2007 Book Awards

Here are my choices for the best of 2007. These are books I've reviewed. They weren't necessarily published in the last year but as the NBC summertime slogan goes "its new to me".

Science Fiction and Fantasy

His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik

Honorable Mention

Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson

Thriller

Wheels of Fire by Terence Strong

Iraq

Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone by Rajiv Chandrasekaran

World War II

Killing Hitler: The Plots, The Assassins, and the Dictator Who Cheated Death by Roger Moorhouse

Casual Rex by Eric Garcia

Casual Rex by Eric Garcia. What if 16 species of dinosaurs survived into the modern-day world? What if they crammed themselves into rubber suits so they would look like us? Garcia takes this rather bizarre premise and puts it on top of a PI story. A group much like Scientology is trying to convince dinosaurs they should run free. Our hero has been sent out to recover one of their members. Naturally complications occur. This is actually a prequel. I had read the original book Anonymous Rex a year or so before the blog and enjoyed it. This is also superb. Downright funny in places.

Highly recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.



For more Science Fiction and Fantasy book reviews take a look at My Science Fiction and Fantasy bookshelf.

Stormtroop Tactics: Innovation in the German Army, 1914-1918 by Bruce I. Gudmundsson

Stormtroop Tactics: Innovation in the German Army, 1914-1918 by Bruce I. Gudmundsson this is an excellent study of German infantry tactics. Gudmundsson describes the various versions of the German training regimens for breaking through trenches. Interestingly he credits the original idea for infiltration tactics to be from analysis of the Boer war. There is also reference to operations were lessons were learned. There are occasional comments about how German WWI tactics led to World War II Blitzkrieg I would have appreciated more on this. Much of the book is based on German sources.

Highly recommended!

For more ancient history book reviews Take a look at My Ancient History bookshelf.

250th review

I just posted my 250th book review. It was Armies of the Carthaginian Wars by Terence Wise. Not bad for 1 1/2 years.

Armies of the Carthaginian Wars by Terence Wise

Armies of the Carthaginian Wars by Terence Wise. Time for another Osprey title. This is a pretty good summary of the equipment and training of both sides of this ancient conflict. Most of the reconstructions are based upon archaeology and educated guesses. Most interesting was a discussion of the Iberians who were used as auxiliaries. I haven't heard much about these before. As usual lots of illustrations and photos.

Recommended.

Is available through Abebooks.

Short of Glory by Alan Judd

Short of Glory by Alan Judd is a satire about Africa and the British Foreign Office. Are hero is sent to a fictional African police state to help find a member of the British delegation who is missing. the social commentary is not particularly profound. Bureaucrats are hypocrites, the West deals with thugs that sort of thing. For the most part this is a decent story. One minor irritation is that the characters will make speeches at the drop of a hat. Characters will say various racist and politically incorrect things are hero will attempt to debate them but his arguments are very weak. I'm not sure if this was by design.

Recommended.

Is available through Abebooks.

The U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual Forewords by John A. Nagl, David H. Petraeus, James F. Amos

The U.S. Army/Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual Forewords by John A. Nagl, David H. Petraeus, James F. Amos this is the current manual published by Chicago press. The introductory material contains a discussion of American policy or lack thereof as well as a description of the writing process well worth the cost of the book. The manual itself is what one would expect. The British school of counterinsurgency seems to have strongly influenced this. There's some not very subtle criticisms of the strategy used in the Vietnam War. I wouldn't recommend reading at cover to cover its rather hard going rather a thematic chapter at a time could be easier. No counterinsurgency or Iraq bookshelf would be complete without this.

Highly recommended!

For more reviews take a look at My Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Partisan and Guerrilla Warfare bookshelf.

Aircraft Down!: Evading Capture in WWII Europe by Philip D. Caine

Aircraft Down!: Evading Capture in WWII Europe by Philip D. Caine is a rather disappointing collection of stories of Allied pilots trying to avoid capture. The major problem is that Caine has fallen into the "popular history" trap of providing internal monologue. "He knew he had to get away from the crash site quickly." The stories themselves are actually pretty good and would make excellent novels. The pilots often had to trust people on very little evidence as well as come up with new ideas on-the-fly. There is a far too short introduction discussing the history of the various underground lines used to move personnel to neutral Spain. Two of the stories involve planes crashing in Greece and Italy which was interesting.

