU, CIA, MI6, etc. investigators who have gathered to share intelligence and hunt down the murderer? It's a cat and mouse game, and as the author says, "It's not the same with a sniper out there." When the Russian GRU man gets taken out the hunt turns toward the Russian rogue sniper. Reacher isn't sure and ends up in London with his sidekick Casey Nice hunting for at least two snipers being hidden by the 'Romford Boys' under the leadership of a giant of a man whose presence intimidates even the husky physique of Reacher. It's a hunt through good old London and enough twists and turns are there to keep you and Reacher thinking about the outcome. Lovely Casey is pretty good with holding up her own end of the deal, saving Reacher's neck by improvising with a shard (no pun intended) of London glass to off a dude. I enjoyed the fast pace, the changes of venue and the ability of the author to get all those characters amply described and fitted for their various nefarious and savior roles. Enjoy the voyage and enjoy that final take-down of the bad guy at the end. A non-stop page turner for rain or the plane!...more
The Midnight Line is a must-read for the many of us who have been military, been associated with a war, or have been related to a friend or family memThe Midnight Line is a must-read for the many of us who have been military, been associated with a war, or have been related to a friend or family member who has been damaged physically or psychologically by war or military experience. So that's to say, pick it up and read it, America and the rest of the world. Author Lee Child hits the nail on the head with his phraseology about addictions: "You should never underestimate the appeal of an opiate high," and the military: "you never really leave." The entire book illustrates how the simple act of looking through a pawn shop window and seeing a class ring can lead to a fascinating vision and train of thought for an author to follow up on and develope an entire book. I'd like to sit down with Lee Child in one od his lecture and fins out which came first, the plot of the drugs and the missing West Pointer who pawned their class ring, or the stimulus of looking in a pawn shop window, seeing an old class ring for sale, and jumping from there through hyperspace to the gist of a disabled veteran hiding out from the world. Well written, one of the best in many ways for those of us who know and have crossed the high and wide of the Wyoming plains and mountains around Laramie. Enjoy! ...more
I enjoyed this Jack Reacher book with its twists of plot and the fact that author Lee Child has created a co-protagonist for Jack in Major Susan TurneI enjoyed this Jack Reacher book with its twists of plot and the fact that author Lee Child has created a co-protagonist for Jack in Major Susan Turner, new CO of the 110th MP. Turner, a no-nonsense Major with many of the traits of Jack in a lightweight fashion, is a good foil for Reacher and gives some further humanity to the guy. The book gives readers a strong awareness of the problems we will face in the future with records and the ability of materials to be redacted or changed by persons in the government to tell the story they want us to hear, rather than what has actually happened. It also gives an indication of how easy it might be to falsely twist facts to have someone incarcerated with no hope of beating the system without breaking the law because the enforcers of that law are cautious about going against what they believe to be the actual facts, when in reality they may only tell one side of the story. Only Jack Reacher could break out of jail the way it is done in the book, but of course, we all know what he alone is capable of in comparison to everyday humans. Read and enjoy the fast-moving read and plot twists!...more
I enjoyed how author Hanson mixed hard factual science and knowledge of the Bee world together in a well-organized book for laypersons and members of I enjoyed how author Hanson mixed hard factual science and knowledge of the Bee world together in a well-organized book for laypersons and members of the science community with broad backgrounds for understanding the reasons why certain grown adults charge around deserts, forests, savanna and jungles flailing the air with nets and patiently pinning nearly microscopic bugs on balsawood boards for study and posterity. As a former bug-kid who did a lot of net swinging while my compatriots were shooting balls at nets, I can empathize with the author as he describes run-ins with Border Patrol Agents wondering why a bunch of folks would be thrashing about the cholla cactus regions along the Mexican border looking for bees. Hanson has interviewed with and studied under, a number of the cutting edge entomologists who have traced the history of human-bee relationships back to earliest times, calculated the calorific contribution of honey to hunter-gatherer tribes, chased the ghosts of 'colony-collapse' in our own time, and those who have begun changing their farming methods from bee-adverse methodologies to bee-enhancing practices. I enjoyed every chapter. There is something for everyone in this book which opens our eyes to our bee/human interdependency and gives us reasons to go out and look closely at our own flower beds and try to make them as bee-friendly as possible and help this vast group of friends prosper.
