Jack's bookshelf: all en-US Fri, 25 Apr 2025 06:53:03 -0700 60 Jack's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Homecoming (Yngling, #2) 2348266 247 John Dalmas 0812534719 Jack 3 I'm sorry but I was not impressed at all. I thought the basic premise was interesting: an Earth colony was cut off from mother Earth. 700 years later they return to Earth to find out what happened and .....
Faults:
I didn't think the characters were developed enough - at least for my taste. I never came to 'care' for any of them.
To confuse matters, there were several sub plots going on which, to me, did nothing to add to the main story.
We are given the barest of explanations as to why the 21st century world fell.

The book was presented as a 'stand alone' story -at lease from the blurb on the book cover. I did a little internet research and the author John Dalmas wrote several other books involving the character Yngling. Maybe there is a Book I and and Book 2 that would fill in the details. Then again, maybe not.]]> 3.41 Homecoming (Yngling, #2)
author: John Dalmas
name: Jack
average rating: 3.41
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2012/07/08
date added: 2025/04/25
shelves:
review:

I'm sorry but I was not impressed at all. I thought the basic premise was interesting: an Earth colony was cut off from mother Earth. 700 years later they return to Earth to find out what happened and .....
Faults:
I didn't think the characters were developed enough - at least for my taste. I never came to 'care' for any of them.
To confuse matters, there were several sub plots going on which, to me, did nothing to add to the main story.
We are given the barest of explanations as to why the 21st century world fell.

The book was presented as a 'stand alone' story -at lease from the blurb on the book cover. I did a little internet research and the author John Dalmas wrote several other books involving the character Yngling. Maybe there is a Book I and and Book 2 that would fill in the details. Then again, maybe not.
]]> The Egyptian Book of the Dead 790550 The Egyptian Books of the Dead is unquestionably one of the most influential books in all of history. Embodying a ritual to be performed for the dead, with detailed instructions for the behavior of the disembodied spirit in the Land of the Gods, it served as the most important repository of religious authority for some three thousand years. Chapters were carved on the pyramids of the ancient 5th Dynasty, texts were written in papyrus, and selections were painted on mummy cases well into the Christian Era. In a certain sense it stood behind all Egyptian civilization.

In the year 1888 Dr. E. Wallis Budge, then purchasing agent for the British Museum, followed rumors he heard of a spectacular archaeological find in Upper Egypt, and found in an 18th Dynasty tomb near Luxor "the largest roll of papyrus I had ever seen, tied with a thick band of papyrus, and in a perfect state of preservation." It was a copy of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, written around 1500 B.C. for Ani, Royal Scribe of Thebes, Overseer of the Granaries of the Lords of Abydos, and Scribe of the Offerings of the Lords of Thebes.

The Papyrus of Ani, a full version of the Theban recension, is presented here by Dr. Budge, who later became perhaps the world's most renowned Egyptologist. Reproduced in full are a clear copy of the Egyptian hieroglyphs, and interlinear transliteration of their sounds (as reconstructed), a word-for-word translation, and separately a complete smooth translation. All this is preceded by an introduction of more than 150 pages. As a result of this multiple apparatus the reader has a unique opportunity to savor all aspects of the Book of the Dead, or as it is otherwise known, the Book of the Great Awakening.]]> 377 Anonymous 048621866X Jack 5 3.94 -1500 The Egyptian Book of the Dead
author: Anonymous
name: Jack
average rating: 3.94
book published: -1500
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves:
review:
How can you not give this 5 stars when it lays out for you the exact procedure one needs to follow to ensure one's entrance into the afterlife
]]> <![CDATA[Desperate Detroit and Stories of Other Dire Places]]> 27501070
"Desperate Detroit and Stories of Other Dire Places" represents forty years of suspense writing in the short form. Previously published in a host of magazines and anthologies, with a new preface and introductions to the stories written especially for this collection, these eighteen tales feature gangsters, private eyes, psychotic killers, hitmen, feuding families, prostitutes, prizefighters, bodyguards, corrupt cops, the walking dead, and ordinary people driven by desperation to commit acts of violence.

Preface --
The black spot --
The tree on execution hill --
Sincerely, Mr. Hyde --
You owe me --
A web of books --
State of grace --
The used --
Bad blood --
Cabana --
Lock, stock, and casket --
Diminished capacity --
Saturday night at the Mikado Massage --
How's my driving? --
The Pioneer strain --
Flash --
Evil grows --
The bog --
Now we are seven]]> 240 Loren D. Estleman 1440596239 Jack 5
Between 10-15 pages long, each of these 18 stories stories is top notch. Hit men, corrupt cops, prositutes, regular Joes, bad guys and good guys - all are featured in these tales.

As Estleman wrote, “…crime is the most durable small business we have…� and these stories have plenty of it.

I am always struck how well he can paint a picture - one that allows you to feel you’re standing right there in the scene.

I was sad when I finished the last story. I wished there were 18 more.]]> 4.50 Desperate Detroit and Stories of Other Dire Places
author: Loren D. Estleman
name: Jack
average rating: 4.50
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2016/12/08
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves:
review:
y favorite author Loren D. Estleman has collected a group of short stories in a book entitled “Desperate Detroit: And Stories of Other Dire Places�. I loved them.

Between 10-15 pages long, each of these 18 stories stories is top notch. Hit men, corrupt cops, prositutes, regular Joes, bad guys and good guys - all are featured in these tales.

As Estleman wrote, “…crime is the most durable small business we have…� and these stories have plenty of it.

I am always struck how well he can paint a picture - one that allows you to feel you’re standing right there in the scene.

I was sad when I finished the last story. I wished there were 18 more.
]]> <![CDATA[Dead Man's Ransom (Cronicles of Brother Cadfael, #9)]]> 1058799 212 Ellis Peters 0449208192 Jack 5 3.85 1984 Dead Man's Ransom (Cronicles of Brother Cadfael, #9)
author: Ellis Peters
name: Jack
average rating: 3.85
book published: 1984
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/07/25
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Rose Rent (Brother Cadfael Mysteries #13)]]> 2442528 198 Ellis Peters 0449214958 Jack 5 3.98 1986 The Rose Rent (Brother Cadfael Mysteries #13)
author: Ellis Peters
name: Jack
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1986
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/07/21
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Confession of Brother Haluin (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael, #15)]]> 847875 196 Ellis Peters 0445408553 Jack 5 3.98 1988 The Confession of Brother Haluin (Chronicles of Brother Cadfael, #15)
author: Ellis Peters
name: Jack
average rating: 3.98
book published: 1988
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2024/07/18
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[48 Hours to Hammelburg: Patton's Secret Mission]]> 2020223 224 Charles Whiting 0743458176 Jack 4 3.78 1970 48 Hours to Hammelburg: Patton's Secret Mission
author: Charles Whiting
name: Jack
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1970
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2024/05/24
shelves:
review:

]]> Medieval Sieges & Siegecraft 6957463 240 Geoffrey Hindley 1602396337 Jack 4 3.44 2009 Medieval Sieges & Siegecraft
author: Geoffrey Hindley
name: Jack
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2009
rating: 4
read at: 2012/10/30
date added: 2023/07/28
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Tarzan and the Lion Man (Tarzan, #17)]]> 338591 192 Edgar Rice Burroughs 0345289889 Jack 5 3.69 1934 Tarzan and the Lion Man (Tarzan, #17)
author: Edgar Rice Burroughs
name: Jack
average rating: 3.69
book published: 1934
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/07/24
shelves:
review:

]]> Angel Eyes (Amos Walker, #2) 1103196 203 Loren D. Estleman 0395315581 Jack 5 3.71 1981 Angel Eyes (Amos Walker, #2)
author: Loren D. Estleman
name: Jack
average rating: 3.71
book published: 1981
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2023/06/29
shelves:
review:

]]> The Hour of the Dragon 421156 294 Robert E. Howard 0425036081 Jack 5 4.08 1933 The Hour of the Dragon
author: Robert E. Howard
name: Jack
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1933
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2021/07/30
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Tarzan at the Earth's Core (Tarzan, #13; Pellucidar, #4)]]> 338584 310 Edgar Rice Burroughs 0803262566 Jack 5 3.89 1929 Tarzan at the Earth's Core (Tarzan, #13; Pellucidar, #4)
author: Edgar Rice Burroughs
name: Jack
average rating: 3.89
book published: 1929
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2020/10/22
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Magnificent Bastards of Chu Lai]]> 3195995 In the early morning hours of August 18, 1965, two battalions of Marine Corps leathernecks launched a surprise attack against firmly entrenched Communist troops on Vietnam’s Chu Lai peninsula.

Code named Operation Starlite, it would be the war’s first full-scale battle between American and North Vietnamese combat troops. American military leaders who planned the attack knew the stakes were high; victory—or defeat—would have far-reaching political consequences.

But no one could have known that the success of Operation Starlite would ultimately depend on the efforts of a mere 170 gyrenes—the “Magnificent Bastards� of Company H.

At the height of the battle, in the face of wave after wave of fanatical North Vietnam and Viet Cong counterattacks, Company H suddenly found itself on the edge of annihilation. And as their ammunition ran out and they fixed bayonnets for one final stand, the Magnificent Bastards climbed out of their foxholes to face one of the severest tests of military history...

Lawrence Cortesi was an American school teacher and prolific writer, who published multiple books, often telling history as a story in his trademark style. Born on August 6, 1923, he married Frances Barringer and had four children. He died on October 12, 1987.
]]> 238 Lawrence Cortesi 0821718193 Jack 4 3.67 1986 Magnificent Bastards of Chu Lai
author: Lawrence Cortesi
name: Jack
average rating: 3.67
book published: 1986
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2019/09/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Land That Time Forgot (Caspak, #1)]]> 585508 153 Marv Wolfman 0441470238 Jack 5 3.69 1918 The Land That Time Forgot (Caspak, #1)
author: Marv Wolfman
name: Jack
average rating: 3.69
book published: 1918
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2019/01/22
shelves:
review:

]]> The Barefoot Brigade 11904277
From Chickamauga to Spotsylvania, from Gettysburg to Appomattox, The Barefoot Brigade is an unforgettable Civil War novel about the brotherhood of soldiers.

War has ripped Martin Hasford’s nation apart, and like many men, he is torn between his devotion to his family and his sense of duty. Leaving his wife and children behind to run the family farm near Elkhorn Tavern, Hasford embarks on a path from which he may never return—and on which he meets men as embattled as the Fawley brothers, young backwoodsmen running from the; Beverly Cass, a son of plantation privilege; Guthrie Scaggs, a judge turned army officer; Sidney Dinsmore, a no-account drunk; and Liverpool Morgan, a Welsh gambler.

Together these men form a tight niche in the Third Arkansas Infantry Regiment, trudging from the Ozark foothills, headed east into one cataclysmic battle after another, determined to beat back the Yankees and end the war.

A testament to a special breed of American, The Barefoot Brigade is a work of undeniable and lasting power.]]> 368 Douglas C. Jones 0451232534 Jack 5 The book closes with the remaining few surrendering at Appomattox. The author could have stopped there but he didn't. ...I did not like the last five pages.
I am a Civil War re-nactor, Company A, 3rd Arkansas. I do know their story.]]> 4.23 1982 The Barefoot Brigade
author: Douglas C. Jones
name: Jack
average rating: 4.23
book published: 1982
rating: 5
read at: 2011/07/13
date added: 2019/01/03
shelves:
review:
This the story of several men who join the 3rd Arkansas Infantry regiment during the Civil War. It is well written and presents up close, in-your-face descriptions of what it was like to be a Confederate soldier in the eastern theater of that conflict. The characters are well developed.
The book closes with the remaining few surrendering at Appomattox. The author could have stopped there but he didn't. ...I did not like the last five pages.
I am a Civil War re-nactor, Company A, 3rd Arkansas. I do know their story.
]]> The Ptolemies 2674038
And what a dynasty . . .

The Ptolemies is a story so layered, so dark and glittering and disastrous, that perhaps only Thoth the Ibis–the irreverent, riotously pompous narrator who is also the god of Wisdom and Patron of Scribes–could do it justice.

It begins with Ptolemy Soter, the Macedonian general who, after the death of Alexander the Great, takes all Egypt for himself–and hijacks Alexander’s body to serve as his lucky mascot. Of humble origin, Ptolemy now becomes Satrap of Egypt, and he is soon to be Pharaoh, a god in his own lifetime. We follow this rise to divinity as it takes him from Memphis to Alexandria, and through a string of wives and concubines, bad-seed sons and tragic daughters, conniving High Priests and oracle-giving sacred bulls. And around a constantly shifting cast of Greeks and Egyptians–high and low, powerful and weak, honorable and evil–whose lives unfurl against a dense and vividly drawn backdrop of increasingly bizarre dynastic drama and turmoil.

The triumph of The Ptolemies is its often unexpected but always masterly combination of narrative sweep and riveting historical detail, of fact and invention, of gravity and humor. It will take you by surprise at every turn.]]> 496 Duncan Sprott 1400041546 Jack 4
This is the story of Ptolemy, General in Alexander's Macedonian army. Upon the death of the Conquerer and the division of the empire, Ptolemy takes Egypt (along with Alexander's body) and sets up his own empire. He is eventually crowned Pharaoh.

The book is called a historical reconstruction. the real other based the story of what facts we have surrounding this time period and then basally filled in the blanks.

I wish he would have listed some of his sources.]]> 3.69 2004 The Ptolemies
author: Duncan Sprott
name: Jack
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2004
rating: 4
read at: 2014/12/11
date added: 2018/11/03
shelves:
review:
This was a first. I have never read a book written by an ancient Egyptian God. Thoth was a pretty good author - a little judgmental at times and he certainly didn't hide his dislike of the Greeks. But when you are dealing with what amounts to be one of the world's greatest dysfunctional families, some of his feelings were justified.

This is the story of Ptolemy, General in Alexander's Macedonian army. Upon the death of the Conquerer and the division of the empire, Ptolemy takes Egypt (along with Alexander's body) and sets up his own empire. He is eventually crowned Pharaoh.

The book is called a historical reconstruction. the real other based the story of what facts we have surrounding this time period and then basally filled in the blanks.

I wish he would have listed some of his sources.
]]> The Moon of Skulls 3195617 Solomon Kane is the Puritan adventurer to whom Howard gave a long life of sword and sorcery adventure in the sixteenth century.

Here are three stories that are full of swashbuckling high adventure and Howard's own particular brand of sword and sorcery. In The Moon of Skulls , the author's fondness for archaeology and dreams of a lost race are never more manifest. Solomon Kane's quest has taken him to Africa where he comes upon the evil Atlantean city of Negari. Here is a land of lost gods, weird rites, and strange men; a long novelette that is typical of what we have come to expect from the pen of Robert E. Howard.

Still in Africa for The Footfalls Within , Kane is beset by a weird horror that lurks in a hideously ancient mausoleum. Skulls in the Stars places the puritan wanderer in England, where he fights a spectral apparition on the desolate moors of his homeland.

Cover by Jeff Jones.]]> 127 Robert E. Howard Jack 5 3.96 The Moon of Skulls
author: Robert E. Howard
name: Jack
average rating: 3.96
book published:
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2018/10/17
shelves:
review:

]]> 56 23085534
In the summer of 1941, as Nazi forces moved relentlessly across Europe and young American men were drafted by the millions, it seemed only a matter of time before the U.S. went to war. The nation was apprehensive. Yet for two months in that tense summer, America was captivated by DiMaggio's astonishing hitting streak. In 56, Kostya Kennedy tells the remarkable story of how the streak found its way into countless lives, from the Italian kitchens of Newark to the playgrounds of Queens to the San Francisco streets of North Beach; from the Oval Office of FDR to the Upper West Side apartment where Joe's first wife, Dorothy, the movie starlet, was expecting a child. In this crisp, evocative narrative, Joe DiMaggio emerges in a previously unseen light, a 26-year-old on the cusp of becoming an icon. He comes alive—a driven ballplayer, a mercurial star and a conflicted husband—as the tension and the scrutiny upon him build with each passing day.

DiMaggio's achievement lives on as the greatest of sports records. Alongside the story of DiMaggio's dramatic quest, Kennedy deftly examines the peculiar nature of hitting streaks and with an incisive, modern-day perspective gets inside the number itself, as its sheer improbability heightens both the math and the magic of 56 games in a row.]]> Kostya Kennedy 1501215167 Jack 5 4.33 2011 56
author: Kostya Kennedy
name: Jack
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2018/03/01
shelves:
review:

]]> King Kull 363717 Prolog
Exile of Atlantis
The Shadow Kingdom
The Altar and the Scorpion
Black Abyss
Delcardes' Cat
The Skull of Silence
Riders Beyond teh Sunrise
By This Axe I Rule!
The Striking of the Gong
Swords of the Purple Kingdom
Wizard and Warrior
The Mirrors of Tuzun Thune
The King and the Oak
Epilog]]> 223 Robert E. Howard 0722147163 Jack 5 3.88 1967 King Kull
author: Robert E. Howard
name: Jack
average rating: 3.88
book published: 1967
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2017/07/01
shelves:
review:

]]> Until the End of the Ninth 3220980 192 Beth Mary Bollinger 1600080316 Jack 5
Until the End of the Ninth by Beth Mary Bollinger is a story of a minor league baseball team from Spokane, Washington in the summer of 1946.

You are introduced to the players of the Spokane Indians, the home town crowd, the newspaper reporters, the team owners � all in a folksy, friendly way that makes it easy to read. I love baseball and I was about to settle down to a story that was more then the game - it was about life and a person’s destiny.

What began ad a retelling of the fateful summer in Spokane turned into something much more. Something I was not expecting.

You see this is not only a story of a baseball team, but a story of men who have survived the hell of war only to be thrust into it one more time.

Look - you can read the other blurbs and they’ll give away the story. Let me just say I was moved by this story. I was absolutely moved to tears.

It’s a short read - not even 200 pages - but it’s one of the most memorable books I have ever read.



]]> 5.00 2006 Until the End of the Ninth
author: Beth Mary Bollinger
name: Jack
average rating: 5.00
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 2017/05/20
date added: 2017/06/20
shelves:
review:
Another gem I found in the $1.00 bin at the grocery store.

Until the End of the Ninth by Beth Mary Bollinger is a story of a minor league baseball team from Spokane, Washington in the summer of 1946.

You are introduced to the players of the Spokane Indians, the home town crowd, the newspaper reporters, the team owners � all in a folksy, friendly way that makes it easy to read. I love baseball and I was about to settle down to a story that was more then the game - it was about life and a person’s destiny.

What began ad a retelling of the fateful summer in Spokane turned into something much more. Something I was not expecting.

You see this is not only a story of a baseball team, but a story of men who have survived the hell of war only to be thrust into it one more time.

Look - you can read the other blurbs and they’ll give away the story. Let me just say I was moved by this story. I was absolutely moved to tears.

It’s a short read - not even 200 pages - but it’s one of the most memorable books I have ever read.




]]> <![CDATA[The Grande Ballroom: Detroit’s Rock ‘n� Roll Palace (Landmarks)]]> 31243384 240 Leo Early 1626197814 Jack 5
And over the years the people who lived there wanted music so all of these ‘clubs� began springing up.

Back in the late 1920’s - almost 90 years ago - they built a beautiful ballroom on the west side of that city.

Bands played there and people danced there and the Muses smiled on what was happening.

Time marched on - bands still played and people dance and at one point the people were roller skating in the ballroom.

On it went - through the depression and a great war and a smaller war until the year 1966. That’s when rock and roll took over there Grande Ballroom.

Leo Early has written a history of the Grande from the beginning to the present time.

I was fortunate to have gone to the Grande from 1967-1969 and I saw many of the bands he has written about.

There are lots of ‘behind the scenes� stories and tons of photos - it brought back so many good memories.

However, there is one thing that he never mentioned.

I was going to college and living with my folks at this time. Whenever I came home from the Grande I had strict instructions to go immediately to the basement, take off my clothes, throw on a robe and come upstairs. WHY? The smell of cigarette smoke. It was disgusting. It seemed everyone but me was smoking and the Grande really didn’t have any way of venting the smoke.

UCK !

Other than that always good times.

Nice job on the book.]]> 4.42 The Grande Ballroom: Detroit’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Palace (Landmarks)
author: Leo Early
name: Jack
average rating: 4.42
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2017/05/17
date added: 2017/05/21
shelves:
review:
There once was a city called Detroit. Big; dirty; noisy.

And over the years the people who lived there wanted music so all of these ‘clubs� began springing up.

Back in the late 1920’s - almost 90 years ago - they built a beautiful ballroom on the west side of that city.

Bands played there and people danced there and the Muses smiled on what was happening.

Time marched on - bands still played and people dance and at one point the people were roller skating in the ballroom.

On it went - through the depression and a great war and a smaller war until the year 1966. That’s when rock and roll took over there Grande Ballroom.

Leo Early has written a history of the Grande from the beginning to the present time.

I was fortunate to have gone to the Grande from 1967-1969 and I saw many of the bands he has written about.

There are lots of ‘behind the scenes� stories and tons of photos - it brought back so many good memories.

However, there is one thing that he never mentioned.

I was going to college and living with my folks at this time. Whenever I came home from the Grande I had strict instructions to go immediately to the basement, take off my clothes, throw on a robe and come upstairs. WHY? The smell of cigarette smoke. It was disgusting. It seemed everyone but me was smoking and the Grande really didn’t have any way of venting the smoke.

UCK !

Other than that always good times.

Nice job on the book.
]]> The Android's Dream 7081
A sheep.

That's right, a sheep. And if you think that's the most surprising thing about this book, wait until you read Chapter One. Welcome to The Android's Dream.

For Harry Creek, it's quickly becoming a nightmare. All he wants is to do his uncomplicated mid-level diplomatic job with Earth's State Department. But his past training and skills get him tapped to save the planet--and to protect pet store owner Robin Baker, whose own past holds the key to the whereabouts of that lost sheep. Doing both will take him from lava-strewn battlefields to alien halls of power. All in a day's work. Maybe it's time for a raise.

Throw in two-timing freelance mercenaries, political lobbyists with megalomaniac tendencies, aliens on a religious quest, and an artificial intelligence with unusual backstory, and you've got more than just your usual science fiction adventure story. You've got The Android's Dream.]]> 396 John Scalzi 0765309416 Jack 5
That is it.

That’s my review.

Where in the wild, wild word of sports did John Scalzi come up with this plot?
Ok - you can read a summary elsewhere.
I won’t describe what happens because I don’t believe that half of what he has written really WAS WRITTEN.
I mean the words go together; sentences are formed; there are paragraphs and chapters.
The man has combined so many crazy elements to form a cohesive story.
Characterization - wow - again, well done
Action - there’s a lot of it
Plot - involved but clear and understandable
Actual writing - again, a superb job of pacing.
Aliens - war - political intrigue - bad guys - good guys - and a very special sheep
I was very, very pleased with this book.]]> 3.97 2006 The Android's Dream
author: John Scalzi
name: Jack
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 2017/05/04
date added: 2017/05/21
shelves:
review:
…M…G

That is it.

That’s my review.

Where in the wild, wild word of sports did John Scalzi come up with this plot?
Ok - you can read a summary elsewhere.
I won’t describe what happens because I don’t believe that half of what he has written really WAS WRITTEN.
I mean the words go together; sentences are formed; there are paragraphs and chapters.
The man has combined so many crazy elements to form a cohesive story.
Characterization - wow - again, well done
Action - there’s a lot of it
Plot - involved but clear and understandable
Actual writing - again, a superb job of pacing.
Aliens - war - political intrigue - bad guys - good guys - and a very special sheep
I was very, very pleased with this book.
]]> Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty 22609487 and authoritative biography of perhaps the most controversial player in baseball history, Ty Cobb.