Not recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.



For more WWII book reviews Take a look at My World War II bookshelf.

Scythians 700-300 B.C. by E.V. Cernenko

Scythians 700-300 B.C. by E.V. Cernenko is an Osprey title on these nomads of the Russian step. This was originally published in the 1980s. Osprey commissioned and translated the Russian experts text. Since there aren't any existing records by the Scythians themselves it's difficult to describe their history. The reconstruction is done through the accounts of the Greeks and Persians. Most of the book describes archaeological finds particularly scale armor. Naturally with an Osprey title one of the main attractions is the art work which is lovely as usual. I'm sure their have been all sorts of new findings in the last 20 years but this is still a nice introduction.

Recommended.

Is available through Abebooks.



For more ancient history book reviews Take a look at My Ancient History bookshelf.

Sands of Empire: Missionary Zeal, American Foreign Policy, and the Hazards of Global Ambition by Robert W. Merry

Sands of Empire: Missionary Zeal, American Foreign Policy, and the Hazards of Global Ambition by Robert W. Merry Is an analysis of American foreign policy and history. Merry argues that there's been several streams of thought in American foreign policy they are the idea of progress which led to Francis Fukuyama's end of history thesis, liberalism interventionism championed by Woodrow Wilson, the neoconservatives basically imperialists and finally Huntington's clash of civilizations. The analysis is actually pretty good discussing various obscure theorists and nicely in capsulizing their arguments. The problem is when we get to the discussion of real-world events.

Merry believes in the clashe of civilizations. Which leads to some bizarre conclusions. One of the large sections of the book is on the Balkans. According to the author NATO and the United States should not have been involved and if anything should have been much more supportive of the Serbs. Merry does acknowledge the war crimes but does not seem to comprehend the level of outrage they produced in the US and Western Europe. Going forward America should support anybody as long as they are willing to suppress Islamist forces. Funny I think that's what got them into this mess in the first place. Saudi Arabia should be ignored instead Iran should be cultivated. There's no reference to the Israeli position on this. The book concludes with some ranting about Islamic immigration.

It's too bad first 100 pages were superb.

Recommended for the discussion of the different positions except for the clash of civilizations which is not dealt with in a particularly evenhanded way.

Is available through Abebooks.

Muscat Command by Peter Thwaites and Simon Sloane

Muscat Command by Peter Thwaites and Simon Sloane is a memoir of Thwaites's time as commander of Oman's military. This took place during the insurgency in Oman. The insurgents supported by Yemen and the Chinese attempted to overthrow the government. Much of the discussion is about Thwaites going out on patrols and trying to get the Sultan to develop an actual hearts and minds strategy. He's rather opinionated about the other British services that were supposed to assist particularly the Air Force. A very interesting piece on a little-known conflict. The final chapter written by Sloane after Thwaites's death give some perspective on what his personnel thought of him. The book has several appendices including reports and more letters discussing Thwaites.

Highly recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.

Silence of the Rational Center: Why American Foreign Policy Is Failing by Stefan Halper and Jonathan Clarke

Silence of the Rational Center: Why American Foreign Policy Is Failing by Stefan Halper and Jonathan Clarke is a discussion of why big ideas as opposed to nuanced policies are so dangerous in American foreign policy and how they can be fixed. Naturally the media goes in for a lot of criticism but think tanks and various academics such as Bernard Lewis, Samuel P. Huntington and Noam Chomsky are criticized for selling out. The concluding section of the book discusses China and how it must be dealt with on a rational basis or else there could be war. Some of the scenarios were interesting such as increasing strain on Chinese aquifers requiring China to by grain on the open market thereby making it unstable. Unfortunately occasionally the authors say they're not going to do something like attack the media for how to use experts then proceed to do it for the next 15 pages.

