The History Book Club discussion

Dave K, here is your new thread in 2015. Happy reading in the new year.

Our Required Format:

JANUARY

1. by Winston S. Churchill
Finish date: January 2015
Genre: (whatever genre the book happens to be)
Rating: A
Review: You can add text from a review you have written but no links to any review elsewhere even goodreads. And that is about it. Just make sure to number consecutively and just add the months.

JANUARY

1. by Robert Silverberg
Finish date: January 4, 2015
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: B
Review: Another classic science fiction novel from the 1960s that I should have read long ago. Like so many books from 40 or 50 years ago, the style is just different from what we've become accustomed to of late. It's a bit more relaxed, less action. It's a good story though of a distant future earth, but with characters we'll all recognize because people don't really change.


2. by Michael Connelly
Finish date: January 5, 2015
Genre: Mystery
Rating: A-
Review: LAPD Detective Harry Bosch is back, this time working a homicide case that has overtones of terrorism - which brings in all kinds of federal agents that he can irritate and be irritated by.


3. by R. Taggart Murphy (no photo)
Finish date: January 7, 2015
Genre: Japanese History
Rating: A
Review: This is my first book in thye Japan challenge elsewhere on the History book Club site. I wanted to start this challenge with an overview of Japanese history since I know so little of ancient times in Japan. Then I came across this recently published book and decided to check it out. It wasn't quite what I was looking for, but it was fascinating in its own way. The first few chapters do provide a quick look at the last 1500 years or so of Japanese history, but the remaining chapters spend much more time on the last 200. Part of what was fascinating was how some of those early traditions affected Japan after its defeat in WWII.

The author is an economist who has spent much of his life in Japan, so his insight into the "Japanese miracle" - the economic recovery after the devastation of the war was especially fascinating. He also delves into the culture and politics of the country in the past 70 years, and revealed a Japan I never imagined just by reading the headlines in the news.

What a great start, Dave, and you are right on target with the format. Nice job!!

Since I am doing the Japan challenge I am adding number 3 to my list. A great find Dave.

4. by Russell Gold
Finish date: January 12, 2015
Genre: Current Affairs/Energy/Environment
Rating: B+
Review: If you'd like a relatively balanced introduction to help you better understand the science, business and politics of hydraulic fracturing (aka fracking), I don't think you could do much better than this book. In his day job, Gold reports on energy for the Wall Street Journal. In this book, he tries hard to show all sides of this complex issue. And there are many sides to it.

There are the macro views. Energy gained from fracking makes us less dependent on foreign sources of oil and gas, which gives us greater national security. It also has been a boost to the economy providing new, high paying jobs in the energy industry while lowering energy costs for virtually all businesses across the country. The opposing macro view says that it's still a non-renewable resource, and while natural gas from fracking may pump out less carbon dioxide than coal, we're still pumping out more of this greenhouse gas than we should be - and at a horrible cost to environments from Texas to North Dakota, Oklahoma to Pennsylvania.

At the local level, the two opposing sides are often neighbors glaring at each other. Some hate the noise, fumes and other inconveniences of fracking while also fearing that their only sources of fresh water will be destroyed forever by the chemicals used by oil and gas companies. Others see members of their families, jobless for years, now employed by the energy industry. And of course, those who have allowed drilling on their properties see the royalty checks coming in giving some of them financial security they couldn't even have imagined.

Gold also gives a great history of the industry and some of the key individuals. It's been around longer than you may think.

The only thing that kept my rating to a B rather than an A is that the author never addresses the question of whether fracking might be causing the earthquakes some areas have experienced. There may be no connection, but the press has tried to make the connection, so it's something I think he should have touched on. All in all, though, I felt much more educated about the whole issue after finishing this book.

You read some great books Dave. I agree with you that the author should have at least touched upon it.

Dave wrote: "4. by Russell Gold
Finish date: January 1..."

Thanks. I really did enjoy this one - sadly, because so much of what you hear in the news is one-sided.

Very true.

One good place for balanced and informed views on science/public policy issues is the Union of Concerned Scientists.

5. by Richard Flanagan
Finish date: January 15, 2015
Genre: Fiction
Rating: B+
Review: Some books grab you instantly. This one took its time, but once it had a hold on me, much of it was gripping - especially the scenes in the WWII Japanese prison camp, building the Bangkok to Burma "death" railway. Some scenes are graphic but necessary. I don't know how any prisoners actually survived that ordeal.

The POW story is at its heart, told mostly through the eyes of Dorrigo Evans, an Australian surgeon and POW. But the book takes us other places both before and after the war. There is love and death (many cancer deaths after the war), good and evil, and the quirks of self perception. Who is really good, and who is evil. Don't ask the key players because they'll probably get it wrong.

