this is one of those attempts to determine the transition point between two eras of history as a title suggests the ancient and medieval. This is done through looking at three different phenomena that took place roughly at the same time during emperor Justinian's reign. These were new techniques in architecture, bubonic plague pandemic and Byzantine campaigns to reconquer Italy. Unfortunately the book gets bogged down in some strange digressions. Rosen talks about arguments for evolution and creationism which really seemed out of place. This could have been made a lot tighter with some judicious editing.Not recommended.
is an Osprey campaign title on this failed attempt of Poland's resistance to seize control of Warsaw. Forczyk's spends much of his time discussing the run up to the launch as well as the political background in London and Moscow. Both the British and Russians are criticized but he also acknowledges some baffling strategic decisions on the part of the resistance. They don't seem to have done any sort of basic strategic planning. Like for instance attempting to seize the telephone exchange. The book is rounded out with the usual information on uniforms and weapons.
seemed to be a logical book to read considering the recent United States debate over escalation in Afghanistan. Berman using unclassified material as well as correspondence with the players describes the thought process that went into the decision to increase troops in Vietnam. He argues convincingly that Johnson instead of the best way to win Vietnam instead chose the alternative that meant that they would lose slower. The domestic concerns were also more telling than any military or strategic decisions.
contains several short stories, an introduction and a historical note on the world of Earthsea. Perhaps most amusing is Le Guin's attempts to separate herself from those horrible hack fantasy writers who just turn out stuff for the money. As opposed to the stories contained in this volume which are supposedly organically sprung from the whole. Okay whatever. Much like the last volume the overarching theme is women good, men lazy, sexist and incompetent. I finished this thing three days ago and I'm having problems remembering what happened. There isn't really much memorable here. I will probably complete the series with book 6 but I don't think it'll happen any time soon.
This describes the loss of 14 East India company ships to storms or French as well as the British campaign to seize Mauritius. If you've read the naval fiction of Patrick O'brien you already know something about the individuals involved. The book is careful to point out where history and fiction diverge. I was occasionally frustrated because Taylor often has several narrative threads going at the same time and has to backfill to explain things. That being said a fun book for a winters evening.
first off a confession I usually don't like attempts of societal reconstruction like this. I often find that their based on a limited look at primary sources. Sort of like trying to reconstruct American views on race by looking at the letters to the editor in the Washington Post but Nicolson's book at least in a limited sense does an excellent job. He gets into the concept of honor particularly in the Royal Navy and how it may have affected the tactics at Trafalgar. I think much of his discussion of wider society in England, France and Spain is more debatable.
covers in vignettes the authors work on the official biography of Churchill that ran to an astonishing 8 volumes. Gilbert writes engagingly if occasionally he seems to be a little too impressed with his abilities and contacts. I found the most interesting section to be on Churchill's secretaries the often anonymous women who took transcription. I've read a lot on Churchill so it's hard for me to say whether if someone new to him would get much out of this. But if you do have an interest in him don't pass this up.
biography of the Brazilian F1 world champion. This was published in 1973 so his exploits in North America are not covered. The text is frustrating at times Hayward a South African journalist includes explanatory information randomly throughout the first person narrative of Fittipaldi's descriptions. There's quite a bit on Lotus and the technical challenges of the cars and circuits. If you can look past the disjointed narrative this is an excellent book for the auto racing fan of the 1970s.
Posts