Ty Cobb is baseball royalty, maybe even the greatest player who ever lived. His lifetime batting average is still the highest of all time, and when he retired in 1928, after twenty-one years with the Detroit Tigers and two with the Philadelphia Athletics, he held more than ninety records. But the numbers don't tell half of Cobb's tale. The Georgia Peach was by far the most thrilling player of the era: "Ty Cobb could cause more excitement with a base on balls than Babe Ruth could with a grand slam," one columnist wrote. When the Hall of Fame began in 1936, he was the first player voted in.

But Cobb was also one of the game's most controversial characters. He got in a lot of fights, on and off the field, and was often accused of being overly aggressive. In his day, even his supporters acknowledged that he was a fierce and fiery competitor. Because his philosophy was to "create a mental hazard for the other man,"; he had his enemies, but he was also widely admired. After his death in 1961, however, something strange happened: his reputation morphed into that of a monster - a virulent racist who also hated children and women, and was in turn hated by his peers.

How did this happen? Who is the real Ty Cobb? Setting the record straight, Charles Leerhsen pushed aside the myths, traveled to Georgia and Detroit, and re-traced Cobb's journey, from the shy son of a professor and state senator who was progressive on race for his time, to America's first true sports celebrity. In the process, he tells of a life overflowing with incident and a man who cut his own path through his times - a man we thought we knew but really didn't.]]> 404 Charles Leerhsen 1451645767 Jack 5
Well - what was he? Author Charles Leerhsen says he’s a mixture of this and that.

So what makes this biography of Cobb so good?

One word - RESEARCH.

Leerhsen went back and looked at the period newspapers, the court documents, the Detroit Tiger club documents. He combined the interviews he conducted himself of people who knew Cobb with the interviews other authors conducted over the years.

He weighed the evidence; he examined all of the allegations and the rebuttals.

Cobb was a complex individual and his is a complex story. It was a rough time. And he gave as good as he got.


I stand in awe of what Leerhsen has put together.


By the way, people who played against him and with him said he NEVER sharpened his spikes! In fact he developed a slide to avoid contact with the other player.

I give this book the highest rating - - ]]> 4.25 2015 Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty
author: Charles Leerhsen
name: Jack
average rating: 4.25
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2017/04/29
date added: 2017/05/09
shelves:
review:
Ty Cobb. Hero. Villain. Racist. Progressive. Savvy businessman. The best who ever played the game. Cheated at ever turn. One of the first to scientifically approach the game of baseball.

Well - what was he? Author Charles Leerhsen says he’s a mixture of this and that.

So what makes this biography of Cobb so good?

One word - RESEARCH.

Leerhsen went back and looked at the period newspapers, the court documents, the Detroit Tiger club documents. He combined the interviews he conducted himself of people who knew Cobb with the interviews other authors conducted over the years.

He weighed the evidence; he examined all of the allegations and the rebuttals.

Cobb was a complex individual and his is a complex story. It was a rough time. And he gave as good as he got.


I stand in awe of what Leerhsen has put together.


By the way, people who played against him and with him said he NEVER sharpened his spikes! In fact he developed a slide to avoid contact with the other player.

I give this book the highest rating - -
]]> <![CDATA[Secret Lives of the Civil War: What Your Teachers Never Told You about the War Between the States]]> 142794
Secret Lives of the Civil War features irreverent and uncensored profiles of men and women from the Union and the Confederacy—complete with hundreds of little-known and downright bizarre facts. You’ll discover

� Mary Todd Lincoln claimed to receive valuable military strategies from ghosts in the spirit
world.
� Jefferson Davis once imported camels for soldiers stationed in the American southwest.
� Ulysses S. Grant spent much of the Vicksburg campaign on a horse named “Kangaroo.�
� James Longstreet fought the Battle of Antietam wearing carpet slippers.
� William T. Sherman was the victim of two shipwrecks on the same day.
� Harriet Tubman experienced frequent and bizarre hallucinations.
� Stonewall Jackson was a notorious hypochondriac (he always sat up straight, fearing that
slouching would compress his vital organs).

With chapters on everyone from William Quantrill (a guerilla leader whose skull later ended up in the basement of a fraternity house) to Rose O’Neal Greenhow (perhaps the South’s most glamorous spy), Secret Lives of the Civil War features a mix of famous faces and unsung heroes. American history was never this much fun in school!]]> 320 Cormac O'Brien 1594741387 Jack 3
That’s probably true because the author does go into a good deal of detail on each of the Northern and Southern personalities included in the book. Teachers wouldn’t have had time to cover everything..

To someone starting out learning about the Civil War, this would be a decent book to read.

However, for those who have done any reading about that period of American history, I would say 80% of the book would be nothing new.

It’s sort of like a PEOPLE Magazine version of the war.
]]> 3.68 2007 Secret Lives of the Civil War: What Your Teachers Never Told You about the War Between the States
author: Cormac O'Brien
name: Jack
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at: 2017/04/19
date added: 2017/04/22
shelves:
review:
The book “Secret Lives of the Civil War � has a sub-title � - What your teachers never told you about the War Between the States and is written by Cormac O’Brien.

That’s probably true because the author does go into a good deal of detail on each of the Northern and Southern personalities included in the book. Teachers wouldn’t have had time to cover everything..

To someone starting out learning about the Civil War, this would be a decent book to read.

However, for those who have done any reading about that period of American history, I would say 80% of the book would be nothing new.

It’s sort of like a PEOPLE Magazine version of the war.

]]> Beatlebone 25614241
It is 1978, and John Lennon has escaped New York City to try to find the island off the west coast of Ireland he bought eleven years prior. Leaving behind domesticity, his approaching forties, his inability to create, and his memories of his parents, he sets off to calm his unquiet soul in the comfortable silence of isolation. But when he puts himself in the hands of a shape-shifting driver full of Irish charm and dark whimsy, what ensues can only be termed a magical mystery tour.
Beatlebone is a tour de force of language and literary imagination that marries the most improbable elements to the most striking effect. It isa book that only Kevin Barry would attempt, letalone succeed in pulling off—a Hibernian high wire act of courage, nerve, and great beauty.]]> 299 Kevin Barry 0385540299 Jack 2
I caught the tail end of a PBS radio show a few months ago and they were interviewing Barry. What I heard made me think this might be an interesting book.

So I ordered a copy on line; it arrived; I began to read.

Disclaimer - I do not like stories that have ‘hidden meaning� or are metaphors.

Beatlebone is surreal - it’s a mixture of fantasy and fact (well maybe fact). At times it was funny. At imps it was weird. At times it flat out bored me to death. But I paid for the book and by golly I was going to finish it.

Sorry - not my cup of tea.]]> 3.47 2015 Beatlebone
author: Kevin Barry
name: Jack
average rating: 3.47
book published: 2015
rating: 2
read at: 2017/03/20
date added: 2017/04/19
shelves:
review:
Kevin Barry wrote a book entitled “Beatlebone� about John Lennon, 1978, and his plan to get away from it all on an island on the west of Ireland to jump-start his creative juices.

I caught the tail end of a PBS radio show a few months ago and they were interviewing Barry. What I heard made me think this might be an interesting book.

So I ordered a copy on line; it arrived; I began to read.

Disclaimer - I do not like stories that have ‘hidden meaning� or are metaphors.

Beatlebone is surreal - it’s a mixture of fantasy and fact (well maybe fact). At times it was funny. At imps it was weird. At times it flat out bored me to death. But I paid for the book and by golly I was going to finish it.

Sorry - not my cup of tea.
]]> <![CDATA[Marching Home: Union Veterans and Their Unending Civil War]]> 20665584 384 Brian Matthew Jordan 0871407817 Jack 5
It is about the Union veterans after the guns fell silent in the Spring of 1865.

If you don’t like depressing books, don’t pick it up.

However, if you do enjoy a well researched (and I mean A+, a first rate, great job of research) and want to know what it was like to be a Union soldier returning home after years of blood, guts and gore, this is the book for you.

As I read this book I wondered about Jeremiah Jenkins, my great-grandfather. The interesting thing about Jeremiah: he started out in the 16th North Carolina regiment. Yes - that IS a Confederate unit. Then sometime in late 1862 we think he went back to his home in the mountains of western NC - which had a very strong Union sentiment. He ended up in the 7th Indiana regiment in May 1864 and fought for the Union the rest of the war. When the war ended he returned to Indiana, married an Illinois girl, started a family and eventually returning to NC in the 1890s.

Did Jeremiah suffer through the same problems as thousand as of other Union ex-soldiers?

Remember what your high school history taught you? Lee surrendered to Grant and the war was over. They night have mentioned the other Eastern army under Johnston surrendering to Sherman - maybe not. Or all of the troops further West.

So the war’s over. The Southern soldiers returned to their burnt down farms and cities while the Union soldiers returned to a “Hero’s Welcome�. Hey, you of the 7th Indiana - how did that work out for you? Or you with the 16th Mass or you with the 93rd Ohio?

Jordan draws upon letters, diaries, period newspaper accounts, government records to paint a picture of veterans who were unprepared for the return to civilian life. Here were men coming home to the quiet farm community, for example, who were trained killers; who had fought in some of the most horrific battles the world had seen up to that time. “Did you see the look on Sgt Allen’s face last night? He’s not right. I’m keeping away from him.�

His description of the men who had lost at least one limb - by some estimates 50,000 Union soldiers - is the saddest. Here was a boy, 18 years old, who went off to war. He was big and tall and strong as an ox. The best farm hand in the county. After the siege of Vicksburg June-July 1863 he’s back home and missing a right arm. From that time on he was one of the thousands of men know as ‘empty sleeves�. What do you do with him now?

Great book. Disturbing reading.]]> 4.02 2014 Marching Home: Union Veterans and Their Unending Civil War
author: Brian Matthew Jordan
name: Jack
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2017/03/01
date added: 2017/03/11
shelves:
review:
MARCHING HOME by Brian Matthew Jordan is a most depressing book.

It is about the Union veterans after the guns fell silent in the Spring of 1865.

If you don’t like depressing books, don’t pick it up.

However, if you do enjoy a well researched (and I mean A+, a first rate, great job of research) and want to know what it was like to be a Union soldier returning home after years of blood, guts and gore, this is the book for you.

As I read this book I wondered about Jeremiah Jenkins, my great-grandfather. The interesting thing about Jeremiah: he started out in the 16th North Carolina regiment. Yes - that IS a Confederate unit. Then sometime in late 1862 we think he went back to his home in the mountains of western NC - which had a very strong Union sentiment. He ended up in the 7th Indiana regiment in May 1864 and fought for the Union the rest of the war. When the war ended he returned to Indiana, married an Illinois girl, started a family and eventually returning to NC in the 1890s.

Did Jeremiah suffer through the same problems as thousand as of other Union ex-soldiers?

Remember what your high school history taught you? Lee surrendered to Grant and the war was over. They night have mentioned the other Eastern army under Johnston surrendering to Sherman - maybe not. Or all of the troops further West.

So the war’s over. The Southern soldiers returned to their burnt down farms and cities while the Union soldiers returned to a “Hero’s Welcome�. Hey, you of the 7th Indiana - how did that work out for you? Or you with the 16th Mass or you with the 93rd Ohio?

Jordan draws upon letters, diaries, period newspaper accounts, government records to paint a picture of veterans who were unprepared for the return to civilian life. Here were men coming home to the quiet farm community, for example, who were trained killers; who had fought in some of the most horrific battles the world had seen up to that time. “Did you see the look on Sgt Allen’s face last night? He’s not right. I’m keeping away from him.�

His description of the men who had lost at least one limb - by some estimates 50,000 Union soldiers - is the saddest. Here was a boy, 18 years old, who went off to war. He was big and tall and strong as an ox. The best farm hand in the county. After the siege of Vicksburg June-July 1863 he’s back home and missing a right arm. From that time on he was one of the thousands of men know as ‘empty sleeves�. What do you do with him now?

Great book. Disturbing reading.
]]> Redshirts 13055592 Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It’s a prestige posting, and Andrew is thrilled all the more to be assigned to the ship’s Xenobiology laboratory.

Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to pick up on the fact that:
(1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces
(2) the ship’s captain, its chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations
(3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed.

Not surprisingly, a great deal of energy below decks is expended on avoiding, at all costs, being assigned to an Away Mission. Then Andrew stumbles on information that completely transforms his and his colleagues� understanding of what the starship Intrepid really is…and offers them a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives.]]> 320 John Scalzi 0765316994 Jack 5
So what did John Scalzi (one of my favorite authors) do? He wrote a book about a cursed star ship and the strange link between deaths amongst its away-team crews and an ancient TV sci-fi show.

(See other reviews for plot etc)

Scalzi’s dialogue is first rate - right up there with his other stories. To me he’s as good as Elmore Leonard and Loren Estleman. It flows. It’s nature;.

Ok - people always ask “What about the characters? Were they real?�

Good character development is a hallmark of a Scalzi story. They grow; they can change; they are NOT wooden.

The story never drags. It’s fun to read a Scalzi story.

I liked it.

Oh so did some other people. It won the Hugo award for best novel 2013 - one of sciene fiction’s top honors.]]> 3.85 2012 Redshirts
author: John Scalzi
name: Jack
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2012
rating: 5
read at: 2017/03/03
date added: 2017/03/03
shelves:
review:
It’s true - watch the old Star Trek series. Who buys the farm? It’s the guys wearing the ‘RED SHIRTS�.

So what did John Scalzi (one of my favorite authors) do? He wrote a book about a cursed star ship and the strange link between deaths amongst its away-team crews and an ancient TV sci-fi show.

(See other reviews for plot etc)

Scalzi’s dialogue is first rate - right up there with his other stories. To me he’s as good as Elmore Leonard and Loren Estleman. It flows. It’s nature;.

Ok - people always ask “What about the characters? Were they real?�

Good character development is a hallmark of a Scalzi story. They grow; they can change; they are NOT wooden.

The story never drags. It’s fun to read a Scalzi story.

I liked it.

Oh so did some other people. It won the Hugo award for best novel 2013 - one of sciene fiction’s top honors.
]]> Lock In (Lock In, #1) 21418013
A quarter of a century later, in a world shaped by what's now known as "Haden's syndrome," rookie FBI agent Chris Shane is paired with veteran agent Leslie Vann. The two of them are assigned what appears to be a Haden-related murder at the Watergate Hotel, with a suspect who is an "integrator" - someone who can let the locked in borrow their bodies for a time. If the Integrator was carrying a Haden client, then naming the suspect for the murder becomes that much more complicated.

But "complicated" doesn't begin to describe it. As Shane and Vann began to unravel the threads of the murder, it becomes clear that the real mystery - and the real crime - is bigger than anyone could have imagined. The world of the locked in is changing, and with the change comes opportunities that the ambitious will seize at any cost. The investigation that began as a murder case takes Shane and Vann from the halls of corporate power to the virtual spaces of the locked in, and to the very heart of an emerging, surprising new human culture. It's nothing you could have expected.]]> 336 John Scalzi 0765375869 Jack 5
There’s this virus - most people just get flu like symptoms. Not a big deal. But then there are the 1% who are unable to move or respond to any stimulus. They’re awake and aware but “locked in�. The virus becomes known as the Haden syndrome and anyone suffering from the disease is know as a Haden.

Now comes the fun part (Jenkins sure has a strange way of looking at things). A very small minority of the Hadens have become ‘integrators�. Somehow the virus has affected their brains and the integrators can allow their body to be used by other people for a period of time.

Over the years science has developed a way to transfer the consciousness of a Haden to a type of android/robot with running from your low cost Yugo style model to the Rolls Royce model.

I was confused about this at first which was a little frustrating. Scalzi never went into an explanation about that and it threw me off a bit.

The plot revolves around a rookie FBI agent who is a Haden and a veteran agent who is a former integrator. There’s a murder, bombings and a mystery to solve.

Scalzi’s dialogue, as usual, was spot on - excellent. The plot was well developed and I really got into the story once I figured out about the android/robot part.

I finished the book hoping that Scalzi will write more stories about this FBI team.]]> 3.89 2014 Lock In (Lock In, #1)
author: John Scalzi
name: Jack
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2017/02/02
date added: 2017/02/18
shelves:
review:
John Scalzi’s “LOCK IN� is an novel, as it says on the book cover, of the near future.

There’s this virus - most people just get flu like symptoms. Not a big deal. But then there are the 1% who are unable to move or respond to any stimulus. They’re awake and aware but “locked in�. The virus becomes known as the Haden syndrome and anyone suffering from the disease is know as a Haden.

Now comes the fun part (Jenkins sure has a strange way of looking at things). A very small minority of the Hadens have become ‘integrators�. Somehow the virus has affected their brains and the integrators can allow their body to be used by other people for a period of time.

Over the years science has developed a way to transfer the consciousness of a Haden to a type of android/robot with running from your low cost Yugo style model to the Rolls Royce model.

I was confused about this at first which was a little frustrating. Scalzi never went into an explanation about that and it threw me off a bit.

The plot revolves around a rookie FBI agent who is a Haden and a veteran agent who is a former integrator. There’s a murder, bombings and a mystery to solve.

Scalzi’s dialogue, as usual, was spot on - excellent. The plot was well developed and I really got into the story once I figured out about the android/robot part.

I finished the book hoping that Scalzi will write more stories about this FBI team.
]]> <![CDATA[The End of All Things (Old Man's War, #6)]]> 23168809 Hugo-award winning author, John Scalzi returns to his best-selling Old Man's War universe with the direct sequel to 2013’s The Human Division

Humans expanded into space…only to find a universe populated with multiple alien species bent on their destruction. Thus was the Colonial Union formed, to help protect us from a hostile universe. The Colonial Union used the Earth and its excess population for colonists and soldiers. It was a good arrangement...for the Colonial Union. Then the Earth said: no more.
〶
Now the Colonial Union is living on borrowed time—a couple of decades at most, before the ranks of the Colonial Defense Forces are depleted and the struggling human colonies are vulnerable to the alien species who have been waiting for the first sign of weakness, to drive humanity to ruin. And there’s another problem: A group, lurking in the darkness of space, playing human and alien against each other—and against their own kind —for their own unknown reasons.
〶
In this collapsing universe, CDF Lieutenant Harry Wilson and the Colonial Union diplomats he works with race against the clock to discover who is behind attacks on the Union and on alien races, to seek peace with a suspicious, angry Earth, and keep humanity’s union intact...or else risk oblivion, and extinction—and the end of all things.]]> 380 John Scalzi 0765376075 Jack 5 3.97 2015 The End of All Things (Old Man's War, #6)
author: John Scalzi
name: Jack
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2017/02/01
date added: 2017/02/07
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Human Division (Old Man's War, #5)]]> 15698479 The Last Colony, John Scalzi tells the story of the fight to maintain the unity of the human race.

The people of Earth now know that the human Colonial Union has kept them ignorant of the dangerous universe around them. For generations the CU had defended humanity against hostile aliens, deliberately keeping Earth an ignorant backwater and a source of military recruits. Now the CU's secrets are known to all. Other alien races have come on the scene and formed a new alliance—an alliance against the Colonial Union. And they've invited the people of Earth to join them. For a shaken and betrayed Earth, the choice isn't obvious or easy.

Against such possibilities, managing the survival of the Colonial Union won't be easy, either. It will take diplomatic finesse, political cunning…and a brilliant "B Team," centered on the resourceful Lieutenant Harry Wilson, that can be deployed to deal with the unpredictable and unexpected things the universe throws at you when you're struggling to preserve the unity of the human race.

Being published online from January to April 2013 as a three-month digital serial, The Human Division will appear as a full-length novel of the Old Man's War universe, plus—for the first time in print—the first tale of Lieutenant Harry Wilson, and a coda that wasn't part of the digital serialization.]]> 431 John Scalzi 0765333511 Jack 5 It’s like a Golden Age of Science Fiction type space opera.
Kidnapping space ships. Lots of them
Epic battles.
Brains in a box controller a star ship.
A shadowy force that menaces both the humans and the alien Conclave.
It’s fast paced - twists and turns - surprises.
Characters you can believe in and feel for.
One hell of a wild ride.
Scalzi is fantastic writer and story teller.]]> 4.06 2013 The Human Division (Old Man's War, #5)
author: John Scalzi
name: Jack
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2017/01/17
date added: 2017/01/25
shelves:
review:
What a wonderful, riveting story - “The Human Division� by John Scalzi.
It’s like a Golden Age of Science Fiction type space opera.
Kidnapping space ships. Lots of them
Epic battles.
Brains in a box controller a star ship.
A shadowy force that menaces both the humans and the alien Conclave.
It’s fast paced - twists and turns - surprises.
Characters you can believe in and feel for.
One hell of a wild ride.
Scalzi is fantastic writer and story teller.
]]> The Love of Baseball 2540030 320 Paul Adomites 1412711312 Jack 5
300 pages of trivia, facts and unforgettable stories of America’s past time and lots of photos.

You can pick it up, read a few pages, put it down and come back again later for a few more pages..

Skip around - check out the section of defense then read about the players who burned up the base paths.

What about those heavy hitters? There’s a section for them. Don’t forgot the pitches - what a rowdy bunch.

They even had several sections entitled ‘Notable Nicknames�.

Dick “Dr. Strangeglove� Stuart - it was always an adventure when you threw him the ball.

Here are some older players:

Fidgety Phil Collins (not the singer) - no clue about this one.

Pickles Dillhoefer as in dill pickles.

Or how about Harry “Suitcase� Simpson. I looked this one up. He was called "Suitcase" by sportswriters after the Toonerville Trolley character, Suitcase Simpson, because of his size 13 shoe - he had feet as large as suitcases.

A great gift to give a baseball fan - that’s how I got mine.]]> 4.11 2005 The Love of Baseball
author: Paul Adomites
name: Jack
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 2017/01/13
date added: 2017/01/16
shelves:
review:
“The Love of Baseball� is a baseball lover’s dream.

300 pages of trivia, facts and unforgettable stories of America’s past time and lots of photos.

You can pick it up, read a few pages, put it down and come back again later for a few more pages..

Skip around - check out the section of defense then read about the players who burned up the base paths.

What about those heavy hitters? There’s a section for them. Don’t forgot the pitches - what a rowdy bunch.

They even had several sections entitled ‘Notable Nicknames�.

Dick “Dr. Strangeglove� Stuart - it was always an adventure when you threw him the ball.

Here are some older players:

Fidgety Phil Collins (not the singer) - no clue about this one.

Pickles Dillhoefer as in dill pickles.

Or how about Harry “Suitcase� Simpson. I looked this one up. He was called "Suitcase" by sportswriters after the Toonerville Trolley character, Suitcase Simpson, because of his size 13 shoe - he had feet as large as suitcases.

A great gift to give a baseball fan - that’s how I got mine.
]]> <![CDATA[Zoe's Tale (Old Man's War, #4)]]> 6053172
I ask because it's what I have to do. I'm Zoe Boutin Perry: A colonist stranded on a deadly pioneer world. Holy icon to a race of aliens. A player (and a pawn) in a interstellar chess match to save humanity, or to see it fall. Witness to history. Friend. Daughter. Human. Seventeen years old.

Everyone on Earth knows the tale I am part of. But you don't know my tale: How I did what I did � how I did what I had to do � not just to stay alive but to keep you alive, too. All of you. I'm going to tell it to you now, the only way I know how: not straight but true, the whole thing, to try to make you feel what I felt: the joy and terror and uncertainty, panic and wonder, despair and hope. Everything that happened, bringing us to Earth, and Earth out of its captivity. All through my eyes.

