GERALD'S 50 BOOKS READ IN 2012

[Jill H.]

Looks like you can update your target again, Gerald, since your are two books away from 80. Good job!!

[Gerald]

OCTOBER

Winter of the World

79. Ken Follett
FINISH DATE: October 28, 2012
GENRE: fiction, Historical fiction, family saga, epic,
RATING: A+
REVIEW: Ken Follett is an incredibly wonderful author. He continues The Century Trilogy, which he began with The Fall of Giants, in this outstanding second volume. In Winter of the World he uses the well-known historical happenings of the tumultuous 1933 to 1949 timeframe as a backdrop in giving the reader an intimate, inside view of how those exceeding tragic events affected the lives of his five fictitious families. There are the American Dewars and Peshkovs, the English Fitzherberts and Leckwiths, along with the German von Ulriches, Francks, and Rothmanns, the Russian Peshkovs and Vorotsyntsevs, and finally the Welch Williams and Griffiths. For the most part these geographically and politically far-flung groups of people are very disjointed but at the same time they either initially are interrelated or become so over the course of the story, with or without the personal knowledge of various members of the families.

I found this book very hard to put down. I MOST ENTHUSIASTICALLY recommend it in the highest terms to those who appreciate excellent historical fiction.

[Book 79 of revised 2012 target 80
(Jan-10; Feb-11; Mar-9; Apr-8; May-7; Jun-8; Jul-7; Aug-9; Sep-6; Oct-4)]

[Gerald]

I guess I am a little overdue in making another target revision, having just finished my 79th book on my current target of 80. My original GoodReads Reading Goal for 2012 was 50 books. When I had read 25 by 3/15/2012, I revised that goal to 60 books. Another revision to 70 books was made on 4/29/2012, at which point I had finished 38 books. A third revision was made on 8/13/2012, following my completion of 65 books on that date to a new target of 80. I have slowed down in the number read this month in tackling the almost 1,000-page Winter of the World, so I will be more conservative and make a revision at this time to 85. Perhaps I can revise the target one more time before the end of the year.

[Jill H.]

I've revised my target twice this year but, like you, I have slowed down because of the length of some of my current books. Besides, I can't believe that it is almost November!!!!! Tempus fugit.

[Gerald]

OCTOBER

Fatal Dive

80. Peter F. Stevens (no photo available)
FINISH DATE: October 30, 2012
GENRE: non-fiction, history, adventure, World War II naval-military
RATING: A+
REVIEW: Fatal Dive is the astonishing, true life recounting of triumph over incredibly long odds. In late July 1942, the submarine U.S.S. Grunion (SS-216) was engaged in action against enemy ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy in the perilous waters near the extreme western Aleutian Island of Kiska in the Bering Sea. Kay Abele’s husband Jim was the Grunion’s Commanding Officer. His loss left her with three small sons – Brad, Bruce, and John – to raise by herself. Not long after she receives official notification that her husband’s ship was missing and presumed lost, Kay Abele began a life-long quest, with essentially no help from the Navy, to find out what happened. She initiated communication with each of the families of the other 69 members of the Jim Abele’s crew and continued that correspondence in answering and carefully cataloging every letter she received though the remaining of her life. This was the beginning of The Grunion Family.

When they reach adulthood, the three Abele boys not only continue the hunt to find out what happened to the Grunion, they begin an amazing quest to locate their father’s lost submarine. John Abele has achieved a very high level of success in his career and is in a position to finance the extremely expensive venture of assembling the crucial components: a vessel capable of operating under the exceedingly perilous conditions of the western Aleutian Islands, the exceptionally expensive sonar and ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle) to first locate and then film the sub if it is located, and a highly experienced crew. A significant measure of good luck begins with paring their initial task of searching between 20 and 200 square miles of dangerous ocean down to a much more manageable 4 square miles, when they receive from a Japanese military historian a translation to the first-hand account by the commanding officer of the Japanese ship with whom the Grunion was engaged in battle. Their luck continues with acceptable weather conditions for the most part during the exceeding short weather window they have in part of the world. Other factors work in their favor to bring about triumph in this astonishing story.

An equally daunting pursuit parallel to Jim’s boys seeking to locate his ship was undertaken by three remarkable members of The Grunion Family, who were later dubbed the “Sub Ladies” – Mary Bentz, Rhonda Raye, and Vickie Rodgers – to locate the survivors of all 69 members of Jim Abele’s lost crew. These tenacious “Sub Ladies” used every means they could think – marriage and probate records, Social Security death files, newspaper obituaries, genealogical trees, telephone books, newspaper and radio ads – to successfully accomplish their extremely difficult goal.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Fatal Dive and most highly recommend it to all readers.