aof insects, this book will open your eyes to some of that buzzing and busy world whirling around us as we blithely consider ourselves to be the masters of the planet. Not only are the bugs our main competitors in the hunt for and storage of our food, but they are also some of our ablest assistants in the production of a vast majority of foods that we take for granted every day. ...more
Trevor Noah has produced an amazing book covering his youthful memories fo growing up under apartheid in The Republic of South Africa. His stories areTrevor Noah has produced an amazing book covering his youthful memories fo growing up under apartheid in The Republic of South Africa. His stories are at times humorous, at others heart-rending, as he describes growing up as young man caught by his mixed racial birthright between two opposing world views: initially White African dominance and Black African subservience and rebellion in the beginning and then the reverse situation following the end of the apartheid system and Nelson Mandella's ascent to power. Throughout the book, he is able to show how his racial mixture could be at times a key to unlocking opportunity when it came to selling white contraband to black associates, and yet at other times he was caught in a racial trap of not being accepted as either a white person under apartheid, nor a black person under black African majority rule. The author's nimble wit, ability to think on his feet and opportunistic personality helped him glide through the cracks of society to climb the stairway to success. Trevor Noah demonstrates how resiliency and drive can at times overcome nearly insurmountable odds. I recommend this book to both adults and youth of all races as an excellent stepping off point towards discussions that try to reconcile our human dilemma of dealing with persons who think, act, appear, speak and understand the world differently from our own narrow backgrounds and upbringing. ...more
At what point will the computer world and fast-moving information world outpace the ability of humans to deal with the input to make logical governmenAt what point will the computer world and fast-moving information world outpace the ability of humans to deal with the input to make logical governmental decisions. The world of computers has gotten us here and we already know that most of us can't keep up with IT even at our home-grown level of information through our PCs and Phones. Author Baldacci has captured this theme; a place where even the best brains at our national decision-making levels begin to break down. What if we find a person or a way to make sense out of all this higher-level data? If we find humans who can handle all the IT data at once, will they be like Edgar Ray, a weird nerdy fellow who, with the leadership and brilliant guidance of Peter Bunting brings about a revolution in the analysis of intelligence? What will the old guard, who have controlled the decision-making power of the intelligence community for years, do when they find they are left behind? This is novel about intrigue at the highest levels of government with all its gamesmanship and skullduggery. All eyes are focused on one man's unique talents. One side wants to utilize him for the betterment of our nation, while the other side wants to destroy him and keep the old ways intact even if they lead to wrong decision making and global conflagration. Sean King and Michele Maxwell are once again at the cutting edge of an investigation into corruption at the highest levels of our government. As sources of information are murdered, and the duo narrowly escape death, the race to save Edgar Ray from multiple murder charges seems to be reaching a dead end. What are the Secretary of Homeland Security, Ellen Foster, and Bunting's rival, Mason Quantrell, up to? What are the true roles of Edgar Ray's half-sister, the mysterious Mr. Harkes, and FBI agent Murdock? Although wordy at times and repetitious in the middle of the book, author Baldacci has once again found a mystery theme that stikes at the heart of our modern computer era. Stay with it until the end and you will find out all the answers. An excellent read! ...more