I really enjoyed this book, but didn't give it a top rating for three reasons. One is the slow start. The other is that, for some reason, the author chose not to use any quotation marks to indicate dialogue. Is that a hot new trend (I've seen it somewhere else recently, but can't recall the book)? I don't mean to sound like a dinosaur, but certain conventions of grammar are there for a reason. they help us make sense of the book. To constantly have to shift gears in my head and say, "Oh. That's dialogue, not narrative," does not help in the enjoyment of a book. Finally, I know that writers have literary license to use coincidence to make a story more touching, more emotional, perhaps more ironic. I think Flanagan may have taken it too far in the final section of this book. Still, it's a very good read, overall.

Great review, Dave. Has to go on my TBR list although I will also be put off by the lack of quotation marks. I don't understand the purpose of omitting them. It doesn't make for easy reading. At least it is not e.e. cummings!!!

e. e. cummings (no photo)

6. by Janet Edwards
Finish date: January 20, 2015
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: B
Review: This is a book that I read as part of a local speculative fiction club that I'm a part of. It's actually intended for teens or young adults, so I definitely don't fit the demo. Still, it was a fun read. It has its flaws, and the word "giggle" was way over used, but I can live with that. Our heroine, Jarra, is a teenager born on Earth after mankind has developed portals to take us to planets throughout the galaxy. A rare few of children born to parents have some genetic issue that prohibits them from leaving Earth. They'll die a very rapid and painful death. There is prejudice against these earthbound people, and she sets out to overcome it, not realizing that she's just as prejudiced in her way as the outworlders are.


7. by Daniel Pyne
Finish date: January 24, 2015
Genre: Fiction
Rating: D
Review: The publisher's synopsis drew me to this book, using words like "Hitchcockian." A man is abducted and entered into the witness protection program, all the while claiming that he didn't know what they thought he had seen.

Sorry. Hitchcock's suspense was real and plausible. This didn't hold up. I kept reading because I figured that there was going to be a twist or explanation that explained some of the implausibility. Nope. Not for me, anyway. The explanation was pretty much what I was expecting and left me feeling that the true facts of the situation just didn't justify the whole charade by the Feds. And then there were the minor annoyances that a good editor should have caught. One minute, he's hobbling on a sprained ankle, the next he's running on foot trying to catch a speeding car. Just sloppy.

Well at least you had one good one.

Bentley wrote: "Well at least you had one good one."

Yup. They can't all be great. And I'll give him credit for making me read through to the end, even if grudgingly most of the way.

(smile) - I have that problem too - have to finish what I start

I hate to put a book down and have read some really bad ones as well, Dave!!!

I used to do that, but now - if I don't like it, I stop.

I finally came to the same conclusion....why read it if you don't like it. Too many good books waiting to be read.

I just cannot - I need to finish - such a cross to bear (lol)

FEBRUARY


8. by Dan Simmons
Finish date: February 6, 2015
Genre: Horror Fiction
Rating: A-
Review: In a small Illinois town, the summer of 1960 has turned into a nightmare for a group of middle-school friends. These kids have to step up and be heroes in the face of an ancient evil, and not all will survive.

The early chapters reminded me so much of Ray Bradbury's stories of Green Town, Illinois (Dandelion Wine, Something Wicked this Way Comes, etc.), except that Bradbury was writing about an earlier generation's summer activities. Simmons was describing my childhood summers, and he perfectly captured little details that I had all but forgotten. And when one of the kids hit the library to do some research about the town's history, his digging through microfilm records of the area newspapers made me smile.

But that's not the heart of the book. The heart is the tale of an ancient terror that has been awakened, and how these kids can't seem to get the adult support they need, and have to face it on their own. There's only one of those moments that are typical in horror fiction and movies - the "oh, come on, I don't think he would have done that" type of moments, but only one that I recall, and that's doing pretty good.

I've really enjoyed other books by Simmons - especially his science fiction - and I understand that this versatile author has even written mysteries. I haven't tried those yet, but I'll have to add them to my list.

and both by Ray Bradbury

9. by George Friedman
Finish date: February 13, 2015
Genre: Current Events
Rating: C
Review: Europe is certainly in the news of late. The economies of southern Europe are struggling, the Russian "adventures" in Ukraine are unsettling eastern Europe, and extreme fundamentalist Muslim activity is making life difficult everywhere for long-time residents as well as recent Muslim immigrants who just want to live their lives. These are some of the obvious flashpoints described by Friedman, along with a great deal of background on how we've gotten to where we are. One of the less obvious flashpoints is in Belgium, where the Flemish side and the French-speaking side could split.

I think the background information is the most valuable part of this book If you read the news, I don't think you'll be surprised by the main points. But the sense of history is important.

I do question some of the author's sweeping statements, especially in regard to what Putin does or doesn't want. Can anyone really predict his actions or desires? I also question the fact that this seems to be based entirely on the author's knowledge and experience as an intelligence gatherer. There are no footnotes, no reference to any prior books or reference materials. That always makes me a bit cautious in taking everything an author says at face value.