[Book 80 of revised 2012 target 80
(Jan-10; Feb-11; Mar-9; Apr-8; May-7; Jun-8; Jul-7; Aug-9; Sep-6; Oct-5)]

[Michael]

looks like a great read I have added it to myTBR.

[Gerald]

NOVEMBER

The Panther

81. Nelson DeMille
FINISH DATE: November 15, 2012
GENRE: fiction, action, thriller, terrorist activity
RATING: A
REVIEW: THE PANTHER is Nelson DeMille at his best and most exciting. His primary protagonist is Detective John Carey, NYPD Retired, currently of the ATTF or Anti-Terrorism Task Force. His CIA wife Kate Mayfield is also a member of the ATTF. In DeMille's last novel THE LION, Corey was responsible for dispatching the infamous terrorist known as The Lion to The Lion's version of paradise.

Bulus ibn al-Darwish is an equally infamous terrorist responsible for the October 2000 attack on the U.S.S. Cole in the harbor at Aden, Yemen. Al-Darwish, American born and educated to immigrant Yemeni parents, returned to the land of his parents' birth to head AQAP (Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula) and to purge "the holy soil of Yemen" of the stain of the presence of Western influence, beginning with the U.S.S. Cole bombing. He adopted the name al-Numair, which translates from Arabic as The Panther and has as his ultimate goal the presidency of Yemen.

The Panther was enraged by Corey's killing of his hero The Lion, and he placed both Corey and Kate on the AQAP assassination list. This sets up a proposed operation by the ATTF, to become known as Operation Clean Sweep, to send an ATTF team into Yemen to hunt down and arrest or, if necessary, kill The Panther. John and Kate are "invited" to be members of the operation. Although they realize their invitation was made so they can serve as "Panther bait," they do volunteer and head for the very backward country of Yemen.

DeMille interjects an interesting situation with John and Kate's arrival in Yemen by introducing as a secondary protagonist Paul Brenner, who was DeMille's primary protagonist in several of his earlier novels, including one of my favorites, i.e., UP COUNTRY.

The action really heats up with the assembly of the 6-person team as they expose themselves in various dangerous areas of Yemen to try to lure The Panther from his hide out.

I really liked this novel a lot. It cemented me even further as a DeMille fan. I highly recommend it to lovers of action thrillers.

[Book 81 of revised 2012 target 85
(Jan-10; Feb-11; Mar-9; Apr-8; May-7; Jun-8; Jul-7; Aug-9; Sep-6; Oct-5; Nov-1)]
, Nelson DeMille

[Gerald]

NOVEMBER

No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama bin Laden

82. Mark Owen (no photo available)
FINISH DATE: November 20, 2012
GENRE: non-fiction, military action-thriller
RATING: A
REVIEW: This is the absolutely amazing, true story of the incredible men who undertook one of the most dangerous military missions ever, deep into the country of Pakistan to capture or terminate the life of the infamous terrorist Osama bin Laden, the one who masterminded the horror that rained down on the United States on September 11, 2001. The story is told extremely well through the eyes of one of the actual participants. There are those obligatory introductory tales that fill all the books written by or about the SEALs – their ultra-stressful training and various types of more “routine” (for SEALs) missions. All this leads up to the time when “the best of the best of the best” SEALs are hand-picked for a super-secret assignment that they don’t know anything about until they arrive at their very secluded training site with a full mock-up of the bin Laden compound. They have not been able to discuss even with the fellow SEALs of the units to which they are normally assigned.

These men are all at the top of physical and mental readiness, and in many ways this new assignment is “just another mission” to them. Obviously, it is not but they are so well training prior to arriving at the site to receive the specific training for this mission, they are ready to go quite soon.

The bin Laden compound is located in the very modern northern Pakistan city of Abbottabad, which has a population of almost 900,000 and it which is located the headquarters of Pakistan’s Northern Army Corps. Needless to say, these and many other factors made this mission anything but routine. After the SEALs undergo several weeks of intensive, specialized training, the President approves the mission. The rest, as they say, is history.

This book was a very exciting read. The author was on the helo that crash landed in the compound. His description of that portion of the mission is quite intense. He explains how the heroic efforts of the helo pilot saved the mission and many injuries or deaths of the SEALs, as he (the pilot) was able to bring the helo down in a sufficiently controlled manner to allow the mission to proceed essentially on schedule.

I very highly recommend this book to those who enjoy intense military-oriented non-fiction. It describes a most important event in the history of our country.

[Book 82 of revised 2012 target 85
(Jan-10; Feb-11; Mar-9; Apr-8; May-7; Jun-8; Jul-7; Aug-9; Sep-6; Oct-5; Nov-2)]

[Gerald]

NOVEMBER

Atlas Shrugged

83. Ayn Rand
FINISH DATE: November 20, 2012
GENRE: fiction
RATING: B
REVIEW: This is quite a tale of the economy of the country falling apart with the mysterious disappearance of many of the foremost innovative, intellectual, and entrepreneurial giants of industry, prominently the biggest railroad and steel companies. The government has enacted Draconian laws which have destroyed their incentive to continue to work at doing what they do best, i.e., leading the country to the greatness it has always enjoyed.