I enjoyed the book thoroughly! It surprised me in being a novel about India and the American French and Indian War, but as usual, the master of historI enjoyed the book thoroughly! It surprised me in being a novel about India and the American French and Indian War, but as usual, the master of historical fiction brings it all together with a s;am-dunk of a book starting with the youthful lives of Connie and Theo Courtney in colonial India, their trials, battles, and miraculous escapes during the Indian rebellion. Theo, presuming his sister's death at the hands of an Indian potentate, journey's to America to give condolences to a fallen comrade's family and finds true love. Escaping from a religious cult, he falls into the hands of marauding Indians. Again, after a miraculous escape, he enlists in the American Rangers of the French and Indian War, leading a brilliant attack on a French fort on the Great Lakes. Connie, equally endowed with both beauty and luck, escapes India with a French Officer. Her adventures in and around the wild party life of the Parisian elite leave her no choice but to choose between life as a submissive sex-slavery to a madman or being stationed in French-occupied Canada with a General in charge of throwing the British and the Rangers out of the entire Great Lakes region. This dramatic novel's ending leaves you hanging until the very last pages. Don't miss this fast-moving surprise filled book! ...more
This book by Vince Flynn has all the stuff of the modern era: spies, terrorists, hostages, military insertions, and governmental intrigue leading us aThis book by Vince Flynn has all the stuff of the modern era: spies, terrorists, hostages, military insertions, and governmental intrigue leading us across the globe in the hunt for the king spider at the center of the web! Mitch Rapp is the SEAL point man and plays this role to the hilt; leading us through the halls of the Whitehouse and Congress as he tries to avoid being in the spotlight after his exploits are exposed and he is kicked upstairs to advise top officials on the best tactics to use against the shadowy figures who require special ops to remove their threat to our nation and the world. In this morass of politics, military missions and exposure to death, Mitch struggles to maintain his marital life with Anna, his investigative reporter wife, who fears that Mitch's penchant for action and being on the front lines will get him killed. As Mitch leads the clandestine hostage rescue against General Moro in the Philippines, this worry almost becomes a reality as the small SEAL team works to pull off the rescue of an American family. Back in Washington, severely chastised by his wife and working at his desk job, Mitch follows the clues of the mysterious terrorist and Palestinian freedom fighter, David and his relationships with both the Saudi Royal Family and the innermost secret workings of the Israeli Mossad. Who is this man actually working for? What is his ultimate goal? How will his assassinations and global intrigue accomplish his ends without bringing about a worldwide conflagration? The ending of the story on the French Riviera is just as exciting with a twisted plot and a scenario that could be happening even now as we read this review. Loved the book. Will read more by Vince Flynn in the near future. ...more
I enjoyed this post-American Revolutionary seafaring tale for its new twists on an old traditional sailor plotline. Young Jack O'Reilly is at that latI enjoyed this post-American Revolutionary seafaring tale for its new twists on an old traditional sailor plotline. Young Jack O'Reilly is at that late teen-age point where he longs to escape the confines of his parental supervision, stretch his legs and take on the world. When Jack's father's work plays out in New England, the family sets off to start a new life in Cuba on hereditary plantation holdings. Arriving in Cuba, aboard the ill-fated ship, The Perdido Star, the family dreams are shattered as they find their lands confiscated by the powerful Count de Silva. The Count's treacherous plans play out as Jack's parents are murdered and he is forced to flee the country. Again aboard The Perdido Star, lumbered with a half-mad captain and semi-hostile crew around him, young Jack O'Reilly learns a sailor's trade in the school of hard knocks. This is one of the very interesting parts of the book as it details daily life aboard ship, the interplay of personalities in a confined space that lasts for months on end, and the different roles played by the ship's sailors, mates and the captain. As the ship reaches the roaring '40, headed south around Cape Horn, the lack of a proper Captain puts the ship into repeated danger. Good seamanship can only be coordinated by having a strong hand at the helm and the captain's antics make him the laughing-stock of the ship with a consequent failure to deal with the raging weather surrounding the Horn. As masts break and men are washed overboard, the ship becomes a rudderless derelict during a hurricane. Jack and the other survivors of the storm find themselves wrecked on a tropical island in the middle of the Pacific. There they spend more than a year meeting the natives, salvaging cargo from the wreckage of their ship and hoping for the chance passage of another ship to take them off the islands. At this point in the book, I was intrigued by the novel methods used to salvage the deepwater muskets and stores