Recommended.

Is available through Abebooks.

Oh hell

Terry Pratchett diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's.

Speed Week by S. V. Date

Speed Week by S. V. Date is a humorous novel about Daytona. This is in the vain of other "quirky Florida mysteries". There's more sex than satire but it is still funny and places. A well-connected family wants to build a racing themepark on the beach but the estranged wife of one of the members is responsible for blocking construction with a lawsuit. So they decide to kill her. However plans and counterplans crop up. This is my first book by Date I'll probably pick up others.

Recommended.

Is available through Abebooks.

Death and Life in the Tenth Century by Eleanor Shipley

Death and Life in the Tenth Century by Eleanor Shipley. This is a political and church history. Considering the title I was rather surprised that there wasn't any social history involving peasants and the like. The narrative is made up of short biographies of important players. There are sections on literature, painting, poetry and plays this is mostly based around religious themes. The eccentricities of some of the pope's do make interesting reading.

Recommended.

Is available through Abebooks.

The Indians and the heroic age of New France by Bruce G Trigger

The Indians and the heroic age of New France by Bruce G Trigger this is a very short booklet on the interactions between the natives and Europeans. The book describes the trading between the two groups as well as the political connections forged. Maps and illustrations are in abundance. There's a further reading section with comments. I think the description of the natives is a little on the idealized side. This was published in 1989 by the Canadian Historical Association and is a revised edition.

Recommend.

The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future by Vali Nasr

The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future by Vali Nasr is an excellent description of the historical background to the conflict of the Shia and Sunnis. Most of the book discusses Iraq but reference is also made to other areas in the Middle East particularly Iran and Saudi Arabia. Considering that President Bush apparently can't keep the two groups straight this is exactly the sort of book that American decisionmakers need to be reading. The challenge of the Shia is something that the Americans will have to deal with in the war on terror.

Highly recommended!

For more Iraq book reviews take a look at My Iraq bookshelf.

Inside the VC and the NVA by Michael Lee Lanning and Dan Cragg

Inside the VC and the NVA by Michael Lee Lanning and Dan Cragg is a study on the soldiers of the North Vietnamese. The book deals with training, tactics, logistics and recruitment. Most of the research was gathered from POW interrogations and captured material such as letters and diaries. The book is excellent at describing day-to-day experiences. There's an extensive section of excerpts from a survey sent to US personnel giving their opinions on the North Vietnamese. Unfortunately there are some strange choices. There's some gratuitous whining about campus liberals and the media which seems out of place and the book concludes with a summary of the Chinese Vietnamese conflict. I'm not really sure what this had to do with discussing the soldiers experiences.

Recommended with caveats.

For reviews take a look at My Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Partisan and Guerrilla Warfare bookshelf.

Was that so hard?

Burt steps down from the copyright committee. Now if they manage not to do something stupid for at least a year they can start to repair their image.

Update: Or maybe the change wasn't that big.

Essays on Strategy VI edited by Thomas C. Gill

Essays on Strategy VI edited by Thomas C. Gill is an essay collection originally published in 1989. These essays were selected from a competition the US government held. They are on various topics , SDI, US-Japanese relations, the role of Defense attaches, Soviet overtures in the Pacific region, US relations with Europe and Clausewitz in nuclear war. From this contents list it's pretty obvious that none of the authors believed the Soviet Union was about to collapse. Much of the debates here are of academic interest however some are still relevant to this day. Japanese rearmament as well as SDI are still hot button issues 18 years later.

Recommended.

Is available through Abebooks.