It's a story you know. But you don't know it all.]]> 406 John Scalzi 0765356198 Jack 5
Zoe is the daughter of the Lost Colony’s leaders and she is smart and witty, tough as nails and fragile. Scalzi ’s Zoe also makes mistakes, is pouty, and also happens to be the ‘holy icon� of an alien race. While ‘The Lost Colony� focuses primarily on the how adults handle the problems of adapting to strange new world, ‘Zoe’s Tale� concentrates what it would be like to be teenager on this world.

At first I wondered - can Scalzi hold my attention? I mean, I thoroughly enjoyed “The Lost Colony�, but is he just going the rehash the same plot?

It’s not a rehash. ‘Zoe’s Tale� actually expands on the Lost Colony’s story - adds new information from a different voice. It fleshes out an already wonderful tale.

So my conclusion is the man pulled it off. ‘Zoe’s Tale� was well worth the read!!!!

Scalzi is one hell of a writer and I am so glad I found him.]]> 3.75 2008 Zoe's Tale (Old Man's War, #4)
author: John Scalzi
name: Jack
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 2017/01/04
date added: 2017/01/10
shelves:
review:
While John Scalzi’s ‘Zoe’s Tale� can be read as a stand alone novel, my suggestion is to read “The Lost Colony� first. “Zoe’s Tale� is story of the Lost Colony from a teenage girl’s perspective.

Zoe is the daughter of the Lost Colony’s leaders and she is smart and witty, tough as nails and fragile. Scalzi ’s Zoe also makes mistakes, is pouty, and also happens to be the ‘holy icon� of an alien race. While ‘The Lost Colony� focuses primarily on the how adults handle the problems of adapting to strange new world, ‘Zoe’s Tale� concentrates what it would be like to be teenager on this world.

At first I wondered - can Scalzi hold my attention? I mean, I thoroughly enjoyed “The Lost Colony�, but is he just going the rehash the same plot?

It’s not a rehash. ‘Zoe’s Tale� actually expands on the Lost Colony’s story - adds new information from a different voice. It fleshes out an already wonderful tale.

So my conclusion is the man pulled it off. ‘Zoe’s Tale� was well worth the read!!!!

Scalzi is one hell of a writer and I am so glad I found him.
]]> <![CDATA[The Last Colony (Old Man's War, #3)]]> 3077004 #1 Old Man’s War
#2 The Ghost Brigades
#3 The Last Colony
#4 Zoe’s Tale
#5 The Human Division
#6 The End of All Things
Short “After the Coup� Other Tor Books
The Android’s Dream
Agent to the Stars
Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded
Fuzzy Nation
Redshirts
Lock In
The Collapsing Empire (forthcoming)]]> 326 John Scalzi 076535618X Jack 5
I loved it.

Wars. Battles. Intrigue. Drama. Some mirth. Political skullduggery. Surprises galore.

I thoroughly enjoyed how characters were developed. One man started out as a real jerk and by book’s end had changed into a more sympathetic person. And it wasn’t because he just woke up and was nicer. It was more ‘organic�, if you follow me.

The dialogue is tight and to the point. One of Scalzi’s real talents is the ability to weave detailed descriptive passages into regular conversations. With some authors it’s like you are attending a lecture on galactic politics. Dry and boring. Scalzi has a knack of making it interesting.

Already started his next book
]]> 4.01 2007 The Last Colony (Old Man's War, #3)
author: John Scalzi
name: Jack
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2016/12/26
date added: 2017/01/02
shelves:
review:
John Scalzi’s is the third book the “The Old Man’s War� series.

I loved it.

Wars. Battles. Intrigue. Drama. Some mirth. Political skullduggery. Surprises galore.

I thoroughly enjoyed how characters were developed. One man started out as a real jerk and by book’s end had changed into a more sympathetic person. And it wasn’t because he just woke up and was nicer. It was more ‘organic�, if you follow me.

The dialogue is tight and to the point. One of Scalzi’s real talents is the ability to weave detailed descriptive passages into regular conversations. With some authors it’s like you are attending a lecture on galactic politics. Dry and boring. Scalzi has a knack of making it interesting.

Already started his next book

]]> <![CDATA[Battle of Falling Waters 1863: Custer, Pettigrew and the End of the Gettysburg Campaign]]> 18233653 The story does not end with the battle. Included is an intriguing tale about veterans of the Battle of Falling Waters, Maryland decades after Gen. Robert E. Lee’s rear guard clashed with Maj. Gen. George G. Meade’s cavalry. The book concludes with a detailed description of the battlefield today and efforts to preserve portions of the land for future generations.
George Franks has made extensive use of first-hand accounts, detailed maps, period drawings and photographs to breathe life into the crucial yet little remembered end of the Gettysburg Campaign.]]> 118 George F. Franks III 1484138376 Jack 1 What a disappointment. I did not like this book. At All.

Battle of Falling Water 1863 by George F. Franks III was published in 2013 just after the 150th anniversary of the battle.

Such a let down.

Before I get into my review let me suggest Kent Masterson Brown’s book "Retreat from Gettysburg", published in 2005. While the section on the Battle of Falling Waters is short, it is much better written than Franks� book.

This was the final battle of the Gettysburg campaign. Robert E. Lee’s Confederates had retreated from that small Pennsylvania town and were now trapped between George G. Meade’s Union army and the flood waters of the Potomac River. Across the river was home - Virginia.

I wanted to read this book because the the 7th Tennessee took part in this battle and I am a reenactor in Company D, 7th Tennessee. I am also a Civil War historian.

The writing is poor. Several times I found Franks repeating a paragraph - word for word - from one chapter to another.

It was dull - no life in the narrative. I felt I was in a junior high school history class with the teacher droning on about some unimportant bit of historical drivel which I would forget the moment I walked out of the door.

Whereas some authors will weave the primary sources into their narrative, Franks keeps them separate. The effect is disjointed and dull.


He begins each chapter with a general overview of that day or week and then has a section entitled “Official Reports and First-Hand Accounts�. He quotes sections from the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion (known as OR) and information from another 9 (count them - NINE) primary sources.

Franks was to have spent a decade researching this July 14, 1863, battle. Really? And this is all he could come up with - 9 primary sources ?

When I was researching a paper in college back in 1973 I didn’t have a decade to finish it - I had 8 weeks. My professor, the esteemed Civil War historian Grady McWhinney, had the 100+ volumes of the OR in his office which I poured over them. He also said “Get the regimental histories. You can’t always believe what the people wrote in their reports.�

And so through the inter-library loan system I ordered dozens of regimental histories written by the men who actually fought in the battles. Again I had to sift through the hyperbole but at least I got to see what the the rank and file had to say.

Shame on you Mr. Franks - and you had the internet and I didn’t.


The back cover bulb said the book include “detailed maps. period drawings and photographs to breathe life …� blah blah blah.

MAPS - there are four small maps - two of which were printed upside down. Really. They are upside down.

The first map was an overview of Lee’s retreat and Meade’s pursuit. The second map showed the position of the armies on July 13. The third map - which is upside down - is of the town Williamsport which was just north of Falling Waters. I don’t know why it was included - to fill space? Take up a page? . Finally, the fourth map (also upside down) was so small I couldn’t make out anything. I found a much better copy while looking for maps on the Library of Congress web site. On the LoC map I could see the position of the armies clearly around Williamsport and south to Falling Waters.

NOTE - there is a much better map of the battle found on page 329 in Brown’s "Retreat from Gettysburg."

DRAWINGS - one by Alfred Waud and one by Edwin Forbes are small and reproduced very dark in the copy of my book. Difficult to make out any details.

PHOTOGRAPHS - there were two photographs in the book. I can understand why Franks chose to have one of Confederate General Pettigrew; he was mortally wounded at Falling Warers. But the photo was of a young Pettigrew. The war time photograph found on page 341 of Brown’s book is from the war years. He’s got one sweet looking beard.

The second photograph is of George Custer. Yes, it was Custer’s 6th Michigan cavalry the made the initial charge into the Confederal line, but � of all of the people - Custer?


The book is 99 pages long. In the first third of the book he sets the scene - Lee’s retreat to the Potomac and Meade’s pursuit.

Then he spends just 22 pages on the battle.

The remaining 40 some pages details movements of the two armies after the battle - quote after quote from the OR - “On July 16 we were here� “On July 17 we stopped and made camp here�.

There is a 3 page description of the battlefield today and efforts to preserve the ground. He gives driving instructions to various spots - a map here would have been most useful.

I can see where he would want to present some sort of summary about Lee’s retreat and the Battle of Falling Waters buy why did he include page after page of OR reports of troop movement a week after the battle took place?

And then - to top it off - he included 2 pages about the New York City draft riots which were happening at the same time - with detailed OR reports. The only connection I can see with the riots and Falling Waters is that the one of the Union cavalry generals at the battle, Hugh Kilpatrick, was sent to NYC to help quell the fighting. Granted it’s only a couple of pages but what has that to do with the battle on July 14? It made no sense to me.

Again extremely disappointed. ]]> 3.76 2013 Battle of Falling Waters 1863: Custer, Pettigrew and the End of the Gettysburg Campaign
author: George F. Franks III
name: Jack
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2013
rating: 1
read at: 2016/12/15
date added: 2016/12/17
shelves:
review:

What a disappointment. I did not like this book. At All.

Battle of Falling Water 1863 by George F. Franks III was published in 2013 just after the 150th anniversary of the battle.

Such a let down.

Before I get into my review let me suggest Kent Masterson Brown’s book "Retreat from Gettysburg", published in 2005. While the section on the Battle of Falling Waters is short, it is much better written than Franks� book.

This was the final battle of the Gettysburg campaign. Robert E. Lee’s Confederates had retreated from that small Pennsylvania town and were now trapped between George G. Meade’s Union army and the flood waters of the Potomac River. Across the river was home - Virginia.

I wanted to read this book because the the 7th Tennessee took part in this battle and I am a reenactor in Company D, 7th Tennessee. I am also a Civil War historian.

The writing is poor. Several times I found Franks repeating a paragraph - word for word - from one chapter to another.

It was dull - no life in the narrative. I felt I was in a junior high school history class with the teacher droning on about some unimportant bit of historical drivel which I would forget the moment I walked out of the door.

Whereas some authors will weave the primary sources into their narrative, Franks keeps them separate. The effect is disjointed and dull.


He begins each chapter with a general overview of that day or week and then has a section entitled “Official Reports and First-Hand Accounts�. He quotes sections from the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion (known as OR) and information from another 9 (count them - NINE) primary sources.

Franks was to have spent a decade researching this July 14, 1863, battle. Really? And this is all he could come up with - 9 primary sources ?

When I was researching a paper in college back in 1973 I didn’t have a decade to finish it - I had 8 weeks. My professor, the esteemed Civil War historian Grady McWhinney, had the 100+ volumes of the OR in his office which I poured over them. He also said “Get the regimental histories. You can’t always believe what the people wrote in their reports.�

And so through the inter-library loan system I ordered dozens of regimental histories written by the men who actually fought in the battles. Again I had to sift through the hyperbole but at least I got to see what the the rank and file had to say.

Shame on you Mr. Franks - and you had the internet and I didn’t.


The back cover bulb said the book include “detailed maps. period drawings and photographs to breathe life …� blah blah blah.

MAPS - there are four small maps - two of which were printed upside down. Really. They are upside down.

The first map was an overview of Lee’s retreat and Meade’s pursuit. The second map showed the position of the armies on July 13. The third map - which is upside down - is of the town Williamsport which was just north of Falling Waters. I don’t know why it was included - to fill space? Take up a page? . Finally, the fourth map (also upside down) was so small I couldn’t make out anything. I found a much better copy while looking for maps on the Library of Congress web site. On the LoC map I could see the position of the armies clearly around Williamsport and south to Falling Waters.

NOTE - there is a much better map of the battle found on page 329 in Brown’s "Retreat from Gettysburg."

DRAWINGS - one by Alfred Waud and one by Edwin Forbes are small and reproduced very dark in the copy of my book. Difficult to make out any details.

PHOTOGRAPHS - there were two photographs in the book. I can understand why Franks chose to have one of Confederate General Pettigrew; he was mortally wounded at Falling Warers. But the photo was of a young Pettigrew. The war time photograph found on page 341 of Brown’s book is from the war years. He’s got one sweet looking beard.

The second photograph is of George Custer. Yes, it was Custer’s 6th Michigan cavalry the made the initial charge into the Confederal line, but � of all of the people - Custer?


The book is 99 pages long. In the first third of the book he sets the scene - Lee’s retreat to the Potomac and Meade’s pursuit.

Then he spends just 22 pages on the battle.

The remaining 40 some pages details movements of the two armies after the battle - quote after quote from the OR - “On July 16 we were here� “On July 17 we stopped and made camp here�.

There is a 3 page description of the battlefield today and efforts to preserve the ground. He gives driving instructions to various spots - a map here would have been most useful.

I can see where he would want to present some sort of summary about Lee’s retreat and the Battle of Falling Waters buy why did he include page after page of OR reports of troop movement a week after the battle took place?

And then - to top it off - he included 2 pages about the New York City draft riots which were happening at the same time - with detailed OR reports. The only connection I can see with the riots and Falling Waters is that the one of the Union cavalry generals at the battle, Hugh Kilpatrick, was sent to NYC to help quell the fighting. Granted it’s only a couple of pages but what has that to do with the battle on July 14? It made no sense to me.

Again extremely disappointed.
]]> Wars Of Blood And Faith 6993328 384 Ralph Peters 0811735648 Jack 5 “Wars of Blood and Faith� was written by Ralph Peters. It is a collection of short essays published in 2006 and 2007 that delve into the world of war 21st century style .

Peters is a retired Army intelligence officer who is articulate and extremely perceptive in his observations. He is also a very, very good writer.

And he doesn’t pull any punches - members of both the left and the right are exposed as incompetents. He blasts the generals and colonels who are more concerned about what plush job they will land after retirement than doing their jobs the right way.

Look - Sherman said War is Hell. With war there is blood. Young men (and now women) are hurt and some die. That is reality. The goal should be to provide our soldiers with the best tools and the best training and the best intelligence possible so they can do their job.

According to Peters, our policy makers and many of our military commanders just don’t get the picture of dealing with ethnic wars or religious fanaticism in the 21st century. The US fought communism for 50 years. The problem is policy makers and military commanders are approaching today’s conflicts as if the Islamic radicals are those same communists of years past. Wake up - it’s not a question of capitalism VS communism; it’s “My God says I must kill you.�

A good - but upsetting - read.]]> 3.75 2007 Wars Of Blood And Faith
author: Ralph Peters
name: Jack
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2016/12/07
date added: 2016/12/15
shelves:
review:

“Wars of Blood and Faith� was written by Ralph Peters. It is a collection of short essays published in 2006 and 2007 that delve into the world of war 21st century style .

Peters is a retired Army intelligence officer who is articulate and extremely perceptive in his observations. He is also a very, very good writer.

And he doesn’t pull any punches - members of both the left and the right are exposed as incompetents. He blasts the generals and colonels who are more concerned about what plush job they will land after retirement than doing their jobs the right way.

Look - Sherman said War is Hell. With war there is blood. Young men (and now women) are hurt and some die. That is reality. The goal should be to provide our soldiers with the best tools and the best training and the best intelligence possible so they can do their job.

According to Peters, our policy makers and many of our military commanders just don’t get the picture of dealing with ethnic wars or religious fanaticism in the 21st century. The US fought communism for 50 years. The problem is policy makers and military commanders are approaching today’s conflicts as if the Islamic radicals are those same communists of years past. Wake up - it’s not a question of capitalism VS communism; it’s “My God says I must kill you.�

A good - but upsetting - read.
]]> <![CDATA[FM: The Rise and Fall of Rock Radio]]> 4381036 –from FM

As a young man, Richard Neer dreamed of landing a job at WNEW in New York–one of the revolutionary FM stations across the country that were changing the face of radio by rejecting strict formatting and letting disc jockeys play whatever they wanted. He felt that when he got there, he’d have made the big time. Little did he know he’d have shaped rock history as well.

The Rise and Fall of Rock Radio chronicles the birth, growth, and death of free-form rock-and-roll radio through the stories of the movement’s flagship stations. In the late sixties and early seventies–at stations like KSAN in San Francisco, WBCN in Boston, WMMR in Philadelphia, KMET in Los Angeles, WNEW, and others–disc jockeys became the gatekeepers, critics, and gurus of new music. Jocks like Scott Muni, Vin Scelsa, Jonathan Schwartz, and Neer developed loyal followings and had incredible influence on their listeners and on the early careers of artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Genesis, the Cars, and many others.

Full of fascinating firsthand stories, FM documents the commodification of an iconoclastic phenomenon, revealing how counterculture was coopted and consumed by the mainstream. Richard Neer was an eyewitness to, and participant in, this history. FM is the tale of his exhilarating ride.]]> 384 Richard Neer 0812992652 Jack 4
FM-The Rise and Fall of Rock Radio is an insider's history of the New York City radio station WNEW-FM - behind the scenes - the personalities - the highs and the lows.

The author Richard Neer worked there as a DJ, Program Director, gofer, you name and he’s done it for 28 years. He takes us from there dawn of free form radio in the late 1960’s until the day the music died in the 1990’s. Neer also tells about radio in Boston, Philadelphia, and the West Coast.

I had just started college in Detroit when FM radio caught on. The DJs played what they wanted to play - not from some set list given to them from on high. And so began my musical education.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It brought back so many memories. ]]> 3.60 2001 FM: The Rise and Fall of Rock Radio
author: Richard Neer
name: Jack
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at: 2016/11/30
date added: 2016/12/09
shelves:
review:
Rock and Roll and History - a wonderful combination. I love them both.

FM-The Rise and Fall of Rock Radio is an insider's history of the New York City radio station WNEW-FM - behind the scenes - the personalities - the highs and the lows.

The author Richard Neer worked there as a DJ, Program Director, gofer, you name and he’s done it for 28 years. He takes us from there dawn of free form radio in the late 1960’s until the day the music died in the 1990’s. Neer also tells about radio in Boston, Philadelphia, and the West Coast.

I had just started college in Detroit when FM radio caught on. The DJs played what they wanted to play - not from some set list given to them from on high. And so began my musical education.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It brought back so many memories.
]]> <![CDATA[The Furies of Rome (Vespasian, #7)]]> 29501627 352 Robert Fabbri 0857899732 Jack 5
Robert Fabbri is able to convey the fear that gripped Rome as Nero's reign continued and our boy Vespasian is right in the middle of things. I actually was was feeling just as uncomfortable as Vespasian.

Fabbri is good like that. His attention to details is second to none. You feel like you're right there.

The story shifts to Britain and the revolt of the natives led by Boudicca and Fabbri paints a portrait of hell on earth. I have read the accounts of this period by the ancient historians. Fabbri brings the terror down to the common man. Powerful stuff. ]]> 4.40 2016 The Furies of Rome (Vespasian, #7)
author: Robert Fabbri
name: Jack
average rating: 4.40
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2016/11/27
date added: 2016/11/29
shelves:
review:
Continuing the story of Vespasian - lots of interesting goings-on in Rome with that wacky-lovable all-around-man about town NERO.

Robert Fabbri is able to convey the fear that gripped Rome as Nero's reign continued and our boy Vespasian is right in the middle of things. I actually was was feeling just as uncomfortable as Vespasian.

Fabbri is good like that. His attention to details is second to none. You feel like you're right there.

The story shifts to Britain and the revolt of the natives led by Boudicca and Fabbri paints a portrait of hell on earth. I have read the accounts of this period by the ancient historians. Fabbri brings the terror down to the common man. Powerful stuff.
]]> <![CDATA[The Ghost Brigades (Old Man's War, #2)]]> 239399
The universe is a dangerous place for humanity—and it's about to become far more dangerous. Three races that humans have clashed with before have allied to halt our expansion into space. Their linchpin: the turncoat military scientist Charles Boutin, who knows the CDF’s biggest military secrets. To prevail, the CDF must find out why Boutin did what he did.

Jared Dirac is the only human who can provide answers -- a superhuman hybrid, created from Boutin's DNA, Jared’s brain should be able to access Boutin's electronic memories. But when the memory transplant appears to fail, Jared is given to the Ghost Brigades.

At first, Jared is a perfect soldier, but as Boutin’s memories slowly surface, Jared begins to intuit the reason’s for Boutin’s betrayal. As Jared desperately hunts for his "father," he must also come to grips with his own choices. Time is running out: The alliance is preparing its offensive, and some of them plan worse things than humanity’s mere military defeat…]]> 343 John Scalzi 0765354063 Jack 5 This is top-notch science fiction and yes - there is science involved here.
You really get to know the characters � even the minor ones. Scalzi does a great job of development.
Lots of action � lots of surprises � mayhem and battles. I’m happy I picked this one up.
I will leave you with this one observation:
I feel that the first chapter is one of the absolute best beginnings of any story I have ever read in my 68 years.
]]> 4.10 2006 The Ghost Brigades (Old Man's War, #2)
author: John Scalzi
name: Jack
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2006
rating: 5
read at: 2016/11/18
date added: 2016/11/18
shelves:
review:
“The Ghost Brigades� is the sequel of John Scalzi’s “Old Man’s War� series.
This is top-notch science fiction and yes - there is science involved here.
You really get to know the characters � even the minor ones. Scalzi does a great job of development.
Lots of action � lots of surprises � mayhem and battles. I’m happy I picked this one up.
I will leave you with this one observation:
I feel that the first chapter is one of the absolute best beginnings of any story I have ever read in my 68 years.

]]> <![CDATA[Old Man's War (Old Man's War, #1)]]> 640474
The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce—and alien races willing to fight us for them are common. So: we fight. To defend Earth, and to stake our own claim to planetary real estate. Far from Earth, the war has been going on for decades: brutal, bloody, unyielding.

Earth itself is a backwater. The bulk of humanity's resources are in the hands of the Colonial Defense Force. Everybody knows that when you reach retirement age, you can join the CDF. They don't want young people; they want people who carry the knowledge and skills of decades of living. You'll be taken off Earth and never allowed to return. You'll serve two years at the front. And if you survive, you'll be given a generous homestead stake of your own, on one of our hard-won colony planets.

John Perry is taking that deal. He has only the vaguest idea what to expect. Because the actual fight, light-years from home, is far, far harder than he can imagine—and what he will become is far stranger.]]> 320 John Scalzi 0765315246 Jack 5
Well, actually, it’s new to me but the first book in the series, “Old Man’s War� was published more than 11 years ago.

The author John Scalzi has created a story about John Perry, a 75 year old man who, on his birthday, joins the Colonial Defense Forces (CDF) and shoots out into the universe to fight aliens - all sorts of ugly, nasty , smelly creatures.

The CDF makes some minor adjustments to Mr. Perry to prepare him for his new job and he’s now a lean, mean fighting machine and along the way he meets all sorts of people � and things.

Very, very good writer. Story moves right along. Character development is top notch. And there’s even some science in this science fiction saga.

As I said this is a series and the first book was great. I’ve order the next three books and can’t wait to continue reading about Perry’s adventures.

Loving it!]]> 4.18 2005 Old Man's War (Old Man's War, #1)
author: John Scalzi
name: Jack
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 2016/11/02
date added: 2016/11/04
shelves:
review:
I found a new series to read.

Well, actually, it’s new to me but the first book in the series, “Old Man’s War� was published more than 11 years ago.

The author John Scalzi has created a story about John Perry, a 75 year old man who, on his birthday, joins the Colonial Defense Forces (CDF) and shoots out into the universe to fight aliens - all sorts of ugly, nasty , smelly creatures.

The CDF makes some minor adjustments to Mr. Perry to prepare him for his new job and he’s now a lean, mean fighting machine and along the way he meets all sorts of people � and things.