from the wrecked ship using a makeshift diving bell. After months of isolation, an opportunity to escape the islands comes in the form of a Dutch slaver. It is a mixed blessing as the Americans are faced with either becoming prisoners of the Dutch, or being wiped out so that the slavers can capture the local natives to sell them as slaves to the East Indies plantations. In the ensuing battles, Jack finds that he has natural military leadership abilities and is accepted by the crew due to his size and level headed thinking abilities. When the crew of The Perdido Star finally takes control of the Dutch ship, they limp to Manila in the Philippines and complete repairs before heading back to America. Stopping in Cuba, Jack, now a full-grown man, leads the men on a rampage and wreaks his revenge upon Count de Silva. You will find this book to be a fun read. Enjoy. ...more
The stories that keep coming out of the Second World War never cease to amaze me! The recently opened files on Eddie Chapman have yielded just one mo The stories that keep coming out of the Second World War never cease to amaze me! The recently opened files on Eddie Chapman have yielded just one more incredible episode to the spying legends of that war. The blatant audacity of Chapman, not only in his pre-war life as a safecracker but also during the actual conflict as a successful double agent for the British, shows how the talent of a man with street smarts can be educated to go undercover as an agent and be able to fool even the keenest minds of the German spy catchers who interviewed him repeatedly. At several points during the book, I wondered how Chapman would be able to continue to fool his German masters, or whether he wasn't perhaps a very cleaver triple agent who was able to give just enough to the British as well as the Germans to keep them both on the string right up to the end of the war. I loved the method of coding, having read of several other methods in the past, but was unfamiliar with this use of a single word with the clever number assignment system. MI6 missed out on a great opportunity to recruit Chapman after the war when his work with MI5 was over. He would have been an invaluable asset in the Cold War and in helping hunt down the fleeing Nazi criminals in the far-flung corners of the world. Enjoy this well researched and well-written book. There are few books that tell a spy's true story so vividly. ...more
Author Jeffery Deaver is an amazing storyteller. The topic of illegal immigration right on the tip of everyone's tongue and certainly the smuggling ofAuthor Jeffery Deaver is an amazing storyteller. The topic of illegal immigration right on the tip of everyone's tongue and certainly the smuggling of Chinese to work in our sweatshops has a long history of crime and violence attached to it. The snakehead of the smuggling operation fits perfectly into the story as the man who would gladly sacrifice an entire shipload of illegal immigrants in a sinking ship rather than face the possibility of capture by the Coast Guard. Quadriplegic Lincoln Rhyme is a great character, but he works in the background of the novel and doesn't get my full heartfelt attention. Officer Amelia Sachs is my real love in this book. She's smart, observant, inquisitive and tough no matter whether the situation is taking her onto a lonesome beach to hunt for survivors of a sinking ship, to diving for evidence in the murky waters of the Atlantic. I would love to be able to give this book a "5" star rating, but author Deaver got in over his head when he puts Amelia into scuba gear and dumps her over the side into a wreck full of dead bodies and floating debris to search for that key piece of evidence. This is the one big "Oops!" in the book. Read the scuba diving exploits of our heroine with a few grains of salt. Any PADI diver with only 25 dives under their belt plus not having been down for a couple of years, who eschews the aide of professional Coast Guard search and rescue professionals by going down to 80 ft., entering an unexplored wreck alone and staying beyond their safety limits for time and air has "death wish" written all over them. Fortunately, Amelia with author's license she is able to swing the pendulum of death into success and bring up some key evidence. She then goes on to nail one more snakehead to the wall in the next twelve chapters in a dramatic enough manner so that I can forgive a ten-page blooper. If you like fast moving intricately plotted action novels with enough who-done-it for a good mystery as well, then this is a novel for you. I highly recommend it. The author has done his due diligence on researching Chinese customs, language, and culture to bring realism and sensitivity to the novel in a way that all will appreciate while still bringing us a ripping good tale.