10. by A.A. Attanasio
Finish date: February 15, 2015
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: C
Review: Here I go again. I started this book because I read that it was a science fiction classic, but I had never heard of it. It may be a classic, but it's definitely not my style. Too much mysticism and metaphysics and stuff. Many centuries in the future, the world has changed dramatically due to radiation emitted from a black hole in the center of the galaxy. Earth moves into the path of the radiation and experiences severe damage, while also picking up consciousnesses from another galaxy that is open to ours now due to the black hole. So we've got psychic energy and godminds and all kinds of other stuff in the world, and it was just too much work trying to make sense of it all. It kept me going just long enough to want to see the end, but the end didn't make me want to read the next book in the series (there are four of them).

No Jose - Dave is fine - check message on - Dave is doing great.

11. by Shirley Jackson
Finish date: February 18, 2015
Genre: Horror (sort of)
Rating: B+
Review: Written in 1962, this is an odd little book about an odd little family living on the outskirts of an odd little village. It's really about two sisters, survivors of a family tragedy, and spurned by the villagers. I love the way Jackson gradually and oh so deftly reveals the details we need to really understand the story. It's not a classic tale of horror, although it does give us one story of how a home becomes a haunted house in the eyes of the children in the area. It's not a perfect book, but it was quite satisfying.


12. Miller (no cover) by Griffith Borgeson (no photo)
Finish date: February 21, 2015
Genre: Automotive/Racing History
Rating: C
Review: Harry Miller designed race cars that won at Indianapolis in the 1920s and 1930s. He was far ahead of his times in many ways. In fact, an engine that he developed around 1930 that was further enhanced over the decades by Fred Offenhauser became the dominant engine in the Indy 500 and other races into the 1970s!

It's a potentially fascinating story, but for me, this wasn't the book to build awe and excitement. For a more mechanically inclined person who wants the design details, this probably would have been a super deluxe cheeseburger. For me, more interested in the personalities and the excitement of the races, it was just a grilled cheese sandwich.


13. by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Finish date: February 22, 2015
Genre: Medical Science
Rating: A
Review: This was an amazing book that hits pretty much every emotion. It's a well-researched history of cancer, and healthcare's efforts to beat it, especially in the last 100 years. It's amazing to see how crude some of these efforts were, even as recently as the 1980s and 90s. And it was downright infuriating to read of some of the most extreme surgeries that continued for sol long, mostly due to the arrogance of a few key players.

But there are also heroes aplenty, and it's encouraging to see that , as we finally better understand the nature of cancer, we're fighting it with more targeted, less harmful treatments.


14. by Jonathan Darman
Finish date: February 23, 2015
Genre: American History
Rating: A
Review: I received this book free through the History Book Club and Random House.

This book focuses on the years after JFK's assassination, particularly on the presidency of Lyndon Johnson and the early political career of Ronald Reagan, both of whom had some of their best and worst times in the 1960s. The difference is that one was on the rise, the other on the decline.

Ronald Reagan was at the bottom around 1963, finding it hard to get acting jobs and uncertain of what to do next. By 1966, he was California's governor and a bright light for conservative Republicans. LBJ, however, rose to the presidency through tragedy, but then won a landslide victory in the 1964 election. He accomplished much, pushing through legislation on civil rights, Medicare and other issues important to him and the Democrats. But after such a heady start, Vietnam and urban riots dragged him down to the point where he chose not to stand for reelection. Very different trajectories.

Darman tells these two stories in a balanced and very readable way. I think he might be stretching the point a little to say that these two men in this decade marked "the dawn of a new America." A lot happened between Reagan's governorship and his Presidency. There was Watergate, relative moderates like Gerald Ford, a more liberal administration from Carter, and a whole bunch of economic ups and downs. Some of these, like the price of oil, couldn't have been handled well by any president, liberal or conservative.

It was interesting to see how early Reagan got started in politics. I wasn't aware of all his stumping for candidates as early as 1963-64. And it was equally surprising to see just how quickly things imploded for LBJ. I enjoyed the book very much, but I think the subtitle (probably provided by the publisher) is a bit of oversell.


15. by Marie Kondō (no photo)
Finish date: February 26, 2015
Genre: Self Help
Rating: C+
Review: I'm a pack rat. I've read any number of books on dealing with clutter, but haven't found what works for me yet. This book had a different approach, and I thought I'd give it a read. The author makes the point that books that try to create one-size-fits-all formulas are not the way to go, and she has a point. To automatically pitch something you haven't used in X number of years is just too rigid.

She did give me a few things to work with that make sense to me - like a different twist on what to keep and what to pitch. I've always looked at something and said, "Can I get rid of this?" She urges you to look at an item and decide whether it has meaning for you now.

A large portion of the book deals with a philosophy of treating your possessions differently than most westerners do. I don't know whether it's an ancient Japanese philosophy, new-agey thinking, or some combination of the two, but I guess I'm just a little too practical and scientific to buy all of it (I'm sorry, but I refuse to thank my shoes for the good job they did for me today...). Still, I did pick up some ideas that I'm currently putting into practice and I'm cautiously optimistic.