Very, very good writer. Story moves right along. Character development is top notch. And there’s even some science in this science fiction saga.

As I said this is a series and the first book was great. I’ve order the next three books and can’t wait to continue reading about Perry’s adventures.

Loving it!
]]> <![CDATA[Rome's Lost Son (Vespasian, #6)]]> 23398126 368 Robert Fabbri 085789966X Jack 5
And you probably are getting tired of me saying I find Fabbri is a very good writer, he does a wonderful job developing his characters, blah-blah-blah. Always giving him the same high marks.

Fabbri is also a master of the little historical detail - and that, to me, separates the good from the very, very good writer.

Nero has just been names emperor. He is going to the Roman Senate to make his first speech. The senators were outside the building awaiting his arrival. There was a light rain and the Senators' togas were getting wet. The rain stops and the sun comes out and the togas begin to dry. In passing Vespasian (who is one of the senators) mutters that the place is soon going to smell of urine.

Say What ?

I remember my history - the ancients were not acquainted with soap, but they used instead different kinds of alkali;. The alkali separated the dirt from the clothes. As the history books point out, the most common and most easily collected alkali was the urine of men and animals. The urine was mixed with the water in which the clothes were washed.

So there you have the august body of senators, standing in the brilliantly white togas, and the faint smell of urine begins to permeate the air.

It’s just one sentence in the story but it is an example of the many little historical tidbits Fabbi adds to bring his novels to life.

Unfortunately I am now up to date. I have read The latest volume of the Vespasian saga should be published here inn the US in NOV 2016.]]> 4.31 2015 Rome's Lost Son (Vespasian, #6)
author: Robert Fabbri
name: Jack
average rating: 4.31
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2016/10/25
date added: 2016/10/28
shelves:
review:
You might have noticed that I've been reading a series about the Roman Emperor Vespasian - I found with the first volume I liked the author, Robert Fabbri and his writing style and the subject. Rome’s Lost Son, published in 2015, is my latest read.

And you probably are getting tired of me saying I find Fabbri is a very good writer, he does a wonderful job developing his characters, blah-blah-blah. Always giving him the same high marks.

Fabbri is also a master of the little historical detail - and that, to me, separates the good from the very, very good writer.

Nero has just been names emperor. He is going to the Roman Senate to make his first speech. The senators were outside the building awaiting his arrival. There was a light rain and the Senators' togas were getting wet. The rain stops and the sun comes out and the togas begin to dry. In passing Vespasian (who is one of the senators) mutters that the place is soon going to smell of urine.

Say What ?

I remember my history - the ancients were not acquainted with soap, but they used instead different kinds of alkali;. The alkali separated the dirt from the clothes. As the history books point out, the most common and most easily collected alkali was the urine of men and animals. The urine was mixed with the water in which the clothes were washed.

So there you have the august body of senators, standing in the brilliantly white togas, and the faint smell of urine begins to permeate the air.

It’s just one sentence in the story but it is an example of the many little historical tidbits Fabbi adds to bring his novels to life.

Unfortunately I am now up to date. I have read The latest volume of the Vespasian saga should be published here inn the US in NOV 2016.
]]> <![CDATA[Masters of Rome (Vespasian, #5)]]> 22173714 368 Robert Fabbri 0857899651 Jack 5
Do remember in the first movie Indiana Jones yelled, “I hate snakes!� ? Well almost 2000 years before Indy there was Vespasian, in the wilds of Britain, yelling , “I hate Druids!�.

As commander of the II Augusta legion Vespasian is in the thick of it. Fabbri’s description of the battles is excellent. You are there. The noise, the pain, the fear, the smell. It was a nasty business.

Then we move ahead and are back in Rome with the slobbering emperor Claudius and Imperial politics - which can be as deadly as any Druid.

This is not a criticism but an observation - Fabbri’s portrait of the emperor Claudius seems to be extreme, maybe a touch over the top. Of course, I might be saying that because 40 years ago I watched the marvelous BBC TV series of I, CLAUDIUS with the brilliant actor Sir Derek Jacobi in the title role. Yes he stuttered and drooled but nothing like Fabbri’s Claudius.

A special point that I personally enjoy is the ending chapter in which Fabbri describes the sources he used and how he decided to write this scene that way and that scene this way. I glimpse into the mind of the writer. I like that.

On to the next book in the series.]]> 4.09 2014 Masters of Rome (Vespasian, #5)
author: Robert Fabbri
name: Jack
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2016/10/14
date added: 2016/10/14
shelves:
review:
MASTER OF ROME - the next volume in Robert Fabbri epic story of the emperor Vespasian was as good as the earlier books.

Do remember in the first movie Indiana Jones yelled, “I hate snakes!� ? Well almost 2000 years before Indy there was Vespasian, in the wilds of Britain, yelling , “I hate Druids!�.

As commander of the II Augusta legion Vespasian is in the thick of it. Fabbri’s description of the battles is excellent. You are there. The noise, the pain, the fear, the smell. It was a nasty business.

Then we move ahead and are back in Rome with the slobbering emperor Claudius and Imperial politics - which can be as deadly as any Druid.

This is not a criticism but an observation - Fabbri’s portrait of the emperor Claudius seems to be extreme, maybe a touch over the top. Of course, I might be saying that because 40 years ago I watched the marvelous BBC TV series of I, CLAUDIUS with the brilliant actor Sir Derek Jacobi in the title role. Yes he stuttered and drooled but nothing like Fabbri’s Claudius.

A special point that I personally enjoy is the ending chapter in which Fabbri describes the sources he used and how he decided to write this scene that way and that scene this way. I glimpse into the mind of the writer. I like that.

On to the next book in the series.
]]> <![CDATA[Rome's Fallen Eagle (Vespasian, #4)]]> 21535029 384 Robert Fabbri 0857897462 Jack 5
You can get a recap of the plot from other reviews. I want to write about something I stumbled upon while reading this book.

There was something familiar about his battle scenes in Fabbri's novels. I had mentioned before that Fabbri doesn't cut any corners when it comes to graphic descriptions of the battles - they are really on the gruesome side.

Then it came to me - Homer's Illiad !

I remember as a teenager reading the Illiad, the epic poem abutter 10th year of the siege of Troy by the Greeks, and how Homer described the way a certain Greek or Trojan was killed. It was gory.

The same way that Fabbri describes his battles.

Drawing upon the classics for inspiration. How interesting.]]> 4.18 2013 Rome's Fallen Eagle (Vespasian, #4)
author: Robert Fabbri
name: Jack
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2016/10/01
date added: 2016/10/01
shelves:
review:
I have professed my admiration for Robert Fabbri's earlier work of Vespasian, the Roman emperor, and "Rome's Fallen Eagle" was superb.

You can get a recap of the plot from other reviews. I want to write about something I stumbled upon while reading this book.

There was something familiar about his battle scenes in Fabbri's novels. I had mentioned before that Fabbri doesn't cut any corners when it comes to graphic descriptions of the battles - they are really on the gruesome side.

Then it came to me - Homer's Illiad !

I remember as a teenager reading the Illiad, the epic poem abutter 10th year of the siege of Troy by the Greeks, and how Homer described the way a certain Greek or Trojan was killed. It was gory.

The same way that Fabbri describes his battles.

Drawing upon the classics for inspiration. How interesting.
]]> <![CDATA[False God of Rome (Vespasian, #3)]]> 16091805 416 Robert Fabbri 0857897438 Jack 4
AD 34 and Caligula is now reigning in Rome and he is really, really crazy - a dangerous crazy - because he has the power of life and death over everyone in the Roman Empire. Fabbri doesn’t hold back - based on the writing of ancient historians, he paints a picture of Caligula that is not for the faint of heart. It is graphic and it is disgusting and it happened.

Part of this novel takes place in one of the most interesting of ancient cities, Alexandria, Egypt. I won’t go into detail as to why Vespasian is there but Fabbri’s desciption of life in Alexandria in AD 34, the political situation in particular, is worth the price of the book.

The writing flows, the characters are well developed, the plots are believable - agin I really enjoyed this book - on to number 4.]]> 4.23 2013 False God of Rome (Vespasian, #3)
author: Robert Fabbri
name: Jack
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2016/09/21
date added: 2016/09/25
shelves:
review:
“The False God of Rome� is the third novel in Robert Fabbri’s story of the Roman emperor Vespasian - in this case, the early years.

AD 34 and Caligula is now reigning in Rome and he is really, really crazy - a dangerous crazy - because he has the power of life and death over everyone in the Roman Empire. Fabbri doesn’t hold back - based on the writing of ancient historians, he paints a picture of Caligula that is not for the faint of heart. It is graphic and it is disgusting and it happened.

Part of this novel takes place in one of the most interesting of ancient cities, Alexandria, Egypt. I won’t go into detail as to why Vespasian is there but Fabbri’s desciption of life in Alexandria in AD 34, the political situation in particular, is worth the price of the book.

The writing flows, the characters are well developed, the plots are believable - agin I really enjoyed this book - on to number 4.
]]> <![CDATA[Detroit Breakdown (Detroit Mysteries)]]> 13538852
Certain of Robbie’s innocence, they begin an investigation with the help of Detective Riordan. Will has himself committed to the asylum to investigate from the inside, and Elizabeth volunteers at Eloise and questions people outside the asylum. While Will endures horrific conditions in his search for the killer, Elizabeth and Riordan follow the trail of a murder suspect all the way to Kalamazoo, where they realize the killer might still be at Eloise, putting Will in extreme danger. They race back to Detroit, but will they arrive in time to save Will and bring the killer to justice?

Filled with Johnson’s trademark roller-coaster plot, nuanced characters, and brilliant historical research, Detroit Breakdown is a compelling, dark mystery set in the once- flourishing Paris of the West.]]> 336 D.E. Johnson 1250006627 Jack 4
Elizabeth’s cousin Robert is a patient in the notorious Eloise Insane Asylum located outside of Detroit. He is now a murder suspect and Will and Elizabeth are determined to prove his innocence.

Will’s plan is to go undercover and investigate from the inside of Eloise. Bad move, Will. You didn’t figure on sadistic guards and doctors whose techniques to ‘cure� his amnesia would do the Spanish Inquisition proud.

Five stars for the historical research that went into this novel. You really get a sense of what Detroit was like those years just before WWI. The description of the cars of that era, both electric and gasoline, is wonderful. Eloise was a real hospital and D.E. Johnson based many of the conditions there on an 1887 book by Nellie Bly, “Ten Days in a Madhouse�.

Everything about Eloise just made my skin crawl - to me that's a sign of good writing.

The novel itself is divided into two narratives � Will’s and Elizabeth’s. There’ll be a short section from Will’s perspective followed by Elizabeth’s and they alternate throughout the book. I found this a good way to cover everything that was going on.

Again after three books I still have not warmed up to Will. Maybe Johnson is just doing an outstanding job of making him seem like an impetuous young man going off half-cocked all the time, but there are times I just want to reach out and shake him, maybe slap him a few times, and say, “What were you thinking � or maybe you weren’t!�

The mystery itself is a good one with lots of surprises twists and turns.




]]> 3.92 2012 Detroit Breakdown (Detroit Mysteries)
author: D.E. Johnson
name: Jack
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2016/05/31
date added: 2016/09/11
shelves:
review:
“Detroit Breakdown� is the third novel staring Will Anderson, son of the owner of the Detroit Electric Car Company, and his fiancé/girlfriend Elizabeth and takes place in 1912 Detroit.

Elizabeth’s cousin Robert is a patient in the notorious Eloise Insane Asylum located outside of Detroit. He is now a murder suspect and Will and Elizabeth are determined to prove his innocence.

Will’s plan is to go undercover and investigate from the inside of Eloise. Bad move, Will. You didn’t figure on sadistic guards and doctors whose techniques to ‘cure� his amnesia would do the Spanish Inquisition proud.

Five stars for the historical research that went into this novel. You really get a sense of what Detroit was like those years just before WWI. The description of the cars of that era, both electric and gasoline, is wonderful. Eloise was a real hospital and D.E. Johnson based many of the conditions there on an 1887 book by Nellie Bly, “Ten Days in a Madhouse�.

Everything about Eloise just made my skin crawl - to me that's a sign of good writing.

The novel itself is divided into two narratives � Will’s and Elizabeth’s. There’ll be a short section from Will’s perspective followed by Elizabeth’s and they alternate throughout the book. I found this a good way to cover everything that was going on.

Again after three books I still have not warmed up to Will. Maybe Johnson is just doing an outstanding job of making him seem like an impetuous young man going off half-cocked all the time, but there are times I just want to reach out and shake him, maybe slap him a few times, and say, “What were you thinking � or maybe you weren’t!�

The mystery itself is a good one with lots of surprises twists and turns.





]]> <![CDATA[Rome's Executioner (Vespasian, #2)]]> 16694649 384 Robert Fabbri 1848879148 Jack 5
Fabbri has a real gift in bringing these long dead people to life. He uses the accent sources Cassius Dio, Tacitus and Suetonius as a basis and filled in the blanks with his imagination.

I’ve mentioned this before with other authors, the good ones can describe a scene or a person in such a way as to make the reader feel they are standing right there - I like to say they’re so good you can smell the bad breath when his character speaks.

Spoiler alert - there’s lots of violence, but back in 30 AD Rome, that was commonplace. For instance, Fabbri doesn’t hold back when describing executions. It’s not the 1950’s cowboy movies where the guy gets shot but there’s no blood.

Good story - good pacing - on to book three in the series.
]]> 4.24 2011 Rome's Executioner (Vespasian, #2)
author: Robert Fabbri
name: Jack
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2016/09/10
date added: 2016/09/11
shelves:
review:
I have finished with volume two of the Vespasian series by Robert Fabbri - this one deal with a lot more in-fighting between two factions in Ancient Rome AD 30 and what role the future emperor Vespasian played .

Fabbri has a real gift in bringing these long dead people to life. He uses the accent sources Cassius Dio, Tacitus and Suetonius as a basis and filled in the blanks with his imagination.

I’ve mentioned this before with other authors, the good ones can describe a scene or a person in such a way as to make the reader feel they are standing right there - I like to say they’re so good you can smell the bad breath when his character speaks.

Spoiler alert - there’s lots of violence, but back in 30 AD Rome, that was commonplace. For instance, Fabbri doesn’t hold back when describing executions. It’s not the 1950’s cowboy movies where the guy gets shot but there’s no blood.

Good story - good pacing - on to book three in the series.

]]> <![CDATA[Tribune of Rome (Vespasian, #1)]]> 12140036 One man,born in rural obscurity, destined to become one of Rome's greatest Emperors

26 AD: 16-year-old Vespasian leaves his family farm for Rome, his sights set on finding a patron and following his brother into the army, but he discovers a city in turmoil and an Empire on the brink. The aging emperor Tiberius is in seclusion on Capri, leaving Rome in the iron grip of Sejanus, commander of the Praetorian Guard. Sejanus is ruler of the Empire in all but name, but many fear that isn't enough for him. Sejanus' spies are everywhere—careless words at a dinner party can be as dangerous as a barbarian arrow. Vespasian is totally out of his depth, making dangerous enemies (and even more dangerous friends—like the young Caligula) and soon finds himself ensnared in a conspiracy against Tiberius. With the situation in Rome deteriorating, Vespasian flees the city to take up a position as tribune in an unfashionable legion on the Balkan frontier. Even here, rebellion is in the air and unblooded and inexperienced, Vespasian must lead his men in savage battle with hostile mountain tribes. Vespasian will soon realize that he can't escape Roman politics any more than he can escape his destiny.]]> 496 Robert Fabbri 1848879113 Jack 5
I had read some reviews of “Vespasian, Tribune of Rome� by Robert Fabbri and it seemed like worth the risk (would it be good reading or a waste of time?)

As you might recall, once the Roman emperor Nero (everyone knows about Nero) left this earthly realm in 69 AD there was a struggle for the throne. It was the year of four emperors and Vespasian eventually came out on top.

“Tribune of Rome� is the story of Vespasian’s early years after leaving the farm and beginning his military career and is the first of many books in this series.

I liked it a lot!

Good writing and good dialogue. Characters developed so they were REAL - you could see and hear maybe even smell) them. The author put a lot of time into getting the various settings to feel right. The description of Vespasian’s first entry in Rome as a teenager is particularly well done. It’s nothing extraordinary but in a few pages Fabbri really paints a wonderful picture of what it must have been like in those first decades of the Roman empire.

The chariot race in Rome’s Circus Maximus is fantastic. Fabbri puts you in the seats - he puts you in the chariots. His descriptions call to mind the Charlton Heston version of 1959 Ben Hur. There is young Vespasian sitting with 150,000 other spectators watching the races.

However, I must warn you, this is NOT a book for those who abhor bloodshed. People, this is a book about a man who made his name in the Roman army and it was an army that fought and those fights meant a lot of slashing and stabbing and off with their heads.

I commend the author for his attention to detail - he certainly has done his research.

I have ordered the second and third books in the series and I am anxious to continue reading about this young man.

Love this book. ]]> 3.96 2011 Tribune of Rome (Vespasian, #1)
author: Robert Fabbri
name: Jack
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2016/08/22
date added: 2016/08/25
shelves:
review:
As you can probably tell, I enjoy reading historical fiction, especially when it is set in ancient times.

I had read some reviews of “Vespasian, Tribune of Rome� by Robert Fabbri and it seemed like worth the risk (would it be good reading or a waste of time?)

As you might recall, once the Roman emperor Nero (everyone knows about Nero) left this earthly realm in 69 AD there was a struggle for the throne. It was the year of four emperors and Vespasian eventually came out on top.

“Tribune of Rome� is the story of Vespasian’s early years after leaving the farm and beginning his military career and is the first of many books in this series.

I liked it a lot!

Good writing and good dialogue. Characters developed so they were REAL - you could see and hear maybe even smell) them. The author put a lot of time into getting the various settings to feel right. The description of Vespasian’s first entry in Rome as a teenager is particularly well done. It’s nothing extraordinary but in a few pages Fabbri really paints a wonderful picture of what it must have been like in those first decades of the Roman empire.

The chariot race in Rome’s Circus Maximus is fantastic. Fabbri puts you in the seats - he puts you in the chariots. His descriptions call to mind the Charlton Heston version of 1959 Ben Hur. There is young Vespasian sitting with 150,000 other spectators watching the races.

However, I must warn you, this is NOT a book for those who abhor bloodshed. People, this is a book about a man who made his name in the Roman army and it was an army that fought and those fights meant a lot of slashing and stabbing and off with their heads.

I commend the author for his attention to detail - he certainly has done his research.

I have ordered the second and third books in the series and I am anxious to continue reading about this young man.

Love this book.
]]> <![CDATA[The Cyclops Case: A Judge Marcus Flavius Severus Mystery in Ancient Rome]]> 18700141 258 Alan Scribner 148959731X Jack 3
I really, really liked the plot in this book. The mystery was great. The author Alan Scribner brought in a great deal of history to flesh out the bad guys: what they did; how they did it; what happened in years after the event. Very well done.

Another good point - the judge questions his own actions. Should he have done this or done that given what the consequences eventually were?

However - OH OH - there’s that ‘however� - the author still needs to polish his writing. At times the dialogue was choppy; it didn’t flow smoothly. It wasn’t bad but not the level of some other authors like Steve Saylor or Lindsey Davis.

All in all, a pretty good book with an excellent mystery.]]> 3.80 2013 The Cyclops Case: A Judge Marcus Flavius Severus Mystery in Ancient Rome
author: Alan Scribner
name: Jack
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at: 2016/08/07
date added: 2016/08/17
shelves:
review:
The second novel of Judge Marcus Flavius Severus in ancient Rome @ 161 AD is called “The Cyclops Case�.

I really, really liked the plot in this book. The mystery was great. The author Alan Scribner brought in a great deal of history to flesh out the bad guys: what they did; how they did it; what happened in years after the event. Very well done.

Another good point - the judge questions his own actions. Should he have done this or done that given what the consequences eventually were?

However - OH OH - there’s that ‘however� - the author still needs to polish his writing. At times the dialogue was choppy; it didn’t flow smoothly. It wasn’t bad but not the level of some other authors like Steve Saylor or Lindsey Davis.

All in all, a pretty good book with an excellent mystery.
]]> <![CDATA[Strike the Harp!: American Christmas Stories]]> 257170
Building on the success of Parry's beloved Our Simple Gifts, these diverse stories are rich with wonderfully human characters who lead us from sorrow to shining joy, against the background of a growing nation:

* A nineteenth-century mining town -- On Christmas Eve an aging company policeman finds himself caught between powerful colliery lords and ragged strikers ... and between his lifelong beliefs and a changing world.

* Occupied Germany, 1918 -- To lull the homesickness of his soldiers, an American colonel stages a holiday dinner for the war's forgotten victims in a story that echoes the family separations of our own time.

* The Roaring Twenties -- Amid the excesses of the Prohibition era, a ne'er-do-well's hilarious night of chicanery and wild parties teaches him more than he planned to learn about the season's indestructible spirit.

* The Great Depression -- A waitress at work on a bleak Christmas Eve receives a gift that changes her life forever.

* Cold War America -- In an unforgettable family tale that re-creates an age already lost, a child of privilege learns of the sorrow behind a mountain of gifts.

Changed by sudden kindness, generosity, and sacrifice, Owen Parry's characters bring the timeless spirit of Christmas to life for readers of all ages. Poignant and lyrical, these stunning tales will be cherished for countless holiday seasons to come.]]> 192 Owen Parry 0060572361 Jack 5
By the way his real name is Ralph Peters - check out my reviews under his name. a

This is a small book (it really is small, 7 1/2 by 5 1/2 inches) and contains five Christmas stories and five Christmas poems. The stories are all set on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day: 1887, 1918, 1928, 1933 and 1960.

My favorite is "How Jimmy Mulvaney Astonished the World for Christmas". 1928 - roaring twenties - what a ride - the characters are wonderful - Jimmy is a scream. It had me laughing out loud.

The author is a master wordsmith - - it's an excellent read any time of the year.]]> 3.38 2004 Strike the Harp!: American Christmas Stories
author: Owen Parry
name: Jack
average rating: 3.38
book published: 2004
rating: 5
read at: 2016/08/15
date added: 2016/08/17
shelves:
review:
Owen Parry has written a number of books, for instance there's a whole series about a transplanted Welshman serving in the Union army during the American Civil War who has a knack for solving mysteries. See my reviews of those books.

By the way his real name is Ralph Peters - check out my reviews under his name. a

This is a small book (it really is small, 7 1/2 by 5 1/2 inches) and contains five Christmas stories and five Christmas poems. The stories are all set on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day: 1887, 1918, 1928, 1933 and 1960.

My favorite is "How Jimmy Mulvaney Astonished the World for Christmas". 1928 - roaring twenties - what a ride - the characters are wonderful - Jimmy is a scream. It had me laughing out loud.