The basic underlying story of the old timer explorer of Mars who disappears and the search that follows is very well written and if the author had cutThe basic underlying story of the old timer explorer of Mars who disappears and the search that follows is very well written and if the author had cut the book back to 225-250 pages, leaving out some of the mind-numbing long descriptions of the inner thoughts of various characters, it would have boosted the book up to a 4 star level in my opinion. The techy search is good and well worth the descriptive paper. The attempts to sabotage the search for various reasons is also well done. So, as a reader of science fiction for over 50 years, I would say, skim through the late night bedroom rendezvous, unless that's why you read Sci-Fi. Skim over also the mental contortions of the central characters and concentrate on what is the underlying faster moving plot. Eat up the surface walks and the rides in the dune buses across the uncharted dust seas with their cyclonic dust devils. Devour the descriptions of light and the hazards that exist in a world where preparation for the journey is everything because, without sufficient protection, food, water and, oh, yes, oxygen, you aren't going to come back to spin tales of aliens. In the ending, I could have used a bit more descriptive work by the author on the alien vessel to perhaps bring me back for a sequel. Where did that shining projectile that approached the speed of light as it departed Mars actually go? Was it a messenger? Was anything on the receiving end? A lot of questions remain when we reach the final page. ...more
Here is a "Must Read" book if you want more information on understanding how the moderate form of Islam taught the world mathematics, medicine, sciencHere is a "Must Read" book if you want more information on understanding how the moderate form of Islam taught the world mathematics, medicine, science, literature, poetry, and a world view of religious thinking over a millennium. Author Joshua Hammer has made his career on reporting worldwide for a plethora of magazines and newspapers. Over a period of ten years, he followed and researched the life and work of Abdel Kader Haidara, a man who has dedicated nearly 50 years to the gathering, preservation, cataloging and saving hundreds of thousands of the world's most precious books which had been written copied and hidden in and around the Sahara Desert city of Timbuktu, Mali. In the process, Hammer follows the paths that Haidara used as he traveled and traded for books as he worked to build world heritage libraries for UNESCO from the long-hidden in family libraries all over central Mali. Hammer understands the peoples of the area, their customs, histories, and religions. He describes how the moderate Islamic Sufis became the center of human knowledge, discussion, and new ideas over a tumultuous history of a thousand years. In the process, the families guarded their special libraries through a millennium of moderate and tyrannical government in order to preserve some of the oldest books of religious studies and critique as well as scientific learning. Author Hammer does an excellent job of describing the latest threat to world knowledge and learning, the Jihadi movement in Islam with its Saudi Arabian sect ideas of rule by strict Sharia Law. He follows the buildup of the movement in Libya which then spilled over into the central Sahara and entered Mali in the past ten years. He documents the anarchic rule of the foreign Islamic Jihadi warriors who eschewed the moderate Sufi ways and forced the people of Timbuktu and much of Mali to live in daily fear of their lives while capricious gangs of Jihadi enforcers thronged the city and meted out punishment in a medieval manner. As the threats to the populace grew, Haidara and the other librarians realized that the hundreds of thousands of books they had gathered over some fifty years, were in danger of being destroyed by fanatical gangs. At great risk to their own lives, these dedicated persons traveled overland by canoe, back roads and through checkpoints in the middle of a war zone to smuggle all the books in Timbuktu some eight hundred miles across the sub-Sahara to safe houses in Bamako, capital of Mali and far from Jihadi hands. The reader will learn an amazing amount of information about the ongoing work to save our world's ancient literature as well as have a better understanding of the geopolitical problems facing frontline developing nations who are confronted with Jihadi movements that can take control of entire countries unless the western world and the African Union of States act decisively to stop this regressive movement that is spreading into any vacuum of power. Mr. Abdel Kader Haidara deserves a Nobel Prize. Author Joshua Hammer deserves all the awards and kudos he can get for this well documented and groundbreaking journalistic work. ...more