16. by Olen Steinhauer
Finish date: February 28, 2015
Genre: Thriller
Rating: A-
Review: This is the second in a series featuring Milo Weaver, part of an obscure but very dangerous branch of the CIA. It picks up where the first book, The Tourist, ended. The main opposition is the Chinese, but old Eastern European and Russian agencies are still in play. But this is mole-hunting at its best. Several times, you see actions taken by "the good guys" that make you want to disbelieve that we would go to such extremes, but I think revelations of CIA activity have disabused us of the notion that any country can be a good guy anymore.

by Olen Steinhauer

MARCH


17. by Claire North (no photo)
Finish date: March 11, 2015
Genre: Thriller
Rating: B+
Review: Some call them ghosts. With just a touch, they can leap from one body to another and take over. The new host is unaware of their presence, and only realize something odd has happened when the ghost vacates and leaves the host puzzling over lost time. And now someone is trying to kill these ghosts, which means killing their current host.

The general concept isn't new by any means, but the story still held me and kept me wanting to read and learn more. North gives you the facts little by little, and the perspective is always from the viewpoint of Kepler, one of the more polite ghosts (before he left one host, he made sure to purchase an orthotic device for the left foot so the host would be more comfortable. He's just that kind of guy. Or that kind of girl. He changes bodies so often and handles each with aplomb, so we can't really be sure what he/she started out life as.) The perspective of the novel is a big part of what grabs you. It just wouldn't be the same story told in an omniscient third person. I'm still up in the air about the ending. It certainly kept you guessing right up to the end. Read it for yourself and decide how it feels to you.

Oh, and if you ever find yourself wondering where the time went, well, don't say the book didn't warn you.

That is a book that probably wouldn't have even caught my eye but your review has got me looking for it, Dave. It sounds extremely interesting and unusual. Thanks for the recommendation.

Ha!...so it's not just old age that I can't remember what I did yesterday. I feel so much better.

Great review! I'm adding it to my list, too.

You have been invaded by a ghost, Skeetor!!!! Or at least that is the excuse I'm going to use when I forget where I put my keys!!!

18. by Jon Meacham
Finish date: March 14, 2015
Genre: Biography
Rating: A-
Review: Meacham delivers a straight-forward, well-researched biography of Thomas Jefferson. Meacham's obviously a fan of Jefferson, but doesn't minimize TJ's activities as a slave owner, including relations with Sally Hemmings. I was not familiar with Jefferson's early life, so that was all new to me, as was much of his tenure as Virginia governor.


19. by Isaac Asimov
Finish date: March 25, 2015
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: B
Review: Here I go, trying to read some of the old classics of science fiction that somehow passed me by in my younger days. This is a time travel story that has its moments, but I just couldn't care about the characters as much as I wanted to. I was going to blame it on the writing style of the time, but the first books of the Foundation series were written near the same time, and I had no such trouble with them. I'm glad I read it, but it won't become one of my favorites.

by Isaac Asimov


20. by Bernard Cornwell
Finish date: March 31, 2015
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: B+
Review: This is the first book in the Richard Sharpe series from the Napoleonic wars era. I enjoy historical fiction, and friends have been surprised that I hadn't read these books yet. Part of it is that there are a lot of them, and if I found that I liked them, it's one more series that I'll want to read from start to finish - and who has time for another big series? Well, I enjoyed it, so I have to find more of them. The question is - and maybe you can offer your opinion - should I read them in the order they were published, or in the chronological order of events in Sharpe's life?

In this book, Lt. Sharpe is engaged in the Peninsular Campaign against Napoleon, surrounded by mostly incompetent allies and forced to deal with as many political attacks from his own side as physical attacks from the enemy. He's a fun character, the historical events seem to be well researched, and I suspect that the rest of the books are going to be most pleasant diversions.

APRIL

21. by Dan Simmons
Finish date: April 7, 2015
Genre: Historical Mystery
Rating: B+
Review: Ah yes, another piece of great historical fiction, filled with memorable characters stepping from the pages of history. Like Henry James, John Hay, Henry Adams and...Sherlock Holmes? Yes, the great fictional detective is alive and well in this wonderful and fun book that pits him against anarchists who threaten world stability.

I spent a lot of time checking the facts as I read this book because I wanted to know just where history ended and fiction began. Simmons obviously did a lot of research. Other than the introduction of Sherlock Holmes into the action, the facts I already knew, and some of the more obscure ones that I checked, were spot on. Things like the timing of the Secret Service becoming responsible for the safety of the President, details about the mayor of Chicago during the great Columbian Exposition of 1893.

There were only a couple of loose threads or early diversions that I felt were unnecessary that kept this from the top rating for me, but I had a great time with it.


22. by Michael Weiss (no photo) and Hassan Hassan (no photo)
Finish date: April 14, 2015
Genre: Current Events/News
Rating: B
Review: It's become so hard to follow the different factions in the current Middle East situation, and ISIS seemed to come from nowhere, so when I saw this book, I decided to see whether it clarified things for me. It helped a lot, although I'm not going to say I totally understand yet. For one thing, the names, both of the major players and the groups that formed and disbanded and the ones that have survived to compete with each other are often so similar that it's difficult to keep the players straight.