The author is a master wordsmith - - it's an excellent read any time of the year.
]]> <![CDATA[Marcus Aurelius Betrayed : A Judge Marcus Flavius Severus Mystery in Ancient Rome]]> 24205540 In "Marcus Aurelius Betrayed", Marcus Flavius Severus, Judge in the Court of the Urban Prefect in the City of Rome, is appointed by Emperor Marcus Aurelius as his special judge to travel to Alexandria to investigate an attempt to murder the Prefect of Egypt. Poison has been put in the Prefect’s drinking cup at an orgy, but the poison was drunk by the guest of honor, an official of the Imperial Post, who was on the couch next to the Prefect.
Judge Severus, with the assistance of his wife Artemisia, his private secretary Alexander and his court and police aides track down clues and witnesses in Alexandria in quest of a solution. On the way they encounter thefts of rare books from the Great Library of Alexandria, the production of fake antiquities and judicial murder. Eventually, through a number of plot twists and turns, the case is referred to the Emperor in Rome and the investigation continues in the capital of the Empire.
As in "Mars the Avenger" and "The Cyclops Case", Marcus Aurelius Betrayed is both a mystery and daily life of Ancient Rome, a sojourn into the world of the Roman Empire and its courts, police and criminal law. The investigation takes Severus and his aides to the wonders in the Roman province of Egypt -- the Great Library, the Museum, the Pharos Lighthouse, the Pyramids -- as well as to the streets of Alexandria, a house of high class courtesans and army maneuvers in the field. There are also scenes in the city of Rome and in Roman courts. The book is accurate as to the criminal laws and procedures of the time. All laws, rescripts and legal procedures come from Roman law sources, which are extensive for the 2nd Century CE. A culminating trial is held in Rome before the Emperor Marcus Aurelius himself where Judge Severus unravels the mystery through a series of shrewd deductions.]]> 270 Alan Scribner 1500522856 Jack 3
I love mysteries set in ancient times.

Alan Scribner’s series of novels of judge Marcus Flavius Severus of 160AD looked to be another addition to my library of ancient Roman sleuths.

So here’s my beef: Scribner’s novel “Marcus Aurelius Betrayed� had an excellent mystery, with some really good twists ands turns. A+ material.

And he has done extensive research into the Roman legal system and he works this knowledge into the story rather well. It is interesting to me to see how the Roman laws work. That’s a plus.

But then - Scribner is such a poor writer. His dialogue is awful in spots. I mean just awful.

After just meeting - I mean within minutes of meeting - Aurora (the bad guy’s concubine) says, “Electra (actually Artemisia, the wife of the judge who’s gone undercover), I don’t know anyone in Rome and I need a friend. I feel I can trust you.�

“Yes, let’s be friends,� replied Artemisia, “but first we should get to know each other, right Aurora?� �

Oh come on - really ?

Then you have sections that have absolutely nothing to do with moving the story along. It’s as if the author wants to say, “Hey - look what I found while doing the research. Check it out.�

The bad guys just arrived from Egypt and two of the Judge’s team are waiting for them - they were going to following the suspects. And while they are waiting - are you ready - they get into a joke telling contest. And Scribner points out at the end of the book that these jokes were actually from an ancient joke book. But what does that have to do with the plot?

While in Alexandria the judge and his wife tour the famous Pharos lighthouse and Scribner goes into great detail about the lighthouse. Some might say this section just adds ‘flavor� to the story; it was a description of what Alexandria was like in 163 AD. But the way the author presented it, it was like you were reading a section of Wikipedia .

I am at a loss. First rate mystery - love it.

But the poor dialogue and gratuitous insertion of historical Wikipedia type facts detract from the over all story - hate it.

BEWARE ]]> 3.33 2014 Marcus Aurelius Betrayed : A Judge Marcus Flavius Severus Mystery in Ancient Rome
author: Alan Scribner
name: Jack
average rating: 3.33
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2016/08/13
date added: 2016/08/14
shelves:
review:
I am upset.

I love mysteries set in ancient times.

Alan Scribner’s series of novels of judge Marcus Flavius Severus of 160AD looked to be another addition to my library of ancient Roman sleuths.

So here’s my beef: Scribner’s novel “Marcus Aurelius Betrayed� had an excellent mystery, with some really good twists ands turns. A+ material.

And he has done extensive research into the Roman legal system and he works this knowledge into the story rather well. It is interesting to me to see how the Roman laws work. That’s a plus.

But then - Scribner is such a poor writer. His dialogue is awful in spots. I mean just awful.

After just meeting - I mean within minutes of meeting - Aurora (the bad guy’s concubine) says, “Electra (actually Artemisia, the wife of the judge who’s gone undercover), I don’t know anyone in Rome and I need a friend. I feel I can trust you.�

“Yes, let’s be friends,� replied Artemisia, “but first we should get to know each other, right Aurora?� �

Oh come on - really ?

Then you have sections that have absolutely nothing to do with moving the story along. It’s as if the author wants to say, “Hey - look what I found while doing the research. Check it out.�

The bad guys just arrived from Egypt and two of the Judge’s team are waiting for them - they were going to following the suspects. And while they are waiting - are you ready - they get into a joke telling contest. And Scribner points out at the end of the book that these jokes were actually from an ancient joke book. But what does that have to do with the plot?

While in Alexandria the judge and his wife tour the famous Pharos lighthouse and Scribner goes into great detail about the lighthouse. Some might say this section just adds ‘flavor� to the story; it was a description of what Alexandria was like in 163 AD. But the way the author presented it, it was like you were reading a section of Wikipedia .

I am at a loss. First rate mystery - love it.

But the poor dialogue and gratuitous insertion of historical Wikipedia type facts detract from the over all story - hate it.

BEWARE
]]> Valley of the Shadow 23168801
In the Valley of the Shadow, they wrote their names in blood.
From a daring Confederate raid that nearly seized Washington, D.C., to a stunning reversal on the bloody fields of Cedar Creek, the summer and autumn of 1864 witnessed some of the fiercest fighting of our Civil War—in mighty battles now all but forgotten.
The desperate struggle for mastery of Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, breadbasket of the Confederacy and the South's key invasion route into the North, pitted a remarkable cast of heroes in blue and gray against each other: runty, rough-hewn Phillip Sheridan, a Union general with an uncanny gift for inspiring soldiers, and Jubal Early, his Confederate counterpart, stubborn, raw-mouthed and deadly; the dashing Yankee boy-general, George Armstrong Custer, and the brilliant, courageous John Brown Gordon, a charismatic Georgian who lived one of the era's greatest love stories.
From hungry, hard-bitten Rebel privates to a pair of Union officers destined to become presidents, from a neglected hero who saved our nation's capital and went on to write one of his century's greatest novels, to doomed Confederate leaders of incomparable valor, Ralph Peters brings to life yesteryear's giants and their breathtaking battles with the same authenticity, skill and insight he offered readers in his prize-winning Civil War bestsellers, Cain at Gettysburg and Hell or Richmond.
Sharp as a bayonet and piercing as a bullet, Valley of the Shadow is a great novel of our grandest, most-tragic war.]]> 512 Ralph Peters 076537403X Jack 5
He is a master of description - a master of dialogue - a master of historical research.

As I said in my reviews of his other Civil War novels - he puts you right in the middle go the action.

His book “Valley of the Shadow� is the story of the critical four months in 1864 - July through Oct - in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, the helped determine the fate of our country. It is also the story of the soldiers who made up those Union and Confederate armies.

Full disclosure: my great grandfather was a private in Company K, 8th Indiana infantry, part of the XIX Union Corps. His unit participated in all of the battles in September and October in the Valley.

I was looking forward how Peters would treat the XIX Corp. While he concentrated on other Union regiments, his description of the battles in which Jeremiah Jenkins fought did not disappoint.

Beware - there are graphic descriptions of battles and language used by both sides is anything but 21st century politically correct.

I am a fan and I will be buying and reading every book Peters has written and will write! ]]> 4.29 2015 Valley of the Shadow
author: Ralph Peters
name: Jack
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2016/08/11
date added: 2016/08/14
shelves:
review:
Ralph Peters is one of top American Civil War novelists if not the best.

He is a master of description - a master of dialogue - a master of historical research.

As I said in my reviews of his other Civil War novels - he puts you right in the middle go the action.

His book “Valley of the Shadow� is the story of the critical four months in 1864 - July through Oct - in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, the helped determine the fate of our country. It is also the story of the soldiers who made up those Union and Confederate armies.

Full disclosure: my great grandfather was a private in Company K, 8th Indiana infantry, part of the XIX Union Corps. His unit participated in all of the battles in September and October in the Valley.

I was looking forward how Peters would treat the XIX Corp. While he concentrated on other Union regiments, his description of the battles in which Jeremiah Jenkins fought did not disappoint.

Beware - there are graphic descriptions of battles and language used by both sides is anything but 21st century politically correct.

I am a fan and I will be buying and reading every book Peters has written and will write!
]]> <![CDATA[Three Hainish Novels (Hainish Cycle, #1-3)]]> 3821856 370 Ursula K. Le Guin Jack 0 4.09 1966 Three Hainish Novels (Hainish Cycle, #1-3)
author: Ursula K. Le Guin
name: Jack
average rating: 4.09
book published: 1966
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2016/08/11
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Looking for Trouble: Adventures in a Broken World]]> 3493172 368 Ralph Peters 0811734102 Jack 5
Ralph Peters has written a number of books including several historical novels set during the American Civil war - excellent books.

He has also written a number of mysteries under the name Owen Perry about a Welshman fighting in the Union army during the Civil War.

“Looking for Trouble� is the first Peters� non-fiction book I’ve read and it is great. For a number of years Peters severed as a US Army intelligence officer. This is a collection of some of his ‘adventures�.

His writing flows - it’s colorful, descriptive, informative, opinionated. He doesn't hold back about his feelings for certain individuals in pour government.

One passage that cracked me up was a description of some Pakistani solders:
“Smartly uniformed, the soldiers moved with an exaggerated alacrity that could only result from haywire nerves, methamphetamine use or a legacy of British drill.�

I’m going to be reading more of Ralph Peters soon.]]> 3.73 2008 Looking for Trouble: Adventures in a Broken World
author: Ralph Peters
name: Jack
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 2016/08/01
date added: 2016/08/01
shelves:
review:
What a wonderful read.

Ralph Peters has written a number of books including several historical novels set during the American Civil war - excellent books.

He has also written a number of mysteries under the name Owen Perry about a Welshman fighting in the Union army during the Civil War.

“Looking for Trouble� is the first Peters� non-fiction book I’ve read and it is great. For a number of years Peters severed as a US Army intelligence officer. This is a collection of some of his ‘adventures�.

His writing flows - it’s colorful, descriptive, informative, opinionated. He doesn't hold back about his feelings for certain individuals in pour government.

One passage that cracked me up was a description of some Pakistani solders:
“Smartly uniformed, the soldiers moved with an exaggerated alacrity that could only result from haywire nerves, methamphetamine use or a legacy of British drill.�

I’m going to be reading more of Ralph Peters soon.
]]> <![CDATA[Mars the Avenger: A Mystery in Ancient Rome (A Judge Marcus Flavius Severus Mystery in Ancient Rome)]]> 14402548 230 Alan Scribner 1463789785 Jack 4 Many of the mysteries I read are told in the first person. This was not. You were given a look at everything that was happening. Took me a while to get used to.
A little rough at times - but I liked it.
Especially the historical side of the story (here Jenkins goes again about the historical setting).
Good attention to detail which adds to the feeling of the story.
The ending was, how shall I say, realistic. Well done.
Ordered the second in the series.]]> 3.43 2012 Mars the Avenger: A Mystery in Ancient Rome (A Judge Marcus Flavius Severus Mystery in Ancient Rome)
author: Alan Scribner
name: Jack
average rating: 3.43
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2016/07/20
date added: 2016/07/30
shelves:
review:
First in a series - ancient Rome -158AD - pretty good.
Many of the mysteries I read are told in the first person. This was not. You were given a look at everything that was happening. Took me a while to get used to.
A little rough at times - but I liked it.
Especially the historical side of the story (here Jenkins goes again about the historical setting).
Good attention to detail which adds to the feeling of the story.
The ending was, how shall I say, realistic. Well done.
Ordered the second in the series.
]]> 1882: Custer in Chains 25814165
Following his unlikely but decisive (and immensely popular) 1876 victory over Sitting Bull and the Sioux at the Little Big Horn, George Armstrong Custer is propelled into the White House in 1880.

Two years later, he finds himself bored and seeks new worlds to conquer. He and his wife Libbie fixate on Spain’s decaying empire as his source for immortality. What President Custer doesn’t quite comprehend is that the U.S. military isn’t up to such a venture. When a group of Americans on a ship headed for Cuba is massacred, war becomes inevitable—and unless calmer, patriotic citizens and soldiers can find a way to avoid debacle, this war may be America's last stand!]]> 512 Robert Conroy 1476781427 Jack 4
Custer doesn’t die at Little Big Horn - (no spoilers here -read the book).

He’s elected President and he is out of his league. His wife Libbie seems to be the mover and shaker and Custer defers to her.

So things are too quite in 1882 so the two put their heads together and decide what the USA needs is a foreign war. Hey Spain is a third rate country and Cuba is just 90 miles south of Key West and off it goes, rolling out of control as only real history can do.

Good character development, lots of action, some nice twists and turns.

I will say this for all of Conroy’s alternate histories involving the USA, we always win. You know we’re going to win when you pick up the book. But the fun is the story Conroy weaves around the journey he takes us on to get to the final page.

By the way - I might be wrong, but based on what he wrote, the man doesn’t like Custer.]]> 3.25 2015 1882: Custer in Chains
author: Robert Conroy
name: Jack
average rating: 3.25
book published: 2015
rating: 4
read at: 2016/07/19
date added: 2016/07/19
shelves:
review:
Another Robert Conroy American alternate history and for the most part a good read.

Custer doesn’t die at Little Big Horn - (no spoilers here -read the book).

He’s elected President and he is out of his league. His wife Libbie seems to be the mover and shaker and Custer defers to her.

So things are too quite in 1882 so the two put their heads together and decide what the USA needs is a foreign war. Hey Spain is a third rate country and Cuba is just 90 miles south of Key West and off it goes, rolling out of control as only real history can do.

Good character development, lots of action, some nice twists and turns.

I will say this for all of Conroy’s alternate histories involving the USA, we always win. You know we’re going to win when you pick up the book. But the fun is the story Conroy weaves around the journey he takes us on to get to the final page.

By the way - I might be wrong, but based on what he wrote, the man doesn’t like Custer.
]]> Rogues 20168816 New York Times bestselling author George R.R. Martin and award-winning editor Gardner Dozois is filled with subtle shades of gray. Twenty-one all-original stories, by an all-star list of contributors, will delight and astonish you in equal measure with their cunning twists and dazzling reversals. And George R.R. Martin himself offers a brand-new A Game of Thrones tale chronicling one of the biggest rogues in the entire history of Ice and Fire.

Follow along with the likes of Gillian Flynn, Joe Abercrombie, Neil Gaiman, Patrick Rothfuss, Scott Lynch, Cherie Priest, Garth Nix, and Connie Willis, as well as other masters of literary sleight-of-hand, in this rogues gallery of stories that will plunder your heart � and yet leave you all the richer for it.

Contents:
- Tough Times All Over by Joe Abercrombie (a Red Country story)
- What Do You Do? (aka The Grownup) by Gillian Flynn
- The Inn of the Seven Blessings by Matthew Hughes
- Bent Twig by Joe R. Lansdale (a Hap and Leonard story)
- Tawny Petticoats by Michael Swanwick
- Provenance by David Ball
- The Roaring Twenties by Carrie Vaughn
- A Year and a Day in Old Theradane by Scott Lynch
- Bad Brass by Bradley Denton
- Heavy Metal by Cherie Priest
- The Meaning of Love by Daniel Abraham
- A Better Way to Die by Paul Cornell (a Jonathan Hamilton story)
- Ill Seen in Tyre by Steven Saylor
- A Cargo of Ivories by Garth Nix (a Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz story)
- Diamonds From Tequila by Walter Jon Williams (a Dagmar story)
- The Caravan to Nowhere by Phyllis Eisenstein (a Tales of Alaric the Minstrel story)
- The Curious Affair of the Dead Wives by Lisa Tuttle
- How the Marquis Got His Coat Back by Neil Gaiman (a Neverwhere story)
- Now Showing by Connie Willis
- The Lightning Tree by Patrick Rothfuss (a Kingkiller Chronicle story)
- The Rogue Prince, or, A King’s Brother by George R.R. Martin (a Song of Ice and Fire story)

]]> 806 George R.R. Martin 0345537262 Jack 4
It is edited by George R.R. Martin (of Game of Thrones fame) and Gardner Dozois,

For the most part I found the stories entertaining and fun to read. A couple were not my cup of tea.

Full disclosure: I have not read any of Martin’s books nor do I get HBO so I haven’t seen any of the Thrones series. The new story Martin wrote for this collection read as if he was providing (1) a history lesson or (2) a genealogical study of a particular individual, who happened to be a rogue. So-So.

All in all well worth the price of admission.]]> 3.91 2014 Rogues
author: George R.R. Martin
name: Jack
average rating: 3.91
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2016/07/13
date added: 2016/07/19
shelves:
review:
“Rogues� is a collection of short stories by a wide variety of authors dedicated to characters who, obviously, are ROGUES. Of course, rogues comes in all shapes and sizes, colors and genders which makes the individual stories unique.

It is edited by George R.R. Martin (of Game of Thrones fame) and Gardner Dozois,

For the most part I found the stories entertaining and fun to read. A couple were not my cup of tea.

Full disclosure: I have not read any of Martin’s books nor do I get HBO so I haven’t seen any of the Thrones series. The new story Martin wrote for this collection read as if he was providing (1) a history lesson or (2) a genealogical study of a particular individual, who happened to be a rogue. So-So.

All in all well worth the price of admission.
]]> <![CDATA[Deadly Election (Flavia Albia Mystery, #3)]]> 23127749
The investigation will give her a chance to work with the magistrate, Manlius Faustus, the friend she sadly knows to be the last chaste man in Rome. But he's got other concerns than her anonymous corpse. It's election time and with democracy for sale at Domitian's court, tension has come to a head. Faustus is acting as an agent for a 'good husband and father', whose traditional family values are being called into question. Even more disreputable are his rivals, whom Faustus wants Albia to discredit.

As Albia's and Faustus' professional and personal partnership deepens they have to accept that, for others, obsession can turn sour, and become a deadly strain that leads, tragically, to murder.]]> 320 Lindsey Davis 1250063981 Jack 5 Flavia Albia, daughter of Marcus Didius Falco, the famed PI of first century Rome, has followed in her father's footsteps and is quite the private eye, herself.
She's finding dirt on the political opposition for a friend while trying to find out who the murdered man in the trunk is and who killed him.
A good mystery - lots of twists and turns - everything logical - surprises but based on the reality of the situation.
BUT...
What a history lesson in (1) Roman elections and (2) Roman families and (3) Roman justice.
Davis once again did her homework and for a history buff like myself, she entertains and educates.
Well done !!!]]> 3.97 2015 Deadly Election (Flavia Albia Mystery, #3)
author: Lindsey Davis
name: Jack
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2016/07/07
date added: 2016/07/16
shelves:
review:
Lindsey Davis - please keep writing forever - your books are wonderful.
Flavia Albia, daughter of Marcus Didius Falco, the famed PI of first century Rome, has followed in her father's footsteps and is quite the private eye, herself.
She's finding dirt on the political opposition for a friend while trying to find out who the murdered man in the trunk is and who killed him.
A good mystery - lots of twists and turns - everything logical - surprises but based on the reality of the situation.
BUT...
What a history lesson in (1) Roman elections and (2) Roman families and (3) Roman justice.
Davis once again did her homework and for a history buff like myself, she entertains and educates.
Well done !!!
]]> <![CDATA[Detroit Shuffle (Detroit Mysteries)]]> 17286736 Detroit Shuffle, the fourth book in D. E. Johnson's critically acclaimed 1910s Detroit series

Will Anderson inadvertently breaks up a key suffrage rally when he thwarts a gunman set on killing his lover, Elizabeth Hume. No one else saw the man, and Elizabeth believes he hallucinated the entire incident, a side effect of the radium "treatment" he received at Eloise Hospital. She asks him to sit on the sidelines while she and her companions try to get the women's suffrage amendment passed by Michigan voters.

Instead, Will sets out to protect Elizabeth and prove his sanity. Will's nemesis, Sapphira Xanakis, contacts him with news of a conspiracy to defeat the amendment, led by Andrew Murphy, head of the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association. Against his better judgment, Will believes she is trying to help. The man she directs him to dies under suspicious circumstances. An old acquaintance of Will's, who is working for the MLBA, is shot and killed in front of him. Still, no one believes Will, including his former ally, Detective Riordan, who not only is unwilling to help, but seems to have secrets of his own.

With new death threats against Elizabeth and the next rally only a few days away, Will has to unravel a complicated tapestry of blackmail, double-dealing, conspiracy, and murder—before the killer has his next chance to strike. Johnson's immaculate plotting and high-tension writing make for a spellbinding read set in early twentieth-century Detroit.]]> 336 D.E. Johnson 1250006767 Jack 4
Half way through this book I had developed a decidedly unfavorable impression.

That was unfortunate because the plot revolved around Michigan’s 1912 vote on woman’s suffrage. It seems someone is out to kill Elizabeth Hume, the girlfriend of our protagonist Will Anderson. She’s leading the crusade in Detroit. That’s cool. Bring it on!

Will, of course, with what seems to be dozens of guns and knives hidden on his person, is out to save her, even if she doesn’t believe she’s in danger.

People get shot. Will gets beaten up (again?? How many times has that been in four books??) Bodies turn up in the Detroit River.

We get to the point where Will is trying to get proof that liquor association is behind the plot to do Miss Hume in. (Woman’s suffrage = prohibition = no more booze)

And then comes the middle of the book. AND EVERYTHING SLOWS DOWN.
What was the author Johnson thinking?

No spoilers here - just let me say I think Johnson spent too much time - too many pages - on this one sub-plot.

I finally got to the last third of the book and things started to pick up and by the end of the book I was very pleased,

What do I make of Will? There were times I wanted to reach out and smack him “What the hell were you thinking you dope?� He had a ton of faults and I was mad at him for some of the really stupid things he’d do. Which in hind-sight leads me to conclude that Johnson did a really good job developing this character.

So my take is we got a good writer, some good stories, A+ for the historical setting and all of the hundreds of little things that were part of life in Detroit just before WWI.

Mystery was good - the historical side was outstanding. I learned a lot.]]> 3.85 2013 Detroit Shuffle (Detroit Mysteries)
author: D.E. Johnson
name: Jack
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2016/06/24
date added: 2016/07/08
shelves:
review:
The fourth and final novel in Johnson's Detroit series (so far).

Half way through this book I had developed a decidedly unfavorable impression.

That was unfortunate because the plot revolved around Michigan’s 1912 vote on woman’s suffrage. It seems someone is out to kill Elizabeth Hume, the girlfriend of our protagonist Will Anderson. She’s leading the crusade in Detroit. That’s cool. Bring it on!

Will, of course, with what seems to be dozens of guns and knives hidden on his person, is out to save her, even if she doesn’t believe she’s in danger.

People get shot. Will gets beaten up (again?? How many times has that been in four books??) Bodies turn up in the Detroit River.

We get to the point where Will is trying to get proof that liquor association is behind the plot to do Miss Hume in. (Woman’s suffrage = prohibition = no more booze)

And then comes the middle of the book. AND EVERYTHING SLOWS DOWN.
What was the author Johnson thinking?

No spoilers here - just let me say I think Johnson spent too much time - too many pages - on this one sub-plot.

I finally got to the last third of the book and things started to pick up and by the end of the book I was very pleased,

What do I make of Will? There were times I wanted to reach out and smack him “What the hell were you thinking you dope?� He had a ton of faults and I was mad at him for some of the really stupid things he’d do. Which in hind-sight leads me to conclude that Johnson did a really good job developing this character.

So my take is we got a good writer, some good stories, A+ for the historical setting and all of the hundreds of little things that were part of life in Detroit just before WWI.