I am once again reading Wilbur Smith's books as inspiration to writing another novel. This amazing work puts it all together in telling the tale of t I am once again reading Wilbur Smith's books as inspiration to writing another novel. This amazing work puts it all together in telling the tale of two rival half brothers, Shasa Courtney and Manfred De La Rey as they grow up separately under the influence of their common mother for Shasa and a renegade father in the case of Manfred. During their teens, they meet as unintroduced tomcats who tangle and develop a lifelong hatred which grows as they compete at college, in Hitler's Olympics and are influenced by respectively great and or diabolical leaders to become rivals for the control of The Republic of South Africa. Both men grow to maturity in the wide open spaces of South Africa during World War Two, during which they support opposing sides. The flaring up of apartheid separates them further as does the rising African quest for liberation from white task-masters. You won't be disappointed in this specimen of editorial mastery. ...more
I cruised through author Bates' book in very short order, captured by the lure of one of the exotic areas of the world, Burma during World War 2 and I cruised through author Bates' book in very short order, captured by the lure of one of the exotic areas of the world, Burma during World War 2 and the descriptive expertise of the writer who builds a plot that draws the reader from chapter to chapeter. The author accurately depicts the down and out mental condition of Forrester, who, after recovering from wounds as a pilot, has been stationed in an isolated corner of Burma. Here, sweltering in the insuperable heat and bugs of the tropical plain, he stagnates while awaiting the arrival of an unknown man, Carrington, who will be his new navigator. He has nothing to go back to in England, his wife having been blow up during the Blitz of London, only a few short days after their wedding. His anger and hatred of life and the world, over which he has almost no control, grows into a hatred that lashes out at his fellow officer, Blore, who is due to be transferred out of the hellhole of Burma and back to India. At the point where Forrester is about to crack up completely, the unit doctor, Harris, cajoles him into taking a ride out to a local village where he is helping a local missionary pick out hymns for Easter Sunday. In a fit of pique, Forrester decides to go along and meet the missionary and ladies in the village who are living out the war in solitude as most of their men have been conscripted to fight the Japanese who are pressing southward and rolling over the country. The common things of ordinary village life confront Forrester during that first day out, and he meets two sisters and their mother in the village and begins to make their acquaintance in a rather stilted manner. On subsequent visits, Forrester begins to enjoy the company of Anna, the younger of the two ladies and begins to develop a close relationship. He becomes involved with village life and is present when the Japanese bomb the village, killing and wounding a number of the children who are being taken care of by the women and missionary lady. At the point that Forrester is becoming enamored with the village and Anna, Carrington arrives and Blore receives his final orders to depart Burma. As Forrester pilots the plane towards Rangoon engine failure causes them to have to crash land in the scrub bush wilderness. Carrington, injured and unable to walk, is carried by Forrester as the three men attempt to reach human habitation and find a source of water for drinking. The book is a page-turner, not because of any violent action and heroes fighting off attackers, but rather because of the concise description of village life, the countryside, the thoughts of the characters, and the oppressive heat and dryness that prevails throughout the story. Your mind can picture the thatched huts, hear the happy children riding on the back of the jeep through the village, taste the coolness of a lime drink in the sweltering heat, and the screams and cries of the children as the village is bombed. The reader will pick up on the author's amazing ability to describe the looks, personalities, and foibles of each of the three main characters as they struggle to survive in the face of impossible odds in an implacable unforgiving environment. For those who have lived on the edge at one time or another in their lives, this book will give you ample opportunity to reflect and think about humanities' purpose and direction.