Weiss and Hassan, journalists and analysts in this region of the Middle East, have followed the rise of ISIS from it's early days as the descendant of Al Qaeda in Iraq. I learned that part of their success is due to the fact that many of Saddam Hussein's trained officers are leading their military efforts - and we're talking mid-level officers who actually did the work, not the generals who were usually political or family appointees. ISIS isn't just a "rabble in arms." I was also appalled by how Syrian leader Assad has played the situation to his own benefit at the expense of his people.

I'm hoping that with this background, I can now stay up with the news reports and better understand the situation.

23. by Kazuo Ishiguro
Finish date: April 17, 2015
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: B+
Review: A local speculative fiction group I'm in decided to add this to the list this year. I had never read Ishiguro, but I've heard a lot about his writing and was eager to check him out. The book felt a little slow-paced to me at times, yet when it was time to turn out the light, I found myself reluctant to put the book down. So it's a slow-paced page-turner, I guess. Not gripping due to action, but gripping nonetheless. The book explores a future (although it's set around the 1990s) in which clones are created to serve as organ donors, and deals with how society treats these people, how these donors treat each other, and how they deal with their ultimate fate. Ishiguro creates wonderfully alive characters, even the ones that irritate you.



24. by Terry Pratchett
Finish date: April 22, 2015
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: B+
Review: Another adventure in Discworld. There's a murderer loose in Ankh-Morpork and the main clue is a bit of white clay apparently left behind by the murderer. As I've mentioned before in other reviews, Pratchett is one of the few authors whose books make me laugh out loud. That was still true here, but I have to confess that the plot of this one didn't grab me as much as most of the others I've read. Still a fun read. He can't be absolutely brilliant every time.



25. by Masaaki Sato (no photo)
Finish date: April 22, 2015
Genre: Automotive History
Rating: C
Review: This was a loonnnggg read. Small print and narrow margins means there are a lot of words on every page. In some ways, the book deserves a better rating than I gave it. It was a very interesting look at the history of Honda, and a look inside the auto industry in general and post war industry in Japan. (For instance, I didn't know that auto sales people in Japan generally went door-to-door to sell cars, rather than waiting for buyers to come to the dealership.) It was also interesting to see how Honda is perceived in its home country compared to how we view it in the United States.

Sato is a senior automotive writer for a business journal in Japan, probably comparable to the Wall Street Journal. This book was originally written in Japanese in the mid 1990s, and translated for an English edition about ten years later with a chapter to update happenings since 1995.

The flaws are its lack of photos (I would love to see some of the early cars, and maybe the differences in cars from nation to nation) and the fact that it appears that the author puts words in the mouths of the main players. He'll often use quotation marks and note who said what and when the interview took place. But he often gives us what was going on in the minds of the executives, and it always seems to be in the same "voice," and it feels like this is what the author thinks the person must have been thinking, but it just doesn't quite feel right. Also - Honda began with motorcycles, and still sells a lot of motorcycles, But once the company began making cars, Sato barely mentions motorcycles, and barely makes any reference to other engine-driven products like lawn mowers and generators.

The Honda story is pretty amazing, though, and this tells the story in a reasonably entertaining way.

26. by Kazuo Ishiguro
Finish date: April 29, 2015
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: A-
Review: This is a very different book from the one I recently finished by the same author (Never Let Me Go). It's set in England of long ago - after the Romans left, but before the English really thought of themselves as English. For some reason, the people of this land have very selective memories - or some very serious short-term memory issues. Axl and Beatrice are an old couple who are similarly affected, and yet some faded memories are beginning to nag at them. They remember that they had a son who left them to move to another village. They decide to set out to his village to visit him. On their way, they are joined by a Saxon warrior, a boy who has been cast out of his village, and an elderly knight.

As they journey, more is revealed to them about their lives and the reason for their peoples' forgetfulness. It's a wonderful story, bittersweet at times.

by Kazuo Ishiguro



27. by Michael Robotham
Finish date: April 30, 2015
Genre: Fiction Thriller
Rating: A
Review: Why would Audie Palmer, a prisoner for seven years, escape from jail the night before he was due to be released? That's just part of the mystery in this book. Where's the seven million dollars taken from an armored car, the crime for which Audie was sentenced? Who was the mystery woman who died when the armored truck crashed during a police chase?

A couple of the answers probably will become obvious relatively early on to regular readers of mysteries, but there are enough twists turns and and false trails that I think you'll be entertained.

Thanks for your comments on the Ishiguro book, Dave. The reviews kind of discourage me from reading it, but I have like his other books and I am glad to know that you liked it. He's not an easy author, but he is original and his books always make me think.


by nKazuo Ishiguro

Ann wrote: "Thanks for your comments on the Ishiguro book, Dave. The reviews kind of discourage me from reading it, but I have like his other books and I am glad to know that you liked it. He's not an easy aut..."

Hope you enjoy it. It's different, but well written.