Atlas Shrugged has been around for a very long time, but this was my first reading of it (actually listening to a CD recording of it). I did enjoy it fairly well, although it seemed a bit confusing at first. I do recommend it as a very interesting read.

[Book 83 of revised 2012 target 85
(Jan-10; Feb-11; Mar-9; Apr-8; May-7; Jun-8; Jul-7; Aug-9; Sep-6; Oct-5; Nov-3)]

[Gerald]

DECEMBER

Poseidon’s Arrow

84. Clive Cussler
FINISH DATE: December 8, 2012
GENRE: fiction, nautical action-thriller
RATING: A-
REVIEW: A new military technology has just been developed with the recent completion of a fantastic prototype submarine. The “almost invisible” stealth and phenomenal speed of this submarine will keep the United States in the forefront for many years to come. The technology is all due to the efforts of two men and has been kept so secret and these two are the only ones who know how to the details of it. As the story begins to develop, these two individuals are murdered, and the submarine prototype, along with all the secret plans for replicating it, is stolen by mysterious individuals.

Dirk Pitt and his team of NUMA specialists, along with a NCIS investigator, are soon on the trail which leads them from San Diego to Mexico to northern Idaho and finally the Panama Canal Zone. Along the way they encounter multiple ships which inexplicably vanish after their crews are overcome by some mysterious technology. They soon learn that the world’s extremely limited supply of “rare earth minerals,” the bulk of which are controlled by the Chinese, play a very crucial role.

All the elements for a high-tech adventure for which Clive Cussler has become so noted are involved in this action-thriller. I very much enjoyed it and recommend it to Cussler fans.

[Book 84 of revised 2012 target 85
(Jan-10; Feb-11; Mar-9; Apr-8; May-7; Jun-8; Jul-7; Aug-9; Sep-6; Oct-5; Nov-3; Dec-1)]

[Gerald]

DECEMBER

False Impression

85. Jeffrey Archer
FINISH DATE: December 10, 2012
GENRE: fiction, action, suspense, murder-mystery
RATING: B+
REVIEW: Bryce Fenston, a ruthless henchman, who previously did the bidding for disgraced Romanian Communist dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, has changed his name and immigrated to America, but he has not changed his stripes. Using illegitimate funds he stashed away during his Romanian days, he soon gives outward appearances of having become a respectable banker. Underneath he is still as ruthless and cutthroat as ever, doing whatever he finds necessary to bilk people out of their property.

Dr. Anna Petrescu, who also originally came from Romania, escaped to America and ultimately received her PhD in art history. She has become a member of his personal staff to manage his growing art acquisitions.

Senior FBI Agent Jack Fitzgerald Delaney has been on the trail of Bryce Fenston for some time. He is soon trying to establish a connection of four similar but seemingly unrelated brutal murders to Fenston. One of those murdered is a very wealthy English lady Victoria Wentworth, who owns Van Gogh’s “Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear,” worth at least $50,000,000. Fenston wants this painting more than anything for his collection and will stop at nothing to force the new owner Arabella Wentworth, Victoria’s sister, to give it up for debts owed him.

Fenston fires Anna Petrescu because of her honesty. She soons joins the efforts of those trying to thwart Fenston’s plans.

The non-stop action takes its various participants on a journey from Washington to London to Bucharest to Tokyo and back again. There are many unexpected surprises along the way. I really liked this book. And do recommend it as very entertaining.

[Book 85 of revised 2012 target 85
(Jan-10; Feb-11; Mar-9; Apr-8; May-7; Jun-8; Jul-7; Aug-9; Sep-6; Oct-5; Nov-3; Dec-2)]

[Alisa]

Wil you be revising your target upward again? Tremendous progress, Gerald. Congrats!

[Jill H.]

Good job, Gerald!!

[Gerald]

DECEMBER

The Sandcastle Girls

86. Chris Bohjalian
FINISH DATE: December 19, 2012
GENRE: historical fiction, genocide
RATING: A
REVIEW: While The Sandcastle Girls is technically a novel, it is the all too real story of the little-known horrors experienced when the Ottoman Turks tried their best to wipe off the face of the earth an entire race of people. More than 1,500,000 Armenians died when the Turks slaughtered outright the men of Armenia and marched the women and children for many miles through the Syrian Desert until almost all of them died during their forced march. Those who managed to survive were so dehydrated and skeletal that the vast majority ultimately died shortly afterward.