Mystery was good - the historical side was outstanding. I learned a lot.
]]> Honor's Kingdom 13792555
Won the Hammett Prize for best mystery of the year, given out by the North American Branch of the International Association of Crime WritersGrotesque murders multiply as Major Abel Jones pursues a monstrous killer who may be a well-connected Confederate agent or a ghost from Jones's bloody past in India--or bothThe threat of an ocean-spanning war hangs over each new crime as Jones struggles to find a rumored warship that would serve the Rebels as a wonder-weapon of the age--and stop it from sailing]]> 384 Owen Parry 0811711323 Jack 5 He is sent to England to help our Ambassador Charles Adams 'battle' Confederate agents.
Again characterization was first class. You really got to know each person in the book - great job.
There seemed to be a little more humor in Honor's Kingdom than in the previous Abel Jones' novel. That balance nicely with some gruesome sections of the book.
Moving on the the next novel - Bold Sons of Erin.]]> 3.75 2002 Honor's Kingdom
author: Owen Parry
name: Jack
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2002
rating: 5
read at: 2013/07/27
date added: 2016/06/24
shelves:
review:
More of a mystery this time around for our Major Abel Jones.
He is sent to England to help our Ambassador Charles Adams 'battle' Confederate agents.
Again characterization was first class. You really got to know each person in the book - great job.
There seemed to be a little more humor in Honor's Kingdom than in the previous Abel Jones' novel. That balance nicely with some gruesome sections of the book.
Moving on the the next novel - Bold Sons of Erin.
]]> Shadows of Glory 13792556 304 Owen Parry 081171134X Jack 5
Jenkins comment: other reviews will go over the story line.

My choice for most moving passage --

Abel Jones has gone to a Jewish tailor to get a new uniform. (The tailor was introduced in the first Abel Jones novel) The tailor's son is planning on enlisting. The tailor wants Jones to convince his son not to enlist. Able tries but the son explains that everyone thinks Jews are cowards. He has to join the army to prove that Jews can indeed fight.
The son is assigned to a unit made up primarily of Germans (think 19th century Germany not 20th century Germany) and off he goes to war.
In the next couple of sentences the author moved me to tears - - it is two years later, Spring 1863, and while the rest of his regiment fled in terror, the son of the Jewish tailor stood his ground against overwhelming odds. He was part of the XI corps which broke and ran when attacked by Stonewall Jackson.
He died at Chancellorsville. No, he was not a coward. And his father was heartbroken.

It is scenes like this that make this book so good.]]> 3.85 2000 Shadows of Glory
author: Owen Parry
name: Jack
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at: 2013/07/08
date added: 2016/06/24
shelves:
review:
Details - the author is a master of details. And these details, combined with finely developed characters and an interesting plot make for a good read.

Jenkins comment: other reviews will go over the story line.

My choice for most moving passage --

Abel Jones has gone to a Jewish tailor to get a new uniform. (The tailor was introduced in the first Abel Jones novel) The tailor's son is planning on enlisting. The tailor wants Jones to convince his son not to enlist. Able tries but the son explains that everyone thinks Jews are cowards. He has to join the army to prove that Jews can indeed fight.
The son is assigned to a unit made up primarily of Germans (think 19th century Germany not 20th century Germany) and off he goes to war.
In the next couple of sentences the author moved me to tears - - it is two years later, Spring 1863, and while the rest of his regiment fled in terror, the son of the Jewish tailor stood his ground against overwhelming odds. He was part of the XI corps which broke and ran when attacked by Stonewall Jackson.
He died at Chancellorsville. No, he was not a coward. And his father was heartbroken.

It is scenes like this that make this book so good.
]]> Rebels of Babylon 13792558 352 Owen Parry 0811711412 Jack 5 The one thought as I read this story - I wonder if they could make this into a movie?
You have all of the elements: murder, voodoo, racial tensions and a cast of characters running from the bizarre and eccentric to down right scary.
]]> 3.80 2005 Rebels of Babylon
author: Owen Parry
name: Jack
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 2013/08/20
date added: 2016/06/24
shelves:
review:
The sights, the sounds, and yes, even the smells of Civil War New Orleans - what a treat.
The one thought as I read this story - I wonder if they could make this into a movie?
You have all of the elements: murder, voodoo, racial tensions and a cast of characters running from the bizarre and eccentric to down right scary.

]]> Call Each River Jordan 13792557
Far from the cries and smoke of combat, forty murdered slaves hang at a crossroads and only one man insists on justiceMajor Jones investigates a dark world of midnight savagery, ritual murder, and sudden combat, as desperate men and women struggle to survive the fury of a divided nation]]> 320 Owen Parry 0811711358 Jack 5 Abel Jones, our affable Welshman, is sent by Union General Grant himself behind Confederate lines to solve a mystery: who murdered 40 slaves?
I enjoyed Peters take on Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, as well as US Grant and William Sherman.
There are several passages where Jones dismisses novels - basically saying novels are nothing more than lies put down on paper. You want a good story, read your Bible. It seems the author is have a little fun with his readers.
]]> 4.04 2001 Call Each River Jordan
author: Owen Parry
name: Jack
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at: 2013/07/17
date added: 2016/06/24
shelves:
review:
A very well written book - Ralph Peters (writing as Owen Parry) certainly captured how it felt to be in America in the spring of 1862. I thought his description of the battle of Shiloh was especially realistic.
Abel Jones, our affable Welshman, is sent by Union General Grant himself behind Confederate lines to solve a mystery: who murdered 40 slaves?
I enjoyed Peters take on Confederate General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard, as well as US Grant and William Sherman.
There are several passages where Jones dismisses novels - basically saying novels are nothing more than lies put down on paper. You want a good story, read your Bible. It seems the author is have a little fun with his readers.

]]> <![CDATA[Motor City Shakedown (Detroit Mysteries, 2)]]> 11557147
When Will stumbles upon the bloody body of Adamo’s driver, he knows he’ll be a suspect, particularly since he was spotted outside the dead man’s apartment that same night. He sets out to find the killer, and the trail leads him to a vast conspiracy in an underworld populated by gangsters, union organizers, crooked cops, and lawyers. Worse, it places him directly in the middle of Detroit's first mob war. The Teamsters want a piece of Will’s father’s car company, Detroit Electric, and the Gianolla gang is there to be sure they get it. To save their families, Will and his ex-fiancée Elizabeth Hume enlist the help of Detroit Police Detective Riordan, the teenage members of what will one day be known as the Purple Gang, and Vito Adamo himself. They careen from one danger to the next, surviving shootouts, kidnappings, and police brutality, while barreling toward a devastating climax readers won’t soon forget.]]> 352 D.E. Johnson 0312644574 Jack 4
It has mobsters, union and union strikebreakers, damsels in distress (actually she’s trying to kick drugs going cold turkey). And then there’s gun play, threats, violence, and ‘how does he get out of this one� plots.

Will Anderson is changing - he’s leaving the drunk rich boy behind and getting his act together. Well, he’s actually growing a ‘pairs� if you know what I mean. And Johnson does good job showing us that transformation.

And don’t forget Detroit itself. It’s 1911 and Johnson paints a picture of a city that has everything - the good, the bad, and the really ugly. I could close my eyes and just smell the place. UCK

I found this a better book that Johnson’s firs offering.

On to the third book.
]]> 3.76 2011 Motor City Shakedown (Detroit Mysteries, 2)
author: D.E. Johnson
name: Jack
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2016/05/20
date added: 2016/05/29
shelves:
review:
Motor City Shakedown - the second book in a series by D.E.Johnson.

It has mobsters, union and union strikebreakers, damsels in distress (actually she’s trying to kick drugs going cold turkey). And then there’s gun play, threats, violence, and ‘how does he get out of this one� plots.

Will Anderson is changing - he’s leaving the drunk rich boy behind and getting his act together. Well, he’s actually growing a ‘pairs� if you know what I mean. And Johnson does good job showing us that transformation.

And don’t forget Detroit itself. It’s 1911 and Johnson paints a picture of a city that has everything - the good, the bad, and the really ugly. I could close my eyes and just smell the place. UCK

I found this a better book that Johnson’s firs offering.

On to the third book.

]]> The Detroit Electric Scheme 8581178

Will Anderson is a drunk, heartbroken over the breakup with his fiancée, Elizabeth. He's barely kept his job at his father's company---Detroit Electric, 1910's leading electric automobile manufacturer. Late one night, Elizabeth's new fiancé and Will's one-time friend, John Cooper, asks Will to meet him at the car factory. Hefinds Cooper dead, crushed in a huge hydraulic roof press. Surprised by the police, Will panics and runs, leaving behind his cap and automobile, and buries his blood-spattered clothing in a garbage can.

What follows is a fast-paced, detail-filled ride through early-1900s Detroit, involving murder, blackmail, organized crime, the development of a wonderful friendship, and the inside story on early electric automobiles. Through it all, Will learns that clearing himself of the crime he was framed for is only the beginning. To survive, and for his loved ones to survive, he must also become a man.

The Detroit Electric Scheme is populated with fascinating characters, both real and fictional, from a then-flourishing Detroit: The Dodge brothers and Edsel Ford come to life, interacting with denizens of the sordid underbelly of the Motor City, such as Vito Adamo, Detroit's first Mob boss, and Big Boy, the bouncer at a saloon so notorious the newspapers called it "The Bucket of Blood." This expertly plotted debut delivers with great research, wonderfully flawed yet likable characters, and a shattering climax.

]]> 312 D.E. Johnson 0312644566 Jack 4
Thriller? Mystery? Early Detroit? For me, these three things right away made The Detroit Electric Scheme a must read.

also included - electric cars - yes - there were electric cars in the early years of the 20th century. Unions. Gangsters. Drugs. Good cops and bad cops. A few murders.

The story itself is very good, very involved with some interesting twists and turns and the author D.E.Johnson has done his homework on the history part. Love his descriptions.

The one thing that I found unsettling - the protagonist. Will Anderson is not really a likable guy. He’s ok - he’s not a bad guy…but�

However, that could be the markings of a good writer; you don’t make the main character so likable or so despised. You see the guy’s flaws and blemishes.

Overall, a good read. Let’s see what these second book is like.]]> 3.61 2010 The Detroit Electric Scheme
author: D.E. Johnson
name: Jack
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at: 2016/05/08
date added: 2016/05/15
shelves:
review:
I ordered this book because it was supposed to be a good thriller/mystery taking place in 1910 Detroit.

Thriller? Mystery? Early Detroit? For me, these three things right away made The Detroit Electric Scheme a must read.

also included - electric cars - yes - there were electric cars in the early years of the 20th century. Unions. Gangsters. Drugs. Good cops and bad cops. A few murders.

The story itself is very good, very involved with some interesting twists and turns and the author D.E.Johnson has done his homework on the history part. Love his descriptions.

The one thing that I found unsettling - the protagonist. Will Anderson is not really a likable guy. He’s ok - he’s not a bad guy…but�

However, that could be the markings of a good writer; you don’t make the main character so likable or so despised. You see the guy’s flaws and blemishes.

Overall, a good read. Let’s see what these second book is like.
]]> <![CDATA[Wrath of the Furies (Ancient World, #3)]]> 23847956 320 Steven Saylor 1250015987 Jack 5 3.86 2015 Wrath of the Furies (Ancient World, #3)
author: Steven Saylor
name: Jack
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2016/04/26
shelves:
review:

]]> The Confessions of Al Capone 22238145
What emerges is a fascinating, compelling portrait of Capone―a man who would stop at nothing to take what he wanted, but who also fed the poor of Chicago; who rose to the top of Chicago on a tide of bootleg beer and booze but took the time to ensure that innocent victims of mob violence got proper medical care. This is Al Capone as he's never been seen before, a ruthless crime lord who trafficked in death and corruption…as well as a man of refined tastes who loved his family.

Loren D. Estleman's The Confessions of Al Capone is a rigorously researched historical thriller, with sharp and subtly nuanced portrayals of Capone, his family, members of the Chicago outfit, J. Edgar Hoover, and even Ernest Hemingway in a riveting story that truly exposes the real man behind Capone's iconic, scarred visage.]]> 416 Loren D. Estleman 0765331225 Jack 4 What if you were able to sit down with Al Capone and have him tell you what it was like from his perspective?
That's what Loren Estleman did in this book.
Enjoyed it.]]> 3.67 2013 The Confessions of Al Capone
author: Loren D. Estleman
name: Jack
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2016/04/24
date added: 2016/04/26
shelves:
review:
It's a novel filled with history told from a different slant.
What if you were able to sit down with Al Capone and have him tell you what it was like from his perspective?
That's what Loren Estleman did in this book.
Enjoyed it.
]]> <![CDATA[56: Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports]]> 11484475
In the summer of 1941, as Nazi forces moved relentlessly across Europe and young American men were drafted by the millions, it seemed only a matter of time before the U.S. went to war. The nation was apprehensive. Yet for two months in that tense summer, America was captivated by DiMaggio's astonishing hitting streak. In 56, Kostya Kennedy tells the remarkable story of how the streak found its way into countless lives, from the Italian kitchens of Newark to the playgrounds of Queens to the San Francisco streets of North Beach; from the Oval Office of FDR to the Upper West Side apartment where Joe's first wife, Dorothy, the movie starlet, was expecting a child. In this crisp, evocative narrative Joe DiMaggio emerges in a previously unseen light, a 26-year-old on the cusp of becoming an icon. He comes alive-a driven ballplayer, a mercurial star and a conflicted husband-as the tension and the scrutiny upon him build with each passing day.

DiMaggio's achievement lives on as the greatest of sports records. Alongside the story of DiMaggio's dramatic quest, Kennedy deftly examines the peculiar nature of hitting streaks and with an incisive, modern-day perspective gets inside the number itself, as its sheer improbability heightens both the math and the magic of 56 games in a row.


]]> 368 Kostya Kennedy 1603209131 Jack 5
I love baseball. I love the history of the game. This combines both with a narrative that flows like a novel. It is the story of a ball player who made a hit in 56 straight games.

It’s the early summer of 1941. Men are being drafted; the country is changing over to a war footing but December 7 is still months away. And the country has turned its eyes toward a young man wearing pin-strips who plays center field for the NY Yankees.

Joe DiMaggio, one of the greatest ball players in the history of the game, is on a hitting streak.

The author Kostya Kennedy has interviewed dozens and dozens of people. He his shifted through hundreds of pages of newspaper and magazine articles from 1941 and beyond.

You get to know DiMaggio intimately - warts and all - and the men and women who were part of his life back in 1941.

What makes this even more special for me is that as a teenager, my father-in-law attended the game in Cleveland when the streak was stopped.

The book was published in 2010 and the final sentence sums up this accomplishment perfectly:

“Through the end of the 2010 season 17,290 players were known to have appeared in the major leagues. Only one of them had ever hit in 56 straight games.�

Add another 5 years and scores of more players to that total.]]> 4.15 2011 56: Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports
author: Kostya Kennedy
name: Jack
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2011
rating: 5
read at: 2016/04/16
date added: 2016/04/17
shelves:
review:
What a wonderful book.

I love baseball. I love the history of the game. This combines both with a narrative that flows like a novel. It is the story of a ball player who made a hit in 56 straight games.

It’s the early summer of 1941. Men are being drafted; the country is changing over to a war footing but December 7 is still months away. And the country has turned its eyes toward a young man wearing pin-strips who plays center field for the NY Yankees.

Joe DiMaggio, one of the greatest ball players in the history of the game, is on a hitting streak.

The author Kostya Kennedy has interviewed dozens and dozens of people. He his shifted through hundreds of pages of newspaper and magazine articles from 1941 and beyond.

You get to know DiMaggio intimately - warts and all - and the men and women who were part of his life back in 1941.

What makes this even more special for me is that as a teenager, my father-in-law attended the game in Cleveland when the streak was stopped.

The book was published in 2010 and the final sentence sums up this accomplishment perfectly:

“Through the end of the 2010 season 17,290 players were known to have appeared in the major leagues. Only one of them had ever hit in 56 straight games.�

Add another 5 years and scores of more players to that total.
]]> Shoot (Valentino, #4) 25659462
Red tells Valentino that he is being blackmailed over the existence of a blue film that his wife, now known throughout the world as the wholesome Dixie Day and the other half of the Montana/Day power couple, made early in her career. With Dixie on her deathbed, Red is desperate to save her the embarrassment of the promised scandal, and offers Valentino a deal-find the movie, and he can have Red's lost film, Sixgun Sonata, that Red has been hiding away in his archives. Don't accept, and the priceless reel will go up in flames.

Feeling blackmailed himself, Valentino agrees and begins to dig. In the surreal world of Hollywood, what is on screen is rarely reality. As he races to uncover the truth before time runs out, his heroes begin their fall from grace. Valentino desperately wants to save Sixgun Sonata...but at what cost?]]> 240 Loren D. Estleman 0765380455 Jack 5 Loved the dialogue - the characters - history.
Estleman does it again.
I can't even say 'I wish it was longer' because Estleman knows when the story has run it's course.]]> 3.45 2016 Shoot (Valentino, #4)
author: Loren D. Estleman
name: Jack
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2016
rating: 5
read at: 2016/03/30
date added: 2016/03/30
shelves:
review:
Loved it. Mystery plus Hollywood history plus good story.
Loved the dialogue - the characters - history.
Estleman does it again.
I can't even say 'I wish it was longer' because Estleman knows when the story has run it's course.
]]> <![CDATA[The Sundown Speech (Amos Walker, #25)]]> 23847987
Amos Walker is hired by Helen and Dante Gunner, a bohemian Ann Arbor couple, to find Jerry Marcus, a film director who has disappeared with their investment money. It’s one of Walker’s easiest jobs to date. In just a few short hours, Walker locates Marcus in his bedroom…murdered, his body shoved into a cupboard, a bullet through his head.

This case is opened and shut quickly, but Walker can’t quite let it go. When Dante is arrested for the murder Walker finds himself again in Helen’s employ, this time trying to prove that Dante didn’t do it.

When Walker interviews Holly Zacharias, a college student who was the last person to see Marcus alive, things get interesting. Because if Marcus is dead, and Dante is his killer, then who is driving by in the Crown Vic, shooting at Walker and Holly?

Jerry Marcus just might still be alive, and his plans may be worse than anything Walker can imagine.]]> 240 Loren D. Estleman 0765337363 Jack 5 I will say first off that Loren Estleman is one of my favorite authors. His writing style just flows. His descriptions are ...well - informative without being preachy. Dialogue is great.
Detroit private eye Amos Walker heads out I-94 to the home of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. I've been to Ann Arbor many times when I used to live in Detroit-my friend was in a fraternity at UofM. But back the the book
The book is entitled 'The Sundown Speech' as in "you have until sundown to get out of town". That's what Walker is expecting from the local police. However...there's a couple murders, there's weirdos aplenty, fraud, scams, aging hippies - and it's all wrapped up together oh so nicely.

Loved it]]> 3.45 2015 The Sundown Speech (Amos Walker, #25)
author: Loren D. Estleman
name: Jack
average rating: 3.45
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2016/03/23
date added: 2016/03/23
shelves:
review:
A quick and entertaining read.
I will say first off that Loren Estleman is one of my favorite authors. His writing style just flows. His descriptions are ...well - informative without being preachy. Dialogue is great.
Detroit private eye Amos Walker heads out I-94 to the home of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. I've been to Ann Arbor many times when I used to live in Detroit-my friend was in a fraternity at UofM. But back the the book
The book is entitled 'The Sundown Speech' as in "you have until sundown to get out of town". That's what Walker is expecting from the local police. However...there's a couple murders, there's weirdos aplenty, fraud, scams, aging hippies - and it's all wrapped up together oh so nicely.

Loved it
]]> <![CDATA[Hayes of the Twenty-Third: The Civil War Volunteer Officer]]> 4288914 345 T. Harry Williams 0803297610 Jack 4 This book, basically a history of the 23rd and Hayes from 1861-1865, was written 50 years ago by the acclaimed historian T.Harry Williams who draws upon Hayes' diaries and letters and the Official Records as well as scores of other primary source (and secondary source) materials.
I get the impression that Williams thought Hayes a good man and a good general but was not above pointing out Hayes' flaws. That is was struck me about the story - very even handed.
Williams made a point of stating that in the heat of battle different people will observe the same events differently. It's up to the historian to try and sift through all of the stories and arrive at an approximation of the truth.
One drawback - it does not have a bibliography. There are footnotes on every page referring to sources but a bibliography would have been most welcome.
A nice addition to my Civil War library.]]> 3.93 1965 Hayes of the Twenty-Third: The Civil War Volunteer Officer
author: T. Harry Williams
name: Jack
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1965
rating: 4
read at: 2016/03/20
date added: 2016/03/20
shelves:
review:
Rutherford B. Hayes - he wanted to be remembered more as the Colonel of the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry regiment during the Civil War than President of the US.
This book, basically a history of the 23rd and Hayes from 1861-1865, was written 50 years ago by the acclaimed historian T.Harry Williams who draws upon Hayes' diaries and letters and the Official Records as well as scores of other primary source (and secondary source) materials.
I get the impression that Williams thought Hayes a good man and a good general but was not above pointing out Hayes' flaws. That is was struck me about the story - very even handed.
Williams made a point of stating that in the heat of battle different people will observe the same events differently. It's up to the historian to try and sift through all of the stories and arrive at an approximation of the truth.
One drawback - it does not have a bibliography. There are footnotes on every page referring to sources but a bibliography would have been most welcome.
A nice addition to my Civil War library.
]]> The Tomb That Ruth Built 25669844 262 Troy Soos 1514209675 Jack 5 A winning combination.
Troy Soos certainly did his homework in order to paint a convincing portrait of 1923 baseball. The backgrounds of the players were fleshed out and their personalities certainly came through.
The twists and turns were logically resolved in the end.
The book was written in 2014 and the latest of seven Mickey Rawlings novels - the story of a utility player in the majors after WWI who winds up a detective when he's not turning double plays.
I want more !!!

]]> 4.11 2014 The Tomb That Ruth Built
author: Troy Soos
name: Jack
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2014
rating: 5
read at: 2016/03/13
date added: 2016/03/13
shelves:
review:
Early 1920's baseball. A murder mystery. An excellent writer.
A winning combination.
Troy Soos certainly did his homework in order to paint a convincing portrait of 1923 baseball. The backgrounds of the players were fleshed out and their personalities certainly came through.
The twists and turns were logically resolved in the end.
The book was written in 2014 and the latest of seven Mickey Rawlings novels - the story of a utility player in the majors after WWI who winds up a detective when he's not turning double plays.
I want more !!!


]]> <![CDATA[The Curse of Babylon (Aelric, #6)]]> 18595564 The Morning Star

615 AD.
A vengeful Persian tyrant prepares the final blow that will annihilate the Byzantine Empire.
Aelric of England - now the Lord Senator Alaric - is almost as powerful as the Emperor. Seemingly without opposition, he dominates the vast and morally bankrupt city of Constantinople. He alone is able to conceive and to push forward reforms that are the Empire's only hope of survival, and perhaps of restoration to wealth and greatness.

Aelric faces his greatest challenge yet with danger of all frontiers. His domestic enemies are waiting for their moment to strike back and the world's most terrifying military machine is assembling in secret beyond the mountains of the eastern frontiers.]]> 496 Richard Blake 1444709747 Jack 4
There are twists an turns a plenty - good guys and bad guys - riots in the street and battles in the mountains - and, of course, our old friend Priscus. He is one of the most interesting characters I have ever come across.

It was a fun time reading these books. Hopefully I’ll discover a new Aelric novel some time.]]> 3.50 2013 The Curse of Babylon (Aelric, #6)
author: Richard Blake
name: Jack
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2016/03/07
date added: 2016/03/09
shelves:
review:
It appears I might have just read the final book (regular printed book) in the Aelric the Barbarian series. I noticed there were some Kindle or E-books, but I prefer the old fashioned paper books.