Once again, David Baldacci has hit the nail pretty much on the head with a tale of mystery, murder, action, and intrigue. As an avid reader of this geOnce again, David Baldacci has hit the nail pretty much on the head with a tale of mystery, murder, action, and intrigue. As an avid reader of this genre, I found the book to be well written but straying from the original thesis of our murderer who sets a clock to a specific hour of the day in a copycat murder mystery. Sean King and his sidekick, Michelle Maxwell are the center of attention throughout this book as they charge from one murder to the next in hopes of finding a clue that will bring to light a maniac who is terrorizing a small town in the backwoods of Virginia. As a reader, I am generally inspired by author Baldacci's tightly woven plots that lead us through a sequence of events that eventually lead to a blow-out ending. In this particular novel, I felt that the author got us built up to that point of beginning to lay out the clues leading to the denouement and final climax, and then got sidetracked. It's almost as if two separate shorter novels have been cobbled together to make the six hundred page tome that was published. A pity as the murder mystery disappeared into a series of random killings that when finally explained at the end was not an overall well thought-out plot. I enjoyed the read, but there was too much mental downtime and fluff without enough thinking meat to really keep me coming back. Better luck on the next Baldacci book I pick. You will still enjoy the overall story. ...more
This book is probably the best I have read for elucidating the role and experiences of women at the end of the colonial period in Kenya. It shows the This book is probably the best I have read for elucidating the role and experiences of women at the end of the colonial period in Kenya. It shows the independent spirit of the women who 'went out' to Africa and how that independence could run contrary to the colonial views of how women should behave and act, not just Kenya, but in all the colonies when it came to mixing with the 'natives'. I understand her passion for the African continent, having lived and worked there myself in my own contrarian roles. McVeigh has taken the role of telling the life of Rachael who returns to Kenya to live with her father and stepmother ion their bush farm. The book is sensitive to Rachael's having grown up with Kikuyu friends as a child and having run and played with them for years while growing up on the farm. Now, seeing them in a different light through the eyes of a grown woman, she is drawn to them due to her childhood memories, while being chastised for doing so by her stepmother and the other women who are set in their colonial mannerisms of keeping black Africans in their place. Racheal's life of colonial tranquility and clandestine love affair with former servant, Michael, reveals within her a mixture of contrasting emotions that cannot be resolved without tragic consequences. The aura of fear, abject terror and horror at the atrocities to which Rachael is exposed, both through rumors and actual experience begin to tear her apart in her effort to continue her love affair with Michael. The reality of her being sent to an insane asylum for living out a pathway in life that contradicts a tightly normed colonial mentality is something that our twenty-first century brains have a hard time grasping. At the same time, thoughtful readers will understand that this rigid adherence to and backlash to protect a dying lifestyle is something we are experiencing in our own country even today. Absolutely top notch writing and a book I would certainly pick as one of my very best reads of the year!...more
Bob Woodward has done an amazing job of filling in the blanks of the news stories we have all heard in the past 18 months. As a book of new revelationBob Woodward has done an amazing job of filling in the blanks of the news stories we have all heard in the past 18 months. As a book of new revelations, it falls short of its hype and all the reactions that have come out regarding it being a pack of revealing truths or just a bunch of lies. Well researched, the book is a monument to further understanding the characteristics of a President who apparently bathes himself in the aura of yes-men and stomps on those who dare to cross him or seem to want to control his erratic impulses with concrete researched arguments for numerous causes. The characteristics of President Trump that stand out and seem to govern both what he can accomplish and why his major accomplishment list is so low, despite having complete political party control of Congress. These traits include hyper-attention to worthless minutia, high distractibility, a flash-point temper when confronted with opposition, and a penchant for micromanagement, all of which contribute to his inability to focus and make major grand scale decisions that can then be worked on by his more specialized and experienced cadre of secretaries and generals. Time and again as the books cycles through the topics of nuclear disarmament of Korea and Iran, our troop involvement in