MAY


28. by Sam Posey (no photo)
Finish date: May 4, 2015
Genre: Autobiography
Rating: B+
Review: Sam Posey was a sports car and open wheel race car driver in the mid 1960s and 1970s, eventually becoming a television commentator for race broadcasts. This is a book he wrote in 1975, before his career was fully wrapped up. He's definitely an anomaly for the time in that he graduated college with a fine art degree, and was a painter in addition to a racer. He's also quite articulate in describing what it's like in a race car.

The book starts a little slow, and I almost didn't give it a chance, but I really enjoyed reading his take on some of the personalities and events of the time that I've read about from other perspectives (I don't think I've ever heard the word "predator" applied to Roger Penske). As an amateur road racer myself, I also enjoyed reading his accounts of driving some of the same tracks I've driven.

Chances are that if you're not a racing fan, you might get a little confused by some of the references. Sometimes he assumes prior knowledge, but realistically, you probably wouldn't read this if you weren't a fan.

29. by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Finish date: May 10, 2015
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: B+
Review: How can a book written in 1912 still capture the imagination? Kids loved it in its time, my generation in the 1960s still enjoyed it, and judging by the younger members of the local speculative fiction club that I'm a member of, it's still got staying power. It's not literature, but it's fun.

Civil war veteran John Carter is mysteriously transported to Mars, where several species are engaged in nearly constant battles over what all admit is a dying planet. With his soldiering skills and enhanced strength due to the lower gravity of Mars, Carter is thrown right in the middle of it. And of course there's Deejah Thoris, the princess referred to in the title. It's got all of the ingredients for adventure.


30. by Bernard Cornwell
Finish date: May 22, 2015
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: A-
Review: This is the first book, chronologically, of the Richard Sharpe series. In this book, our hero is but a private in the British army in India, battling enemies both inside and outside of his own army. That's just the way it goes for Sharpe. In this prequel, we see how Sharpe first meets some of the people who become more important in later books.


31. by Richard E. Neustadt (no photo) and Ernest R May (no photo)
Finish date: May 25, 2015
Genre: History
Rating: B
Review: The title of this book intrigued me. As much as I enjoy reading history just for the sake of personal curiosity, it would be nice to also better put that knowledge to work for me. The analysis that the authors recommend can apply to government and business decision makers alike, although the examples they use to illustrate their process are all from the field of government.

It's too complex for me to try to summarize, but a few key points revolve around careful thought about historical analogies that might seem to apply to the current circumstances. Decision makers tend to look most closely at the similarities between the two situations, but they need to look just as closely at the differences. That can make all the difference between a good and bad decision.

Also, when facing a decision, the authors suggest other steps that are often ignored in the rush to come up with the answer to "What do we do now?" Separate what is known from what is unclear and what is presumed. That will help you analyze the differences in any historical analogy you may be using.

Sounds like common sense, but the examples he uses show that decision makers are often in such a hurry to be seen as acting decisively that they skip careful analysis.

there's much more to it, and you sometimes wonder how much of their analyses examples reflect hindsight, but it's still a fascinating group of case studies.

32. by Gillian Flynn
Finish date: May 27, 2015
Genre: Fiction
Rating: A
Review: Oh my, what a devious little book. I haven't seen the movie and I'm not sure I want to. It will likely spoil the images I have of the key characters. Flynn doles out just enough information in each chapter to keep you reading and fascinated with the characters, even if you don't particularly like them - which is very possible.

JUNE

33. by Kate Atkinson
Finish date: June 3, 2015
Genre: Fiction
Rating: A
Review: Poor Ursula. Dead at birth before she's even taken a breath. But wait. she has a second chance, and this time the odds shift in her favor. And so it goes. The universe seems determined to snuff her out while simultaneously giving her more opportunities to get it right. It's often painful to see her struggles, but Atkinson seems to have a talent for realizing when we've reached our limit on reading the repeated details of Ursula's unusual lives, and takes us on to the next challenge - or opportunity.

34. by Terry Pratchett
Finish date: June 7, 2015
Genre: Non-Fiction Essays
Rating: A-
Review: This is a collection of writings by Discworld author Terry Pratchett, covering everything from writing science fiction and fantasy to right-to-die activism - a topic close to his heart after his diagnosis of a rare form of Alzheimer's Disease. His sense of humor always shines through (okay, sometimes it's a bit cutting and sarcastic, but still funny), even in the more moving pieces. If you're a Pratchett fan, you'll enjoy this look at what lurks under the ever-present hat.


35. by Kit Reed
Finish date: June 9, 2015
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: C-
Review: The residents of a small island community are gone - breakfast still on the table - not a trace of where they could have gone. One resident happened to be off-island. The narrative moves back and forth between his search for clues to the whereabouts of his friends - especially his girlfriend - and the r3esidents themselves. yes, we see where they are, but it's still a mystery. They're trapped in a featureless white reproduction of their community. It's a potentially interesting setup, but the conclusion was disappointing for me. There was just too much that remained unexplained.