There are twists an turns a plenty - good guys and bad guys - riots in the street and battles in the mountains - and, of course, our old friend Priscus. He is one of the most interesting characters I have ever come across.

It was a fun time reading these books. Hopefully I’ll discover a new Aelric novel some time.
]]> <![CDATA[Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way]]> 92184 --- Sacramento News & Review

What you're reading right now is known as the "flap copy." This is where the 72,444 words of my latest book are cooked down to fit this space. But how does one do that? Do you reveal pivotal plot points like the one at the end of the book where the little girl on crutches points an accusing finger and shouts, "The killer is Mr. Potter"?
I have too much respect for you as an attention-deficient consumer to attempt such an obvious ruse. But let's not play games here. You picked up the book already, so you
A. Know who I am
B. Liked the cool smoking jacket I'm wearing on the cover
C. Have just discovered that the bookstore restroom is out of toilet paper
Is it a sequel to my autobiography If Chins Could Confessions of a B Movie Actor? Sadly, no, which made it much harder to write. According to my publisher, I haven't "done" enough since 2001 to warrant another memoir.
Is it an "autobiographical novel"? Yes. I'm the lead character in the story, and I'm a real person, and everything in the book actually happened, except for the stuff that didn't.
The action revolves around my preparations for a pivotal role in the A-list relationship film Let's Make Love! But my Homeric attempt to break through the glass ceiling of B-grade genre fare is hampered by a vengeful studio executive and a production that becomes infected by something called the "B movie virus," symptoms of which include excessive use of cheesy special effects, slapstick, and projectile vomiting.
From a violent fistfight with a Buddhist to a life-altering stint in federal prison, this novel has it all. And if the 72,444 words are too time-consuming, there are lots and lots of cool graphics.
Regards,
Bruce "Don't Call Me Ash" Campbell

Praise for Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way

"It's a great, goofy what-if."
--- Entertainment Weekly

"Ultimately, Make Love is a Bruce Campbell novel, starring Bruce Campbell, written for Bruce Campbell fans for whom Bruce Campbell can do no wrong. They'll no doubt find Campbell's latest endeavor nothing short of---to quote one of his most famous characters---groovy."
--- The Onion

"One of the most delightfully deranged experiences you'll have reading this year. Hail to the king, baby."
--- Rue Morgue]]> 353 Bruce Campbell 031231261X Jack 4
A fun read divided into numerous small chapters that make it, for me, very enjoyable.

As Mr. Campbell points out, he put the words on the paper but his editors made sure they were in the right order and spelled correctly.

He also stated that everything in the book actually happened, except for the stuff that didn't.

]]> 3.69 2005 Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way
author: Bruce Campbell
name: Jack
average rating: 3.69
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2016/03/06
date added: 2016/03/06
shelves:
review:
An interesting trip into the unpublished side of Hollywood from the perspective of a B-Movie Actor. Full of twists and turns and surprises and 'what the hell just happened?' moments.

A fun read divided into numerous small chapters that make it, for me, very enjoyable.

As Mr. Campbell points out, he put the words on the paper but his editors made sure they were in the right order and spelled correctly.

He also stated that everything in the book actually happened, except for the stuff that didn't.


]]> <![CDATA[If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor]]> 34548
Life is full of choices. Right now, yours is whether or not to buy the autobiography of a mid-grade, kind of hammy actor.

Am I supposed to know this guy? you think to yourself.

No, and that's exactly the point. Bookstores are chock full of household name actors and their high stakes shenanigans. I don't want to be a spoilsport, but we've all been down that road before.

Case in point: look to your left - see that Judy Garland book? You don't need that, you know plenty about her already - great voice, crappy life. Now look to your right at the Charlton Heston book. You don't need to cough up hard-earned dough for that either. You know his story too - great voice, crappy toupee.

The truth is that though you might not have a clue who I am, there are countless working stiffs like me out there, grinding away every day at the wheel of fortune.

If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor is my first book, and I invite you to ride with me through the choppy waters of blue collar Hollywood.

Okay, so buy the damned book already and read like the wind!

Best,
Bruce Campbell

P.S. If the book sucks, at least there are gobs of pictures, and they're not crammed in the middle like all those other actor books.]]> 344 Bruce Campbell 0312291450 Jack 5 But that has nothing to do with why I liked the book. Ok, maybe a little bit.
I found it funny, entertaining, lots of behind then scenes tid-bits, a ton of information on a ton of things.
I enjoyed it completely.
This is the guy you could hang out with for an afternoon in a dive bar and never got bored.]]> 3.94 2001 If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor
author: Bruce Campbell
name: Jack
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at: 2016/02/21
date added: 2016/02/22
shelves:
review:
What a crazy story and to think, Mr. Campbell was born 10 years after me and only 15 miles north of me. We got a Michigan connection.
But that has nothing to do with why I liked the book. Ok, maybe a little bit.
I found it funny, entertaining, lots of behind then scenes tid-bits, a ton of information on a ton of things.
I enjoyed it completely.
This is the guy you could hang out with for an afternoon in a dive bar and never got bored.
]]> <![CDATA[The Ghosts of Athens (Aelric, #5)]]> 16144047 Decadent, desperate sixth-centuryAthens is the setting for thefifthhistorical thrillerfeaturing British adventurer Aelric
It is 612 AD and Aelric—senator of the Roman Empire, fresh from a bloodbath in Egypt—is forced to divert the Imperial galley to Athens.He finds a demoralized and corrupt provincial city threatened by an army rumored to contain20 million starving barbarians.Not to mention an explosive religious dispute, an unexplained corpse, and hints of something worse than murder. He will have to call upon all his formidable intellect and lethal ingenuity to survive his enemies inside and outside the city walls.]]> 448 Richard Blake 1444709712 Jack 4
Problem is - that was almost a 1,000 years ago and the city is now a 'ghost' of its former self.

It's 612 AD and our hero Aelric is stuck running a religious council made up of Church leaders from East and West who just don't see eye to eye and don't speak the same language.

Then there's the Avars, a large group of nasty barbarians who are hungry and find great enjoyment in killing everything and everyone in their path.

The descriptions of the city are fantastic. I really could feel how depressing it would have been to live there in the early 7th century.

The characters are alive (except in those cases where they are dead) with all the faults and foils of being human. Even Aelric is not without his blemishes; he has an outbreak of acne on his nose.

I felt there were one or two sub-plots that were rushed and didn't add as much to the story as I'd have liked but overall, once again, a fun read, if you're into blood and guts and assorted nastiness. ]]> 3.00 2012 The Ghosts of Athens (Aelric, #5)
author: Richard Blake
name: Jack
average rating: 3.00
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2016/02/10
date added: 2016/02/10
shelves:
review:
Athens. The city that gave birth to democracy. The city that gave the world Socrates, Plato and Aristotle.

Problem is - that was almost a 1,000 years ago and the city is now a 'ghost' of its former self.

It's 612 AD and our hero Aelric is stuck running a religious council made up of Church leaders from East and West who just don't see eye to eye and don't speak the same language.

Then there's the Avars, a large group of nasty barbarians who are hungry and find great enjoyment in killing everything and everyone in their path.

The descriptions of the city are fantastic. I really could feel how depressing it would have been to live there in the early 7th century.

The characters are alive (except in those cases where they are dead) with all the faults and foils of being human. Even Aelric is not without his blemishes; he has an outbreak of acne on his nose.

I felt there were one or two sub-plots that were rushed and didn't add as much to the story as I'd have liked but overall, once again, a fun read, if you're into blood and guts and assorted nastiness.
]]> <![CDATA[Extra Innings: More Baseball Between the Numbers from the Team at Baseball Prospectus]]> 12658609
In Extra Innings, the team at Baseball Prospectusintegrates statistics, interviews, and analysis todeliver twenty arguments about today’s game.In the tradition of their seminal book, BaseballBetween the Numbers, they take on everything fromsteroids to the amateur draft. They probe theimpact of managers on the game. They explainthe critical art of building a bullpen. In an erawhen statistics matter more than ever, Extra Inningsis an essential volume for every baseball fan.]]> 446 Baseball Prospectus 0465024033 Jack 4
A number of short essays that cover everything from the response to steroids to how players are scouted/acquired/developed. The writers discuss how we can evaluate general managers and field managers. There are essays on pitching, fielding and offense.

And these are all from the perspective of using statistics and math to draw conclusions.


Some of the essays were a little too obtuse for me. Others are down right eye opening.

Consider the conclusion of evaluating field managers: "... so few aspects of the game are under their control, and the few that they can interfere with are often approached incompetently."

It's late in the game. Your starter is getting tired. The next batter up is a lefty. Common wisdom says that you send in your right handed pitcher against a left handed batter. So what happens if your right handed pitcher is mediocre at best and you have a star left handed pitcher rested and ready to go? A so-so righty against a left handed batter or a proven left-handed winner against a lefty?

Do you keep a poor fielder as a starter if he is an above average hitter and gets on base a lot? It depends on how many games you lose because of his fielding and how many you win because of his bat.

]]> 3.87 2012 Extra Innings: More Baseball Between the Numbers from the Team at Baseball Prospectus
author: Baseball Prospectus
name: Jack
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at: 2016/01/27
date added: 2016/01/31
shelves:
review:
An interesting way to look at baseball.

A number of short essays that cover everything from the response to steroids to how players are scouted/acquired/developed. The writers discuss how we can evaluate general managers and field managers. There are essays on pitching, fielding and offense.

And these are all from the perspective of using statistics and math to draw conclusions.


Some of the essays were a little too obtuse for me. Others are down right eye opening.

Consider the conclusion of evaluating field managers: "... so few aspects of the game are under their control, and the few that they can interfere with are often approached incompetently."

It's late in the game. Your starter is getting tired. The next batter up is a lefty. Common wisdom says that you send in your right handed pitcher against a left handed batter. So what happens if your right handed pitcher is mediocre at best and you have a star left handed pitcher rested and ready to go? A so-so righty against a left handed batter or a proven left-handed winner against a lefty?

Do you keep a poor fielder as a starter if he is an above average hitter and gets on base a lot? It depends on how many games you lose because of his fielding and how many you win because of his bat.


]]> <![CDATA[The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, #2)]]> 15241
Frodo and his Companions of the Ring have been beset by danger during their quest to prevent the Ruling Ring from falling into the hands of the Dark Lord by destroying it in the Cracks of Doom. They have lost the wizard, Gandalf, in a battle in the Mines of Moria. And Boromir, seduced by the power of the Ring, tried to seize it by force. While Frodo and Sam made their escape, the rest of the company was attacked by Orcs.

Now they continue the journey alone down the great River Anduin -- alone, that is, save for the mysterious creeping figure that follows wherever they go.]]> 322 J.R.R. Tolkien 0618346260 Jack 5 4.45 1954 The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, #2)
author: J.R.R. Tolkien
name: Jack
average rating: 4.45
book published: 1954
rating: 5
read at: 1967/01/01
date added: 2016/01/28
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Sword of Damascus (Aelric, #4)]]> 12772824 432 Richard Blake 1444709682 Jack 4
Again excellent characterization and wonderful descriptions of the locations. Richard Blake, the author, really transports his readers to a different time and a different place. I love it.

Aelric seems to find himself in one jam after another and what I liked best � all of the escapes were plausible. To me that is so important. None of this Deus ex Machina stuff.

On to the next book in the series!
]]> 3.67 2011 The Sword of Damascus (Aelric, #4)
author: Richard Blake
name: Jack
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at: 2016/01/17
date added: 2016/01/17
shelves:
review:
The Sword of Damascus is a switch for the Aelric series. In this story it starts when Aelric is an old man (90+years old) and he continues throughout the book as an old man. In the previous books, Aelric the old tells of us his life as a young man.

Again excellent characterization and wonderful descriptions of the locations. Richard Blake, the author, really transports his readers to a different time and a different place. I love it.

Aelric seems to find himself in one jam after another and what I liked best � all of the escapes were plausible. To me that is so important. None of this Deus ex Machina stuff.

On to the next book in the series!

]]> <![CDATA[The Blood of Alexandria (Aelric, #3)]]> 10636137 The tears of Alexander shall flow, giving bread and freedom—the irrepressible Aelric's third adventure

In 612 AD, Egypt, the jewel of the Roman Empire, seethes with unrest as bread runs short and the Persians plot an invasion.In Alexandria, a city divided between Greeks and Egyptians by language, religion, and far too few soldiers, the mummy of the Great Alexander, dead for900 years, still has the power to calm the mob—or inflame it. Aelric, the young British clerk who has become a senator and the trusted henchman of Emperor Heraclius, has come to Alexandria to send Egypt's harvest to Constantinople and to force the unwilling viceroy to give its land to the peasants.But the city, with its factions and conspirators, thwarts him at every turn.When an old enemy from Constantinople arrives, supposedly on a quest for a religious relic that could turn the course of the Persian war, he will have to use all his cunning, charm, and talent for violence to survive.]]> 512 Richard Blake 0340951176 Jack 5 Oh, what it must have been like to live in this city in ancient times.
The center of learning in the western world for centuries as well as the scene of countless riots and bloodshed through the years.
It is also the location of the third book of Aelric, a young Briton who finds himself matching wits with the high and mighty of the Byzantine Empire in 612 AD.
I can sum up the story this way: What a hell of a ride.
Political intrigue abounds. There are mysteries to be solved There are travels up the Nile to the ancient tombs of Pharaohs. There are battles a plenty.
The writing is crisp; the words paint a vivid picture. The characters are fleshed out and are real. They breath. They are alive.
Thank you Richard Blake for your talents. ]]> 3.50 2010 The Blood of Alexandria (Aelric, #3)
author: Richard Blake
name: Jack
average rating: 3.50
book published: 2010
rating: 5
read at: 2015/12/30
date added: 2016/01/01
shelves:
review:
Alexandria, Egypt.
Oh, what it must have been like to live in this city in ancient times.
The center of learning in the western world for centuries as well as the scene of countless riots and bloodshed through the years.
It is also the location of the third book of Aelric, a young Briton who finds himself matching wits with the high and mighty of the Byzantine Empire in 612 AD.
I can sum up the story this way: What a hell of a ride.
Political intrigue abounds. There are mysteries to be solved There are travels up the Nile to the ancient tombs of Pharaohs. There are battles a plenty.
The writing is crisp; the words paint a vivid picture. The characters are fleshed out and are real. They breath. They are alive.
Thank you Richard Blake for your talents.
]]> <![CDATA[The Terror of Constantinople (Aelric, #2)]]> 6378908 400 Richard Blake 0340951141 Jack 5
Mixing history - well researched history, I might add - with a bit of humor and a mystery or two thrown in for good measure, Richard Blake takes us back to early 7th century AD Constantinople.

This is the second book of the life of Aelric, young clerk from Britain, and it is great. There are numerous court intrigues going on and poor Aelric seems to be involved in each one of them. There are torture chambers and eunuchs, barbarians committing wholesale slaughter, theological disputes on end, pitched battles. And there’s a baby too!

Blake has captured the sights, the sounds, the smells (checkout the description of a 7th century public lavatory) of one of the great cities of the ancient world ands once again his characters are well developed.

I loved it!

On to book three.
]]> 3.82 2009 The Terror of Constantinople (Aelric, #2)
author: Richard Blake
name: Jack
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2009
rating: 5
read at: 2015/12/08
date added: 2015/12/08
shelves:
review:
Can this man tell a tale? Absolutely - 100% - yes.

Mixing history - well researched history, I might add - with a bit of humor and a mystery or two thrown in for good measure, Richard Blake takes us back to early 7th century AD Constantinople.

This is the second book of the life of Aelric, young clerk from Britain, and it is great. There are numerous court intrigues going on and poor Aelric seems to be involved in each one of them. There are torture chambers and eunuchs, barbarians committing wholesale slaughter, theological disputes on end, pitched battles. And there’s a baby too!

Blake has captured the sights, the sounds, the smells (checkout the description of a 7th century public lavatory) of one of the great cities of the ancient world ands once again his characters are well developed.

I loved it!

On to book three.

]]> <![CDATA[A Jew Among Romans: The Life and Legacy of Flavius Josephus]]> 13642215
Joseph ben Mattathias’s transformation into Titus Flavius Josephus, historian to the Roman emperor Vespasian, is a gripping and dramatic story. His life, in the hands of Frederic Raphael, becomes a point of departure for an appraisal of Diasporan Jews seeking a place in the dominant cultures they inhabit. Raphael brings a scholar’s rigor, a historian’s perspective, and a novelist’s imagination to this project. He goes beyond the fascinating details of Josephus’s life and his singular literary achievements to examine how Josephus has been viewed by posterity, finding in him the prototype for the un-Jewish Jew, the assimilated intellectual, and the abiding the recurrent figures in the long centuries of the Diaspora. Raphael’s insightful portraits of  Yehuda Halevi, Baruch Spinoza, Karl Kraus, Benjamin Disraeli, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Hannah Arendt extend and illuminate the Josephean worldview Raphael so eloquently lays out.]]> 336 Frederic Raphael 0307378160 Jack 2 Some 40 years ago I bought a copy of Josephus' The Jewish War published in the late 1800's.
When I saw Raphael's 'A Jew Among the Romans- the Life and Legacy of Flavius Josephus' I thought this would be a welcomed companion to that older book.
The author goes into great detail about the life of Josephus- very good. That's the first half of the book.
But then for the second half he deals with the 'legacy' - and goes into even greater detail regarding subsequent Jewish authors. This would have been perfect for a course in Jewish Literature but I found it down right boring. Plus the fact that the author has a nasty habit including Latin and French quotes without translating into English.
Page after page of comparing this author with that author and then inserting a sentence saying his similar Josephus was to this author or that author.
Finished it but really should have stopped ager 200 pages.]]> 3.27 2013 A Jew Among Romans: The Life and Legacy of Flavius Josephus
author: Frederic Raphael
name: Jack
average rating: 3.27
book published: 2013
rating: 2
read at: 2015/11/26
date added: 2015/11/25
shelves:
review:
Disappointing -
Some 40 years ago I bought a copy of Josephus' The Jewish War published in the late 1800's.
When I saw Raphael's 'A Jew Among the Romans- the Life and Legacy of Flavius Josephus' I thought this would be a welcomed companion to that older book.
The author goes into great detail about the life of Josephus- very good. That's the first half of the book.
But then for the second half he deals with the 'legacy' - and goes into even greater detail regarding subsequent Jewish authors. This would have been perfect for a course in Jewish Literature but I found it down right boring. Plus the fact that the author has a nasty habit including Latin and French quotes without translating into English.
Page after page of comparing this author with that author and then inserting a sentence saying his similar Josephus was to this author or that author.
Finished it but really should have stopped ager 200 pages.
]]> <![CDATA[Conspiracies of Rome (Aelric, #1)]]> 7436816 THE ROMAN EMPIRE IS DEAD.
LONG LIVE THE CHURCH OF ROME!

609 AD. Rome is torn apart by war, plague and internal power struggles between the Emperor, the aristocracy and the Church. Into this morass stumbles the young and handsome Briton Aelric. His father was murdered, his inheritance stolen. Forcibly separated from the woman he loves, he is determined to win back all that he has lost. Through his naivety and ambition, he unwittingly becomes involved in a heretical plot that will lead to fraud, high treason and murder.

Introducing the most compelling anti-hero since Flashman, CONSPIRACIES OF ROME takes you back to one of the darkest and least known periods of history.

]]> 356 Richard Blake 0340951133 Jack 5 I like historical fiction - toss in a little mystery and I'm all set. I have read stories that have ranged from Neolithic through the present.
I have become addictive to the Steven Saylor (1st century BC) and Lindsey Davis (1st century AD) novels set in ancient Rome.
Blake's story takes place 600 years later and Rome is a shell of itself. This is the first time I have read a novel set in that time period and Blake, for me, really conveys what it must have been like.
The smell, the sounds, the dirt. The might, the glory - so much in ruins. Sections of Rome are like ghost towns while other sections carry on their day to day activities as if nothing happened.
Good character development - we see them spots and all.
Go find the book and enjoy]]> 3.11 2008 Conspiracies of Rome (Aelric, #1)
author: Richard Blake
name: Jack
average rating: 3.11
book published: 2008
rating: 5
read at: 2015/11/19
date added: 2015/11/19
shelves:
review:
Loved it - - I thoroughly enjoyed the book and have already ordered the sequels.
I like historical fiction - toss in a little mystery and I'm all set. I have read stories that have ranged from Neolithic through the present.
I have become addictive to the Steven Saylor (1st century BC) and Lindsey Davis (1st century AD) novels set in ancient Rome.
Blake's story takes place 600 years later and Rome is a shell of itself. This is the first time I have read a novel set in that time period and Blake, for me, really conveys what it must have been like.
The smell, the sounds, the dirt. The might, the glory - so much in ruins. Sections of Rome are like ghost towns while other sections carry on their day to day activities as if nothing happened.
Good character development - we see them spots and all.
Go find the book and enjoy
]]> Pagan Babies 652058
He doesn't always appear to act like one. He comes home to Detroit and runs into Debbie Dewey who's doing standup at a comedy club. In her set, Debbie tells what it was like in prison, down for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Terry and Debie hit it off; they have the same sense of humor and similar goals in that both are out to raise money. Terry says for the Little Orphans of Rwanda; Debbie to score off a guy who conned her out of sixty-seven thousand dollars. This is Randy, now wealthy, who runs a fashionable restaurant and is connected to the Detroit Mafia.

It's Debbie who keeps prying until she learns the bizarre truth about Terry; Debbie who sells him on going in together for a much bigger payoff than either could manage alone.What happened in Rwanda remains alive through the unexpected twists and turns of the plot. But even with this tragic background. Pagan Babies comes off as Leonard's funniest straight-faced novel to date.]]> 263 Elmore Leonard 0385333927 Jack 4
We have a great scam - or two or three. We have bad guys. We have some good guys who really aren't all that good but not as bad as the bad guys.

We start out in Africa, swing over to Detroit, and end up in Africa.

We have a priest who really isn't a priest.

I am so glad I found this book. Loved it.]]> 3.55 2000 Pagan Babies
author: Elmore Leonard
name: Jack
average rating: 3.55
book published: 2000
rating: 4
read at: 2015/10/08
date added: 2015/10/20
shelves:
review:
Pagan Babies - what's not to like about an Elmore Leonard book entitled 'Pagan Babies'?

We have a great scam - or two or three. We have bad guys. We have some good guys who really aren't all that good but not as bad as the bad guys.

We start out in Africa, swing over to Detroit, and end up in Africa.

We have a priest who really isn't a priest.

I am so glad I found this book. Loved it.
]]> <![CDATA[Detroit Is Our Beat : Tales of the Four Horsemen]]> 25440224
While most of the police department is fighting overseas, the four men of the Racket Squad struggle to keep a lid on a powderkeg stuffed with draft-dodging troublemakers, Black Market gangsters, enemy saboteurs, and a mixed bag of racial and ethnic groups working uneasily side by side in defense plants run by the automobile industry.