Afganistan, solving key points on immigration, building a sustainable economy, or dealing with international diplomacy through current treaties and accords, the reader will see how the discussions go off topic, spark Presidential outbursts of anger and acrimony against experts in military, economic, legal and diplomatic fields, leading to humiliation and the resignations of key persons dedicated to "making it work" for America. Any reader who has raised teenagers will empathize with the men and women who stick it out and try to bring order out of the constant chaos created by a President who would rather shout diatribes against the latest commentator blips coming out of FOX or CNN News. Those readers who are upholders of 'Due Process' will be aghast at the trivial manner in which our President tweets messages to cast off and take on high level appointed employees of our government. Here is the profile a man who will use his kowtowing aides for his own purposes until he deems them worthless and then capriciously cast them off with no more than a shrug of his shoulders, the way a snake slides out of an old skin and slithers on its one-track mind way. Does the book engender its title, "FEAR"? Yes. If you are a loyal American citizen you will wonder at the men and women in high places, including the hundreds of Congressional leaders who make up a third of our governmental process, who have smiled and kowtowed while viewing the Presidency's new clothes, but remain sitting on their thumbs for eighteen months while nothing gets done and our country lives in an era of trying to erase the past and never focusing on a clear mission for our future. I didn't enjoy the book, but I am extremely glad I read it. ...more
This is an excellent book for the post-Vietnam conflict era reader to gain insight into a very complex 30-year war that dragged the French and then thThis is an excellent book for the post-Vietnam conflict era reader to gain insight into a very complex 30-year war that dragged the French and then the Americans into a conflict that underscores how colonial and neo-colonial efforts to maintain the status quo in the face of a grassroots independence movements failed miserably.
The synopsis of the war is punctuated by sections of letters written at each period during the conflict by our nation’s leaders as they attempted to persuade the American people that things were going our way, that we needed more troops, that if we only pushed a bit here or there, we would force the indigenous peoples to bend to our will. In the process, the reader gains an understanding of how self-delusion on the part of national leaders leads them to twist and falsify claims of victory, when then privately are haunted by a deeper knowledge that a quagmire has been entered, from which there can only be a retreat. The strategies enlisted by our government of initially supporting what appeared to be local elements in a civil war, descend over time into limited warfare, fortified enclaves, carpet bombing, mass defoliation, and the indiscriminate use of shelling, bombs and troops to take and retake the same territory time and again, while never setting a firm final objective cry of “Take Hanoi!” the way previous wars had centered on concrete goals such as “On to Paris!” or “Take Berlin!”
Most interesting are the letters from the soldiers, news personnel, nurses, doctors, and embassy personnel on the ground in Vietnam who lived with the day to day uncertainties and consequences of the war. The hopes of the short-timer are contrasted with the fatigue, depression, and disillusionment of the personnel on the ground. The letters home are never able to communicate the full depth of the feelings being shared by the nurses, the wounded, the new recruits and the observers on the ground, all of whom interpret their sections of the conflict in different ways.
Additionally, the book underscores how Americans misunderstood the goals, and desires of both the leaders and the peasants of Vietnam. On one hand the desire of an elite to maintain control of a country in which they were a minority, by military means, in contrast with the hand to mouth agricultural lives of the peasants who needed to switch loyalties, on pain of death, almost on a daily basis, depending on which military group was occupying their village.
Read the book with the knowledge that this is not the only interpretation of the Vietnam conflict and is certainly only a primer on the politics of the time. The author puts in snippets of the protests within the U.S. as well as comments on the effects of the draft and our concurrent civil rights movement within America as a backdrop to this war. It should be taken in as an eye opener for young readers about the terrible aftermath of any war which goes on to affect a nation for multiple generations after the papers are signed ending what might have been a situation better left alone.
Suitable for readers from 8th grade up through adult for discussions and meditation on wars, their purposes, and the baggage leaders take to the table when they become involved in any war....more
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