36. by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Finish date: June 15, 2015
Genre: Science Fiction
Rating: B
Review: This is Book 2 in Burroughs' Barsoom series, written in the early years of the 20th century. The hero is, of course, super strong and skillful in battle, noble and honest and all that good stuff. But it often surprises me that the writing doesn't feel as archaic as many books I've read from more recent periods. He tells a good story. I'm also impressed, as I usually am, with the vocabulary of early 20th century authors. That generation of readers had a much better command of words than typical readers today - especially if a lot of those readers were children.


37. by Eddie Huffman (no photo)
Finish date: June 20, 2015
Genre: Biography
Rating: B+
Review: John Prine has been one of my favorite singer/songwriters since I first saw him perform at the Mariposa Folk Festival in 1973. Then in his 20s, he wrote with amazing insight about growing old, family, the Vietnam War - and often with a fabulous humorous touch. This is the first biography of him that I've come across, and I appreciated it for some of the background I wasn't aware of, but it leaves you wishing for a little more. Apparently, Prine would not give the author an interview for this book because the songwriter was working on a book project of his own at the time. Huffman did a supreme job of digging up appropriate quotes from Prine interviews over the year, but it just felt a little incomplete. it would be nice if we could have learned how Prine feels now about some of those key moments in his life. And there are a number of times when Huffman describes photographs in great detail, but was apparently unable to obtain the rights to reproduce them in his book. Too bad. Still, I enjoyed the book, and enjoyed learning more about what was going on in the studios and concert over the years. It's very much a worthwhile read for Prine fans.

Thanks for posting this over on the Music thread as well, Dave. I think we probably have more Prine fans that we may realize who follow that thread!!!

38. by Junot Díaz
Finish date: June 25, 2015
Genre: Fiction
Rating: C-
Review: I'm a bit surprised at all of the accolades given to this book. It had some good moments, but just couldn't sustain them. Oscar is the child of Dominican Republic immigrants. He's overweight and nerdy, and being a bit of a nerd myself, I enjoyed the references to books, comics and movies that I'm familiar with. And as someone who thoroughly enjoys history, I appreciated the background on the 20th century history of the Dominican Republic, especially the Trujillo dictatorship. But all of this just didn't add up to a good book. I was very disappointed.


39. by Yangsze Choo
Finish date: June 28, 2015
Genre: Fiction
Rating: B-
Review: This is another of the books chosen by a local speculative fiction book club that I'm involved in. It was a light read with some good tension at times, a sense of humor at times, but just a bit longer than it needed to be. The Ghost Bride of the title is not actually a ghost herself. She is to become the bride of a murdered man through some ritual. But in an effort to resist that and learn the truth of the man's death - even though he's unpleasant in both life and death - she finds a way into the spirit world and nearly loses herself. Predictable at times, but still fun.

JULY

40. by Alfred Neubauer (no photo)
Finish date: July 1, 2015
Genre: Auto Racing History
Rating: B
Review: I recently discovered two old books in our library system about one of my passions, auto racing. This is the first of them, written by the legendary team manager for the Mercedes racing teams of the 1920s through the 1950s. I'd read so much about him and his teams that it was fascinating to hear the stories in his own words. He's not a writer, so the prose isn't art (plus some excitement may have been lost in the translation from German). At times it was even a bit dry, but I still loved it. He focuses much of the book on the stories of the drivers who truly risked everything in an age before helmets, seat belts and roll bars. He knew them well, and mourned the passing of far too many.


41. by Peter De Paolo (no photo)
Finish date: July 4, 2015
Genre: Auto Racing History
Rating: B
Review: This is the second of the old gems I discovered deep in the stacks of my library. Pete De Paolo was a winning driver at the Indianapolis 500 in the 1920s and 1930s. This is his story, in his own words, of starting out as a riding mechanic for his uncle, Ralph De Palma - also an Indy 500 winner. De Paolo went on to form his own team and won races and national championships. He was one of those rare drivers who retired and managed to die of old age. His first person accounts of racing in those days just gripped me. I also finally learned just what the riding mechanic's jobs were. Those guys were sport heroes in their own right.


42. by Erik Larson
Finish date: July 10, 2015
Genre: History
Rating: A-
Review: Erik Larson is a master at bringing historical events to life. Yes, he can sometimes be a little melodramatic, but from what I can tell, he does excellent research and doesn't stray from the facts. This book is no exception. There's even a large element of suspense. We are introduced to many of the passengers and get brief snapshots of their lives. Yet we don't always know until the very end which of these characters survive and which perish. It's also another of many examples from history of small mistakes, flukes of luck, or downright negligence that make a historic - and in this case, tragic - event possible. Larson brings us all of this.

I finished the Lusitania book last month and thought it was very well done. I discovered many facts of which I was unaware. I had always thought there were more Americans on board and was rather shocked that so many bodies were never found. I was at the Old Head of Kinsale in the Republic of Ireland and there is a large monument on top of the cliff commemorating the tragedy. It was poignant.

by Erik Larson

Jill wrote: "I finished the Lusitania book last month and thought it was very well done. I discovered many facts of which I was unaware. I had always thought there were more Americans on board and was rather sh..."

