rather hard to review this because Kennedy's thesis is a statement that is a logical fallacy. That nations with the largest economic power win wars except when they don't. That being said this is an excellent summary of the last 500 years of military history and the interactions between the various powerful nations. This was published in the 1980s so the forecast section is wildly inaccurate. I can't really complain because it's not like anyone else was right either.
is a fictional retelling of the famous events aboard HMS Bounty in 1789. John Jacob Turnstile a pickpocket is given a choice either jail or serve as captain Bligh's servant. The novel follows Turnstile's experiences through the outward voyage, Tahiti the mutiny and the journey by open boat. After it was set adrift by Christian. This is character driven as opposed to an adventure story. For the most part I enjoyed it. There were a few historical snafus along the way. I think some of the slang is more victorian then from the 18th century for instance. That being said an excellent addition to a nautical fiction library.
covers the creation, deployment and absorption of the paramilitary right wing groups in Germany after World War One. This is part of the larger "A Brief History" series it's actually a decent size over 100,000 words. I'm not too sure what they'd consider a long history. Jones talks about not only the precursor of the NAZI Brown Shirts but others as well. He seems to be it pains to find members of the Freikorps who disagreed with Hitler and Nazism. The book is heavy on philosophical explanations for why the groups were popular. I'm not sure if it was really that complex. There's material on the various terrorist actions and attempted takeovers that they were responsible for. I was unaware of many of their actions in the east. Contains appendices and suggestions for further reading.
a large amount of Libyan plastic explosives are stolen by terrorists. They are going to attack somewhere in the U.S. it is up to a newly formed intelligence center to figure out the target and track them down. Unfortunately the center is made up of clashing personalities that can't work together.
is a massive retelling of the mediaeval poem in prose. This ways in at over 600 pages of small print. Johns' stays closely to the source material. There has also been an attempt to provide historically accurate framing. Things like armor and architecture. This is not a light read. In fact it's taken me several months to get through. I found that I had to be in the right mood for it. There's a lot here that does need to be read carefully. The only criticism I had of it is, there as frequent over writing. Something that could be described in a few sentences gets a page or more. Fortunately the descriptions are interesting. All and all a delightful retelling.
is a biography of the NASCAR star of the 1950s and 60s. Turner was the stereotypical driver from that era, hard drinking, womanizing, rough driving and with a criminal past as a moonshiner. The biography has a nice balance between stories of his racing and outside ventures. He was a timber baron. Racing fans probably remember him because of his lifetime [eventually lifted] ban after attempting to start a union for drivers. Edelstein argues that this had less to do with labor issues and more to do with the teamsters providing him a loan to allow him to keep Charlotte Motor Speedway. An excellent treatment if you're interested in the history of NASCAR this is a must have. Surprisingly the book contains citations.
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