Famous Welsh battles: Where battles were fought, why they were fought, how they were won and lost by Philip Warner

Famous Welsh battles: Where battles were fought, why they were fought, how they were won and lost by Philip Warner this is part of the larger series on British battlefields. I previously reviewed the offering for the Midlands. The battles covered in this book starts with the conflict with the Romans. The strategies as well as descriptions of the various battles are clear and easy-to-follow. The bulk of the book consists of the various attempts of the English to take control of Wales. The invasion of Edward I is naturally discussed at length. There's also a nice short discussion of fortifications throughout the Middle Ages. The book concludes with the English Civil War battles and a brief mention of the aborted French invasion during the French Revolutionary wars. There are appendices providing excerpts from some primary sources. Strangely they're not in chronological order. There's also reference to ordinance maps [probably out of date this was published in the 1970s] as well as suggestions for visiting the sites. A further reading section would've been nice.

Recommended.

A little help to Calgary Catholic schools

With the news that the Calgary Catholic schools our polling the Golden Compass I figured I should help out by providing some more authors that wrote or did things not in line with the Catholic Church.

George Orwell anti-Catholic writings.
Charles Dickens had an affair.
Mark Twain was agnostic or an atheist my sources conflict.
Douglas Adams atheist.
Isaac Asimov atheist.
Dave Barry atheist.
C. S. Lewis Protestant who wrote an entire book mostly ripping on the RC.

Get moving those shelves won't empty themselves! I also find it quite ironic that in the article they're trying to claim this won't give the book more media attention. Also isn't it interesting that it was sitting there for 12 years and nobody said anything.

Note to commenters

If ad hominem is the best you can do then don't bother.

The system works

Parole board denies Robert Latimer's bid for partial freedom. Excellent!

Barry Trotter and the Unnecessary Sequel: The Book Nobody Has Been Waiting For by Michael Gerber

Barry Trotter and the Unnecessary Sequel: The Book Nobody Has Been Waiting For by Michael Gerber is the second humorous fantasy novel which pokes fun at Harry Potter. The headmaster is horribly killed and its up to Barry and his wife a bookworm with an overactive libido to figure out who did the deed. At the same time Barry is getting younger. There's also a subplot where their son tries to deal with the fact that he doesn't have any magical ability. The first book in the series did do some surprisingly touching characterization but there's none of that here. The humor has been ratcheted up and is even more over-the-top than the original. I still enjoyed this but not as much as the original. There's a third book which I'll be picking up eventually.

Recommended.

For more Science Fiction and Fantasy book reviews take a look at My Science Fiction and Fantasy bookshelf.

The Last Apocalypse: Europe at the Year 1000 A.D. by James Reston Jr.

The Last Apocalypse: Europe at the Year 1000 A.D. by James Reston Jr. is an interesting history of medieval Europe. Reston takes as his premise that Europe was under assault by various groups which led to an apocalyptic state of mind. He describes the threats as the Vikings, Moors, Hungarians and Byzantines. He is at his best when describing the complex politics between the different groups. Unfortunately the section on the Vikings is essentially summaries of Sagas without much in the way of skepticism. That criticism aside this is an excellent history.

Recommended.

Is available through Abebooks.

Later Stone Implements by Michael W. Pitts

Later Stone Implements by Michael W. Pitts is a very short work on Neolithic stone implements in England. This is part of a larger series on English archaeology. Their are illustrations of different tools on every page as well as information on locations and production. The issues of dating these artifacts are also described. This was published back in 1980 so some of the material is probably out of date. Interesting as an introduction all the same.

Recommended.

Is available through Abebooks.

His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik

His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik is a wonderful fantasy/alternate history. Dragons exist and are used in combat. The book is set during the Napoleonic wars. A Dragon egg is captured from a French naval vessel. When it hatches it imprints on the ship captain Will Laurence. Because of this he is transferred out of the Navy and is sent for training with the Dragon. Much of the story is the interaction between the Dragon Temeraire and Laurence. Laurence must also grow accustomed to the different culture of the aviators. This is a superbly written book with wonderful characters. The combat is much like a combination of fighter and bomber aircraft. Some of the battle sequences are a little difficult to follow. One criticism is that the !aviator's culture seems to me to be too modern. This is a minor criticism that doesn't take away from the story. I've already ordered the next several books in the series.

Highly recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.




For more Science Fiction and Fantasy book reviews take a look at My Science Fiction and Fantasy bookshelf.