It must have been chilling for witnesses on that point to watch the ship go down.

43. by Leon Uris
Finish date: July 26, 2015
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: B
Review: I first read a book by Leon Uris many, many years ago - Exodus - about the establishment of Israel. I then went on to read almost all of his books because I enjoyed his blend of storytelling with solid historical research. Somehow, I never got around to this one until now. In this book, he returns to Israel, primarily in 1956, during a brief war with Egypt. Mitla Pass is a pass in the Sinai Peninsula only 14 miles long, but somehow the book moves from there to other continents and times to tell the story of Gideon Zadok, his father, mother, grandparents and just about anyone Uris could squeeze in. It's a good story, but a bit overdone. Gideon is a WWII vet of the Pacific campaign, now a writer who is dealing with demons. I think Uris pinned just about every imaginable cliché on him and his family. In spite of all that, Uris still tells a good story, and that's the main thing, I guess.

by Leon Uris

AUGUST

44. by James M. McPherson
Finish date: August 3, 2015
Genre: American History
Rating: A-
Review: James McPherson has written many books of the Civil War, and several books about US Presidents. So I guess it's natural that he would write about the Confederacy's President, Jefferson Davis. But this isn't a full blown biography. As the subtitle tells us, McPherson narrows his topic to a focus on Davis as commander in chief. I was not aware of Davis' qualifications in this area.

He was a West Point grad, served in the Mexican-American War, and had also served as US Secretary of War. Unfortunately for the Confederacy, perhaps, this meant that he made life difficult for his own Secretary of War during the Civil War. In fact, he went through five of them. I guess they didn't like being micro-managed. And he DID micro manage.

That's just one aspect of Davis of which I was unaware. Another surprising detail I learned from this book was that, before Robert E Lee took over, he often had a hard time getting his generals to even take the field and fight. I knew that Lincoln had the same problem with George McClellan, but I had no idea that Davis was having the same problems with P.T.G. Beauregard and Joseph Johnston. It's amazing that any battles were fought at all.

I really enjoyed this book. The only criticism I might have is that it might have been a bit light on details. It's a good overall survey of the war from Davis' perspective, but I found myself with questions after almost every chapter. Which means that there are plenty more books out there for me to search for answers in.

45. by Bob Lutz (no photo)
Finish date: August 10, 2015
Genre: Business Memoir
Rating: A-
Review: You can always count on Bob Lutz to say what he think. No hedging. No apologies. No high falutin' language. And that's what makes this book an entertaining read. And a bit mind boggling. I felt like I was reading about GM in the 1970s when the US auto industry was reeling after the oil embargo and the onslaught of foreign carmakers who had been building cars designed for high fuel prices for decades. But this was GM from 2001 to 2011, and they still had a lot of lessons to learn. Bob Lutz was only too happy to try to teach the product development folks at GM lessons when he returned there in 2001, after a very successful career with Ford, BMW and Chrysler.

Lutz deals out a lot of common sense in this book that could apply to many businesses, not just car companies. And yes, Lutz definitely has no shrinking ego problem. But at the same time, he is very quick to applaud managers in Design, Manufacturing and Engineering at GM who came alive and really performed once corporate obstacles were removed from their path. He is also realistic in his appraisal of his weaknesses in a chapter late in the book, reflecting on what he would have done differently were he GM's CEO.

You don't have to be a car guy to enjoy this book. There are lessons for all managers here.

Hi Dave - I hate to be the one to tell you this but there should only be one review per comment box.

I am not sure how you are going to fix this retroactively. And I wish that one of us found this issue and pointed it out to begin with.

But from now on this thread or any other in the future - only one book per comment box.

It just messes up the spacing and makes each entry too long to read. Folks like to read in small chunks.

In terms of the MONTHs - all caps and all bolded with only one line underneath and between the month and the citation - these do not look right either.

There are quite a few issues here and I wish I saw the errors to begin with because you started out of the shoot with the format not in sync.

However, let us move forward - fix the spacing after the months, etc. and from now on - do just one book per comment box. Your books and reviews are excellent and I think we were reading those and not paying attention to the other. To redo the thread would be impossible so we have to move on and fix the months and just get back on track with the format.

Dave......I apologize for missing the format issues that Bentley pointed out and have caused you additional work.

Dave I think Jill follows me around with apologies and it is certainly not her fault - I missed this too. I think it was your great reviews which made us forget the format issues (smile).

46. by Taylor Anderson
Finish date: August 16, 2015
Genre: Science Fiction/Alternate History
Rating: A-
Review: The saga of the WWII destroyermen, sent to a strange parallel earth, reaches volume 6, and these guys just never get a break. They're now waging war with their Lemurian and 19th century British allies on three fronts - one against the lizard-like Griks, and two against descendants of Inquisition-era Spanish priests and conquistadors who have blended their strict Catholicism with Aztec human sacrifice. Confused? Believe it or not, it all makes sense - and it makes for some great story telling. Just be sure to start with Book 1 in the series, Into the Storm.

by Taylor Anderson

Thanks Dave for another good review