Thursday, April 30, 2009

Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib by Seymour M. Hersh

Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib by Seymour M. Hersh is a collection of Hersh's columns from the New Yorker. As the subtitle would suggest most of them are on the War on Terror. As well as the scandal around Abu Ghraib. Each column is introduced with updates up to 2004 when the book was published. When these first came out they were earth shattering but now they have seemingly fated into the backround. If you've been following the story over the last several years there isn't much that isn't referenced by everybody else. It's still interesting to be reading the columns that broke the news.

Recommended.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Don't Call Me a Crook!: A Scotsman's Tale of World Travel, Whisky and Crime by Bob Moore

Don't Call Me a Crook!: A Scotsman's Tale of World Travel, Whisky and Crime by Bob Moore is the reported memoirs of A scam artist and murderer who was active in the 1920s and 30s. He tries to argue that he only took advantage of people when he needed it or when they were stupid enough to trust him. He also gets taken frequently himself by others he shouldn't have trusted which does make it seem a little more acceptable. He travels from Scotland to the United States than to Asia ending up finally in China.

Explanatory footnotes are included. There's also a section on how the book was discovered and the very few things the editor could find about the author. Strangely besides the slang from the era terminology like "squall" are also described.

Recommended!

Note: this was provided for review purposes.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Poor baby

Briatore wants money blocked from Brawn

Winston Churchill:Personal Accounts Of The Great Leader At War by Michael Paterson

Winston Churchill:Personal Accounts Of The Great Leader At War by Michael Paterson disappointing standard biography of military exploits with occasional short quotes from primary accounts. Amusingly Paterson is proud that he's found unusual accounts but frequently after quoting them has to explain why their wildly inaccurate.

Avoid!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Just not my day

Some unfortunate personal news topped off with discovering that apparently the Abe referral inks for all of my reviews have died. Tthe image has been moved. I have no idea what I'm going to do with them. I'm not looking forward to redoing 450 of these things again [I had to redo all of them when they switched program providers last year].

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

I couldn't agree more

Jeff Stein With an important piece on torture.

Monday, April 13, 2009

amazonfail disability books to

Not only is Amazon removing the rankings from GLBT material but also on disability and sexuality.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

So they forgot their phone?

Interesting article from the New York Times about how technology is screwing up all sorts of classic fiction plots.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada

Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada this is a novel that describes a couple's attempt to resist the Nazis during the Second World War. After their son is killed. They started writing postcards with anti Hitler messages and distributing them around Berlin. There are several subplots involving others reactions to the oppression that the Nazis were responsible for. The book is excellent at portraying the sense of paranoia in fear of those living under a totalitarian state.

The book was just published in English for the first time by a Canadian publisher who will be publishing Fallada's other works. I look forward to taking a look at them.

Highly recommended!

Note:This book was provided through Librarything's early reviewer program.

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

War Reporting for Cowards by Chris Ayres

War Reporting for Cowards by Chris Ayres an often amusing account of Ayres experiences in the invasion of Iraq in 03. The narrative starts out in London then quickly shifts to New York where Ayres experienced the 9/11 attacks. He transfers to Los Angeles which is where he is offered a post as an embedded reporter. He's A hypochondriac with some anxiety issues. The best section is the war reporting itself. The Marines he was with tolerated him for the most part. An interesting look at modern war through a very uneducated observer. Ayres journey from cowered to something else is touching in its own way.

Recommended!

Friday, April 03, 2009

Last ER

I can remember sneaking out of bed to watch the pilot of ER. One nice thing about having my bedroom downstairs. For years afterward it became a constant part of my TV viewing schedule. Although I don't think I had sat through an entire episode that wasn't a rerun for five years. I became tired of the constant bed hopping and bizarre cases. I enjoyed the last episode and wasn't too confused. This leaves the Simpsons and Law and Order that have that iconic status for me.

Thursday, April 02, 2009