The book is presented in sequences alternating between the time of occurrence in 1915 Syria and the present almost 100 years later. The contemporaneous segments are presented through the eyes of a Bostonian girl Elizabeth Endicott, who travels with her father as representatives of the Boston-based Friends of Armenia to Aleppo, Syria to provide what aid they can to the survivors. Elizabeth’s granddaughter Laura Petrosian narrates the modern-day portion in the context of a novelist researching what really happened during the genocide.

Underlying all the gruesomeness is the beautiful love story of Laura’s grandparents Elizabeth and the Armenian with whom she fell in love Armen Petrosian and how they survived the grave challenges that faced them. Armen had gone to Egypt to enlist with the British forces fighting the Ottoman Turks. He soon found himself just trying to survive as a part of the horrid battles in the trenches at Gallipoli and his subsequent injuries. Elizabeth had remained in Aleppo after her father returned to Boston, on the slight chance that Armen would survive the battles and return to her. She wrote many letters to him not knowing if he would ever receive them or even if he were still alive.

This is a story that needed to be told. Having been totally unaware of anything about this genocide, I am very glad that I read it and recommend it to others who wish to be better informed of this segment of the history of the Armenian people.

[Book 86 of revised 2012 target 85
(Jan-10; Feb-11; Mar-9; Apr-8; May-7; Jun-8; Jul-7; Aug-9; Sep-6; Oct-5; Nov-3; Dec-3)]

[Judy]

Great review, Gerald. It's going on the top of my reading pile now. Thank you.

[Gerald]

Judy, glad you liked the review. I think you'll like the book. I probably would have by-passed the book because of the title alone, but my wife thought I'd like it a lot (which I did) after she finished reading it. Hope you enjoy it.

[Gerald]

DECEMBER

Once A Spy

87.
Keith Thomson (no photo available)
FINISH DATE: December 19, 2012
GENRE: fiction
RATING: B
REVIEW: Drummond Clark is a retired appliance salesman who is now suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. His son Charlie is plays the horses and has just lost a huge amount on a “sure-thing” winner who came in second. He now owes his bookie a fortune, which he doesn’t have. Charlie is contacted by Drummond’s Social Worker, when Drummond is declared unfit to take care of himself. As Charlie starts to make plans to place Drummond in an appropriate mental health care facility as well as stay out of reach of his bookie, he discovers that unknown men are out to kill them. He assumes that they have been sent by his bookie but soon realizes that they are out to kill Drummond.

In their flight to escape the killers, Drummond not only becomes very lucid, he takes charge with displays of marksmanship and escape planning in a manner that surprises Charlie in the extreme. It soon comes to light that being an appliance salesman was only a cover for Drummond’s real career as a covert intelligence operative. The “killers” who are after him are actually rogue members of his own intelligence organization who are fearful that Drummond, during his periods of confusion from Alzheimer’s, will give up top secret information he acquired during his many years in the intelligence field.

Charlie and Drummond must use every trick Drummond learned during his career during those times when he is lucid to avoid being killed.

This was a fairly entertaining tale although a bit far-fetched at times. I did like it fairly well and give is a fair recommendation

[Book 87 of revised 2012 target 85
(Jan-10; Feb-11; Mar-9; Apr-8; May-7; Jun-8; Jul-7; Aug-9; Sep-6; Oct-5; Nov-3; Dec-4)]

[Gerald]

Thanks for the info about the second book.

[Gerald]

Bentley, I've been looking for the link to start the 50 Books in 2013 Challenge . I assume that it will continue into next year with a new challenge.

I've very much enjoyed the challenge this year. Thanks for all yours related efforts.

Gerald

[Alisa]

Gerald, we hope to start setting the 2013 challenge threads soon. Keep on reading and stay tuned. We'll keep you posted. Glad you will participate next year.

[Jill H.]

You were a "reading machine" this year, Gerald and I have a sneaking feeling that you will do the same in 2013! I got some good recommendations from your book list. Thanks.

[Gerald]

Alisa wrote: "Gerald, we hope to start setting the 2013 challenge threads soon. Keep on reading and stay tuned. We'll keep you posted. Glad you will participate next year."

Thanks Alisa. I have been trying to finish my current read, Arnold Schwarzenegger's autobiography, before midnight tonight to make my 88th book for 2012. I've gotten to page 542 (83% finished). I am going to have to settle for 87 books on my final target of 85. TOTAL RECALL, which I have really enjoyed quite a lot, will be my first for 2013.

Arnold Schwarzenegger

[Mark]

Way to go Gerald!

[Bentley, Group Founder, Leader, Chief]

Gerald, I am moving this thread to the archives. It is still open and can be added to.

However, the assisting moderators will be setting up new threads for 2013. They will set up new threads in this folder.

Great job in 2012.