With blackjacks, brass knuckles, tommy guns, and their bare fists, Lieutenant Max Zagreb, Sergeant Starvo Canal, and detectives McReary and Burke--known collectively as the "Four Horsemen"--battle their way through ten gritty stories in the hardest-boiled town during the twentieth century's hardest-boiled decade.]]> 256 Loren D. Estleman 1440588449 Jack 5 You really get to know each one of them - their likes, dislikes, hopes. They really have well developed personalities.
These 10 stories are set in my home town - just 4 - 6 years before I was born. It was like a history lesson. I wish I would have asked my parents more about what it was like too live in Detroit during those years.
I have one complaint - I wish he had written 20 stories not just ten.]]> 3.89 2015 Detroit Is Our Beat : Tales of the Four Horsemen
author: Loren D. Estleman
name: Jack
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2015/10/04
date added: 2015/10/20
shelves:
review:
Loren Estleman is one of my favorite authors and this collection of short stories about 4 Detroit detectives during WWII is great.
You really get to know each one of them - their likes, dislikes, hopes. They really have well developed personalities.
These 10 stories are set in my home town - just 4 - 6 years before I was born. It was like a history lesson. I wish I would have asked my parents more about what it was like too live in Detroit during those years.
I have one complaint - I wish he had written 20 stories not just ten.
]]> <![CDATA[The Sea Rover's Practice: Pirate Tactics and Techniques, 1630-1730]]> 497833
But its truth is by halves, and paradoxically it is the picaresque imagery of Pyle, Wyeth, Sabatini, and Hollywood that is often closer to the reality, while the historical details of arms, tactics, and language are often inaccurate or entirely anachronistic.

Successful sea rovers were careful practitioners of a complex profession that sought wealth by stratagem and force of arms. Drawn from the European tradition, yet of various races and nationalities, they raided both ship and town throughout much of the world from roughly 1630 until 1730. Using a variety of innovative tactics and often armed with little more than musket and grenade, many of these self-described "soldiers and privateers" successfully assaulted fortifications, attacked shipping from small craft, crossed the mountains and jungles of Panama, and even circumnavigated the globe. Successful sea rovers were often supreme seamen, soldiers, and above all, tacticians. It can be argued that their influence on certain naval tactics is felt even today.

The Sea Rover's Practice is the only book that describes in exceptional detail the tactics of sea rovers of the period - how they actually sought out and attacked vessels and towns. Accessible to both the general and the more scholarly reader, it will appeal not only to those with an interest in piracy and in maritime, naval, and military history, but also to mariners in general, tall-ship and ship-modeling enthusiasts, tacticians and military analysts, readers of historical fiction, writers, and the adventurer in all of us.]]> 320 Benerson Little 1574889117 Jack 4
You can watch old Hollywood movies (sorry - too much fantasy in ol' Jack Sparrow) or you can read 'The Sea Rover's Practice' by Benerson Little.

So you have Errol Flynn and Burt Lancaster and other Hollywood types on one side and Little's book based on primary source material.

The movies are fun to watch; the book is loaded with facts- real facts.

From what they ate and drank to how they got paid (if they did. Sometimes the poor boys didn't) to the weapons and tactics they used.

Well written; well documented; full of information.

A very good book.




]]> 3.81 2005 The Sea Rover's Practice: Pirate Tactics and Techniques, 1630-1730
author: Benerson Little
name: Jack
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at: 2015/09/30
date added: 2015/10/13
shelves:
review:
So you want to be a pirate? Well what's it take be a pirate?

You can watch old Hollywood movies (sorry - too much fantasy in ol' Jack Sparrow) or you can read 'The Sea Rover's Practice' by Benerson Little.

So you have Errol Flynn and Burt Lancaster and other Hollywood types on one side and Little's book based on primary source material.

The movies are fun to watch; the book is loaded with facts- real facts.

From what they ate and drank to how they got paid (if they did. Sometimes the poor boys didn't) to the weapons and tactics they used.

Well written; well documented; full of information.

A very good book.





]]> <![CDATA[Damned Die Hard: Story of the French Foreign Legion]]> 2829050 272 Hugh McLeave 0450027619 Jack 5 I have the hardcover version 4.27 1973 Damned Die Hard: Story of the French Foreign Legion
author: Hugh McLeave
name: Jack
average rating: 4.27
book published: 1973
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2015/10/11
shelves:
review:
I have the hardcover version
]]> <![CDATA[One Lamp: Alternate History Stories from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction]]> 1495558 352 Gordon van Gelder 1568582765 Jack 4
Basically all are in one way or another alternate history stories.

I absolutely loved Bradley Denton's 'The Territory' featuring a young Mark Train and the raid on Lawrence, Kansas.

One of my favorite authors, Harry Turtledove, wrote "The Last Article'. The Nazi's have won WWII and taken over Indian and are now faced with Gandhi who just doesn't understand how a civilized country like Germany could be so....uncivilized.

These stories, plus several others, are well worth the price.]]> 3.17 2003 One Lamp: Alternate History Stories from The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction
author: Gordon van Gelder
name: Jack
average rating: 3.17
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 2015/09/05
date added: 2015/09/20
shelves:
review:
Some extremely well written short stories and some that I couldn't get into. The good far out weight the bad.

Basically all are in one way or another alternate history stories.

I absolutely loved Bradley Denton's 'The Territory' featuring a young Mark Train and the raid on Lawrence, Kansas.

One of my favorite authors, Harry Turtledove, wrote "The Last Article'. The Nazi's have won WWII and taken over Indian and are now faced with Gandhi who just doesn't understand how a civilized country like Germany could be so....uncivilized.

These stories, plus several others, are well worth the price.
]]> <![CDATA[Beyond The Run: The Emanuel Harmon Farm at Gettysburg]]> 20161765 140 Andrew I. Dalton 0983721343 Jack 5 This August I hired a licensed battlefield guide and we spent three hours following in the footsteps of the 7th Tenn that fateful July 1.
What an experience to stand where they stood that hot, summer day.
The guide recommended this book written by a high school student (now in college) about the farm along Willoughby's Run, a stream located north west of Gettysburg.
He goes into great detail using primary source materials to provide a history of the farm before, during and after the battle.
Well written and very informative.
Well worth the read if you're interested in the morning's clash - July 1 - at Gettysberg ]]> 4.57 2013 Beyond The Run: The Emanuel Harmon Farm at Gettysburg
author: Andrew I. Dalton
name: Jack
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at: 2015/08/22
date added: 2015/09/20
shelves:
review:
I am a Civil War reenactor with Co D 7th Tenn. The regiment fought at Gettysburg on the morning of July 1 (and were severely handled by the Iron Brigade) and again as part of the massive charge on July 3.
This August I hired a licensed battlefield guide and we spent three hours following in the footsteps of the 7th Tenn that fateful July 1.
What an experience to stand where they stood that hot, summer day.
The guide recommended this book written by a high school student (now in college) about the farm along Willoughby's Run, a stream located north west of Gettysburg.
He goes into great detail using primary source materials to provide a history of the farm before, during and after the battle.
Well written and very informative.
Well worth the read if you're interested in the morning's clash - July 1 - at Gettysberg
]]> Mother Earth, Bloody Ground 22071036
With Sherman organizing a reinforced army in Nashville, and George Thomas still poised to invade Georgia, Jackson must adapt his strategy and find a way to permanently liberate the “Mother Earth� of Middle Tennessee. While generals like Patrick Cleburne, Nathan Bedford Forrest, and A.P. Stewart prove reliable, others like Leonidas Polk continue to vex Jackson’s efforts. Meanwhile, Sherman must contend with sniping politicians from above and a scheming Joe Hooker from below as he works to hurl Jackson’s army back into Alabama and continue his drive on Atlanta.

What ensues across the early and mid-summer of 1864 is a colossal struggle pitting two of the Civil War’s greatest generals, Sherman and Jackson, against each other. The outcome will decide the fate of Middle Tennessee, and with it the course of a Civil War destined to be changed in unforeseen ways.]]> 290 R.E. Thomas 0988892227 Jack 4 I really like the way the author have developed the relationship between Jackson and Forrest. Two commanders who while very dissimilar have the same mindset when it comes to military action.
Unfortunately the third and final volume isn't due until 2016.
DRAT]]> 4.50 2014 Mother Earth, Bloody Ground
author: R.E. Thomas
name: Jack
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2015/08/21
date added: 2015/09/20
shelves:
review:
Second book in the trilogy about Stonewall Jackson taking over the Confederate armies in the West in 1864.
I really like the way the author have developed the relationship between Jackson and Forrest. Two commanders who while very dissimilar have the same mindset when it comes to military action.
Unfortunately the third and final volume isn't due until 2016.
DRAT
]]> The Egyptian 10768630 source:
()]]> 503 Mika Waltari 951011989X Jack 5 4.26 1945 The Egyptian
author: Mika Waltari
name: Jack
average rating: 4.26
book published: 1945
rating: 5
read at: 1967/01/01
date added: 2015/09/01
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Stonewall Goes West: A Novel of the Civil War]]> 17762720 256 R.E. Thomas 0988892200 Jack 4 As a Civil War historian and a fan of alternate histories, I just had to take a chance.
Book what I didn't know is it is part one of a trilogy. Part two has come out put part three isn't due until 2016 or so.
The battle scenes smack of realism and the development of the many characters -Union and Confederate - is a delight. While the author certainly has a soft spot for Stonewall, the general does have his flaws.
The negative portrait of General/Bishop Leonidas Polk might be over the top a bit - it seems at every turn he's just trying to sabotage Stonewall (just as he did Braxton Bragg in real life).
NOTE: I knew Grant almost was a chain smoker of cigars but I never knew that about Sherman. Nice touch
I enjoyed it - on to book two
]]> 4.13 2013 Stonewall Goes West: A Novel of the Civil War
author: R.E. Thomas
name: Jack
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at: 2015/08/16
date added: 2015/08/18
shelves:
review:
I had read some reviews that basically passed on this book, but I still was curious.
As a Civil War historian and a fan of alternate histories, I just had to take a chance.
Book what I didn't know is it is part one of a trilogy. Part two has come out put part three isn't due until 2016 or so.
The battle scenes smack of realism and the development of the many characters -Union and Confederate - is a delight. While the author certainly has a soft spot for Stonewall, the general does have his flaws.
The negative portrait of General/Bishop Leonidas Polk might be over the top a bit - it seems at every turn he's just trying to sabotage Stonewall (just as he did Braxton Bragg in real life).
NOTE: I knew Grant almost was a chain smoker of cigars but I never knew that about Sherman. Nice touch
I enjoyed it - on to book two

]]> The Fourth Rome (Arc Riders) 1001981 311 David Drake 0446601535 Jack 5 Good, clear writing. No long winded technical explanations of this or that. Good action. Lots of suspense.
This is a story I've come to expect from David Drake.
What an enjoyable read - fun.]]> 3.78 1996 The Fourth Rome (Arc Riders)
author: David Drake
name: Jack
average rating: 3.78
book published: 1996
rating: 5
read at: 2015/08/12
date added: 2015/08/14
shelves:
review:
Now this is more like it!
Good, clear writing. No long winded technical explanations of this or that. Good action. Lots of suspense.
This is a story I've come to expect from David Drake.
What an enjoyable read - fun.
]]> ARC Riders 662719 320 David Drake 0446601527 Jack 3
I was not really disappointed - that’s too strong a word - in ARC Riders but I wasn’t as pleased as I had hoped to be.

It’s pure Sc-Fi involving time traveling. Ok, that’s a big plus. However, the first 30 or so pages of the book were bogged down with techno-geek explanations about how this gizmo worked and how that one worked. It was slow reading

But then the story took off and for the next couple of hundred pages of the book there was plenty of action - now this was the Drake I enjoyed.

But as we neared the end, things were happening way too fast. It’s as if the authors had a deadline to meet so let’s cram everything in that last 15 pages of the book and hope it make sense.

I am on to the next book in the series. Hopefully that one will be better.
]]> 3.58 1995 ARC Riders
author: David Drake
name: Jack
average rating: 3.58
book published: 1995
rating: 3
read at: 2015/08/03
date added: 2015/08/03
shelves:
review:
I discovered a new series by David Drake (and Janet Morris) for me to delve into. Ok it was written in 1995 but it was new to me. I’ve read a number of Drake’s books before and found them quite entertaining.

I was not really disappointed - that’s too strong a word - in ARC Riders but I wasn’t as pleased as I had hoped to be.

It’s pure Sc-Fi involving time traveling. Ok, that’s a big plus. However, the first 30 or so pages of the book were bogged down with techno-geek explanations about how this gizmo worked and how that one worked. It was slow reading

But then the story took off and for the next couple of hundred pages of the book there was plenty of action - now this was the Drake I enjoyed.

But as we neared the end, things were happening way too fast. It’s as if the authors had a deadline to meet so let’s cram everything in that last 15 pages of the book and hope it make sense.

I am on to the next book in the series. Hopefully that one will be better.

]]> Kick Out the Jams 698108 128 Don McLeese 0826416608 Jack 5
Their performances began with ....

Brothers and Sisters! I want to see a sea of hands out there! Let me see a sea of hands! I want everyone to kick up some noise! I want to hear some revolution out there Brothers! I want to hear a little revolution!

Brothers and Sisters, the time has come for each and every one of you to decide whether you are going to be the problem or whether you are going to be the solution! (That's right!) You must choose Brothers, you must choose! It takes five seconds, five seconds of decision, five seconds to realize your purpose here on the planet! It takes five seconds to realize that it's time to move, it's time to get down with it!

Brothers, it's time to testify and I want to know, are you ready to testify? Are you ready? I give you a testimonial: the MC5!

This small, little book, only 122 pages, is a brief history of the Detroit music scene in the mid to late 1960's concentrating on the band the MC5 and their debut album Kick Out the Jams. Written by a professor at the University of Iowa's School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Don McLeese first saw the MC5 at - of all places - the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago. They were the only band to appear at the 'Festival of Life' put on by the Yippies and they kicked butt!

Me? I eventually saw them again - several times - at the famed Grande Ballroom in Detroit, and the 1969 Rock on Roll Revival held at the Michigan State Fair Grounds at (are you ready) 8 Mile Rd and Woodward. And there was that one last time when I saw them open for Led Zeppelin Aug 1970.

McLeese paints the sad story of a band being anointed the next big thing in Rock by Rolling Stone magazine and then destroyed by the same publication just weeks after Kick Out the Jams was released.

He does an excellent job of describing the relationship of the band with John Sinclair, their one-time mentor and manager, and with the radical left.

Short but sweet. I recommend this book as an introduction to the Detroit music scene during the mid to late '60s.

It would be fun to go back for a few hours, to stand in that old ballroom, the lights dim, the smell of cigarettes, marijuana and patchouli oil, the crowd waiting, anticipating the moment. Then Rob Tyner slowly, quietly says, "right now, right now, it's time to" and then SCREAMS 'Kick Out the Jams, M***F***ers!"]]> 3.82 2005 Kick Out the Jams
author: Don McLeese
name: Jack
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2005
rating: 5
read at: 2015/07/27
date added: 2015/07/27
shelves:
review:
The MC5 - or the Motor City Five - I saw them at a dance in 1965 - and a couple of them had Beatle haircuts. Then in 1966 they played a dance at my high school. And then........

Their performances began with ....

Brothers and Sisters! I want to see a sea of hands out there! Let me see a sea of hands! I want everyone to kick up some noise! I want to hear some revolution out there Brothers! I want to hear a little revolution!

Brothers and Sisters, the time has come for each and every one of you to decide whether you are going to be the problem or whether you are going to be the solution! (That's right!) You must choose Brothers, you must choose! It takes five seconds, five seconds of decision, five seconds to realize your purpose here on the planet! It takes five seconds to realize that it's time to move, it's time to get down with it!

Brothers, it's time to testify and I want to know, are you ready to testify? Are you ready? I give you a testimonial: the MC5!

This small, little book, only 122 pages, is a brief history of the Detroit music scene in the mid to late 1960's concentrating on the band the MC5 and their debut album Kick Out the Jams. Written by a professor at the University of Iowa's School of Journalism and Mass Communication, Don McLeese first saw the MC5 at - of all places - the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago. They were the only band to appear at the 'Festival of Life' put on by the Yippies and they kicked butt!

Me? I eventually saw them again - several times - at the famed Grande Ballroom in Detroit, and the 1969 Rock on Roll Revival held at the Michigan State Fair Grounds at (are you ready) 8 Mile Rd and Woodward. And there was that one last time when I saw them open for Led Zeppelin Aug 1970.

McLeese paints the sad story of a band being anointed the next big thing in Rock by Rolling Stone magazine and then destroyed by the same publication just weeks after Kick Out the Jams was released.

He does an excellent job of describing the relationship of the band with John Sinclair, their one-time mentor and manager, and with the radical left.

Short but sweet. I recommend this book as an introduction to the Detroit music scene during the mid to late '60s.

It would be fun to go back for a few hours, to stand in that old ballroom, the lights dim, the smell of cigarettes, marijuana and patchouli oil, the crowd waiting, anticipating the moment. Then Rob Tyner slowly, quietly says, "right now, right now, it's time to" and then SCREAMS 'Kick Out the Jams, M***F***ers!"
]]> Sex and the High Command 5996054
Dr. Henrietta Carey, leader of the Fems, was the first woman candidate for president and the perfector of VITA-LERP, a biological skin cream designed to do away with superfluous men. It spelled WAR BETWEEN THE SEXES.]]> 212 John Boyd 0553065513 Jack 3
However in Boyd’s book the women want to do away with men entirely. As the back page says: ‘It spelled war between the sexes.�

I found the book disjointed in parts. At times is was down right confusing. There was a host of characters coming in and out of the book. While I enjoyed the different personalities and their individual quirks, I never really seemed to get to ‘know� them.

The ending of the book seemed rushed - like Boyd had a deadline to meet. One thing piled on another and another.

Again their were parts of the book that were interesting but on the whole it was a disappointment - it could have been so much better.

BUT - - the last page - I did like - ]]> 2.30 1970 Sex and the High Command
author: John Boyd
name: Jack
average rating: 2.30
book published: 1970
rating: 3
read at: 2015/07/25
date added: 2015/07/25
shelves:
review:
The book first published in 1970. I love the back cover blurb: “Women’s Lib Gone Wild�; and the author John Boyd dedicates the book to the Greek dramatist Aristophanes and the American comic/satarist Lenny Bruce - an interesting choice. Aristophanes, of course, wrote the play Lysistrata in which the women of ancient Athens and the rest of Greece withheld sex from the men until they stopped the Peloponnesian War.

However in Boyd’s book the women want to do away with men entirely. As the back page says: ‘It spelled war between the sexes.�

I found the book disjointed in parts. At times is was down right confusing. There was a host of characters coming in and out of the book. While I enjoyed the different personalities and their individual quirks, I never really seemed to get to ‘know� them.

The ending of the book seemed rushed - like Boyd had a deadline to meet. One thing piled on another and another.

Again their were parts of the book that were interesting but on the whole it was a disappointment - it could have been so much better.

BUT - - the last page - I did like -
]]> <![CDATA[A Path of Shadows (Lieutenant Bak, #8)]]> 643008 320 Lauren Haney 0060521902 Jack 4
I am sad, however, since this is the last volume in the series. I enjoyed every book. The mysteries themselves were top notch. Lauren Haney was a master of presenting life in ancient Egypt.

I highly recommend this books to anyone who likes mysteries and who likes historical fiction.]]> 4.06 2003 A Path of Shadows (Lieutenant Bak, #8)
author: Lauren Haney
name: Jack
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2003
rating: 4
read at: 2015/07/16
date added: 2015/07/24
shelves:
review:
Good mystery - lots of twists and turns with lots of interesting facts about life in the 18th Dynasty Egypt.

I am sad, however, since this is the last volume in the series. I enjoyed every book. The mysteries themselves were top notch. Lauren Haney was a master of presenting life in ancient Egypt.

I highly recommend this books to anyone who likes mysteries and who likes historical fiction.
]]> <![CDATA[Flesh of the God (Lieutenant Bak, #7)]]> 817737 352 Lauren Haney 0060521899 Jack 5 Besides a great mystery, this fills in a tons of facts about Bak and his early development as a policeman.
Unfortunately what this means is I have only one more book to read and I'm done with the series (unless Haney elides to start writing again- and I wish she would).]]> 4.01 2003 Flesh of the God (Lieutenant Bak, #7)
author: Lauren Haney
name: Jack
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at: 2015/07/07
date added: 2015/07/12
shelves:
review:
After a half dozen books about LT Bak and 18th dynasty Egypt the author Lauren Haney throw us a 'prequel' and I didn't have a clue.
Besides a great mystery, this fills in a tons of facts about Bak and his early development as a policeman.
Unfortunately what this means is I have only one more book to read and I'm done with the series (unless Haney elides to start writing again- and I wish she would).
]]> <![CDATA[A Cruel Deceit (Lieutenant Bak, #6)]]> 643006 304 Lauren Haney 0380812878 Jack 4 I really like how the author Lauren Haney has developed Lt Bak, 18th dynasty Egyptian police officer.
While his detective skills are getting better h still has doubts: am I looking this the right way? am I going down the wrong trail?
He's not one of your cock sure investigators - he's always questioning himself. I like that
]]> 4.07 2002 A Cruel Deceit (Lieutenant Bak, #6)
author: Lauren Haney
name: Jack
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2002
rating: 4
read at: 2015/06/29
date added: 2015/07/03
shelves:
review:
Spoiler alert - Lt Bak gets beat up - a lot - in this story - that's it.
I really like how the author Lauren Haney has developed Lt Bak, 18th dynasty Egyptian police officer.
While his detective skills are getting better h still has doubts: am I looking this the right way? am I going down the wrong trail?
He's not one of your cock sure investigators - he's always questioning himself. I like that

]]> <![CDATA[A Place of Darkness (Lieutenant Bak, #5)]]> 2299318 285 Lauren Haney 038081286X Jack 5
AND - Lt. Bak continues to get beat up proving he is just a human as the next guy.

I am so happy I found the author and her series of mysteries in ancient Egypt.]]> 4.04 2001 A Place of Darkness (Lieutenant Bak, #5)
author: Lauren Haney
name: Jack
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2001
rating: 5
read at: 2015/06/22
date added: 2015/06/24
shelves:
review:
Good mystery - good plot - good characters - the author Lauren Haney paints wonderful picture of life in 18th dynasty Egypt. She gives a real feeling what it would have been like living during that time.

AND - Lt. Bak continues to get beat up proving he is just a human as the next guy.

I am so happy I found the author and her series of mysteries in ancient Egypt.
]]> <![CDATA[A Curse of Silence (Lieutenant Bak, #4)]]> 643007 287 Lauren Haney 0380812851 Jack 5 I really like how the author Lauren Haney makes BAK human -he had doubts - he's uncertain at times - he not a super-sleuth.
Food - geography - life styles - Haney has done her research - good story and good mystery]]> 4.07 2000 A Curse of Silence (Lieutenant Bak, #4)
author: Lauren Haney
name: Jack
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2000
rating: 5
read at: 2015/06/14
date added: 2015/06/16
shelves:
review:
Lt Bak - the 18th dynasty Egyptian policeman - has to find the murderer and help protect the caravan which includes the Queen's cousin from an army of desert bandit.
I really like how the author Lauren Haney makes BAK human -he had doubts - he's uncertain at times - he not a super-sleuth.
Food - geography - life styles - Haney has done her research - good story and good mystery
]]> <![CDATA[A Vile Justice (Lieutenant Bak, #3)]]> 2299320 304 Lauren Haney 0380792656 Jack 5 The plot is also very good. Everything is very plausible.
This is a ver, very good series.
On to the next book. ]]> 4.02 1999 A Vile Justice (Lieutenant Bak, #3)
author: Lauren Haney
name: Jack
average rating: 4.02
book published: 1999
rating: 5
read at: 2015/06/07
date added: 2015/06/08
shelves:
review:
I thoroughly enjoyed this book -Bak, the Egyptian police lieutenant, is well developed. He is not infallible. He gets beat up. He is not Superman; he's human with human failings.
The plot is also very good. Everything is very plausible.
This is a ver, very good series.
On to the next book.
]]>