The Tsar's Last Armada: The Epic Voyage to the Battle of Tsushima by Constantine Pleshakov

The Tsar's Last Armada: The Epic Voyage to the Battle of Tsushima by Constantine Pleshakov is a decent history of the Russian defeat in this battle of the Russo-Japanese war. There isn't much analysis this is mostly a narrative history. Archival research was done in Russian, English and French archives. The one major handicap is the author's English. Full points for trying to write a book in English when it is not the author's native-language but his editor really let him down. If you can get past the English there is a decent book here but it's still frustrating.

Recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie. Is a classic mystery. A murder has taken place on the Orient express which is conveniently stuck in a snowbank this allows our hero the detective Hercule Poirot to investigate the case. A quick read. A nice diversion but very unrealistic. Which isn't exactly a surprise.

Recommended if you need some fluff.

Is available through Abebooks.

Bodyguard of Lies by Anthony Cave Brown

Bodyguard of Lies by Anthony Cave Brown. This is a pioneering account of deception operations in the second world war. For the most part it was based upon interviews and not archival sources which means there are some limitations. There are some incorrect statements as well. For instance an entire chapter is devoted to the Coventry myth. That being said it still holds up pretty good even after 30 years. There is information here about operations which are not usually mentioned in other accounts [Starkey]. There's also a long explanation of the plots to assassinate Hitler. It was originally published in two volumes it can be purchased in a single edition.

Recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.

On Secret Service East of Constantinople by Peter Hopkirk

On Secret Service East of Constantinople by Peter Hopkirk. This is an excellent history of the 2nd great game. This was the conflict over India and the Middle East between Britain, Germany and Russia in the first world war. The author uses lots of material both from the archives as well as rare personal accounts. Perhaps most interesting was the analysis of German Imperial theory. After the Russian Revolution the attempt of the British agents on the ground to deal with the new reality was fascinating.

Highly recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.

Bad Or, the Dumbing of America by Paul Fussell

Bad Or, the Dumbing of America by Paul Fussell this is an encyclopedia of things that are BAD. BAD things are not just lousy like a bookcase that falls apart that would be just bad what makes things BAD is that the bookcase is actually held in high regard. This was published back in the early nineties so if anything it's gotten a lot worse since then. The entries often scathing are hilarious attacking all sorts of things including books, architecture and Navy missile firings. Not surprisingly much of the criticism comes off as snobbery but it's still quite enjoyable.

Recommended!

The African Slave Trade by Basil Davidson

The African Slave Trade by Basil Davidson is an attempt to look at the effects of the slave trade on the continent of Africa. This is rather difficult since there aren't any African sources so History must be built out of the records kept by whites. The book covers the space of time from first contacts in the 15th century through the end of the slave trade in the 19th century. The argument is made that final abolishment came about not only from the pressure of the various religious societies but also resulted from the economic reality of the Industrial Revolution.

The book is divided into a general study of perceptions on both sides then smaller case studies discussing the effects on both coasts. Intriguingly the European fear of cannibals was also mirrored by the Africans some thought they were being seized to provide nourishment for the slavers.

The writing style is rather dry. There are occasional footnotes, maps and a further reading section. This was published back in 1988 I'm not sure how well this is held up but by itself it seems to be well thought out.

Recommended!

The Technique Of Motor Racing by Piero Taruffi

The Technique Of Motor Racing by Piero Taruffi this book originally published in the 1950s provides a description of racing. The book is mostly made up of discussions of different racing lines as well as the technical aspects of race driving. Much of this is purely of historical interest at this point. It was written before the aerodynamic revolution but it is still interesting. The book concludes with several maps of famous courses in Europe and North America.

Recommended!

Never on These Shores by Stephen R. Pastore

Never on These Shores by Stephen R. Pastore. This is an alternate history of an axis invasion of the United States. The Japanese attack the West Coast while Italy takes a foothold in Florida and the Germans through Texas. The storyline follows several groups of people trying to resist the invaders.

Pastore is very good at describing the various ethical choices that have to be made along the way. His characters although slightly unconvincing for the 1940s seem to react in logical ways. One difficulty is that besides the subplot with the Manhattan Project there isn't much about just where the axis units are in the US. This has more to do with character selection than anything else. I suspect that future books will get us closer to the battle lines. There's quite a bit of action which is also done quite well.

I'm not sure whether it's a bug or a feature but there are some contradictions. Rommel initiates the Nazi salute and a Jewish family in New York in 1942 knows about the crematoria. Naturally criticisms like this can be argued away by pointing to the alternate part of alternate history. It's a credit to the writing that these issues do not take away from the enjoyment of the peace. I'm a knit picker at heart so it's an achievement to write a story that shuts off that part of my brain. This looks like it's the first in an ongoing series I'll pick up the sequel.

Recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.



Note: this copy was provided by the publisher for review purposes.

Ruling the Later Roman Empire by Christopher Kelly

Ruling the Later Roman Empire by Christopher Kelly. This is a scholarly look at the Roman empire's bureaucracy in the second and third century AD. Much of the analysis is based upon the writings of a member of the bureaucracy John Lydus. This is supported with inscriptions and occasionally artwork. The corruption built into the system is described. It is argued that by legislating payments to bureaucrats this removed personal relationships out of the equation as well as limited the amount of work that the system had to deal with. There is a substantial section of notes. The writing style is rather uneven the same point is made over and over this tends to be a failing of some academic writing.

Recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.

Rome's Enemies (2): Gallic and British Celts by Peter Wilcox

Rome's Enemies (2): Gallic and British Celts by Peter Wilcox. This is from a larger Osprey series on Roman enemies. The book tries to cover quite a bit of history which occasionally leads to sweeping generalizations. I would have preferred if it had been broken up into two. That being said there's quite a bit of information on the uniforms, tactics and strategies employed.

Recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.

The Army of Alexander the Great by Nick Sekunda

The Army of Alexander the Great by Nick Sekunda. This is a somewhat thin history of Alexander the great's army. The tactics as well as different units are described. Like other Osprey titles much is made of the uniforms of the soldiers. Unfortunately there isn't much material to go on so a lot of the book is based on a couple of sources. When best guesses are made the reconstruction is acknowledged so full points for that. Still it's pretty apparent the author was straining to get to the correct length.

Recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.

Flashman and the Dragon by George MacDonald Fraser

Flashman and the Dragon by George MacDonald Fraser. This is the eighth book in the series. I don't have the seventh. Our non-hero must try to survive the Taiping Rebellion and the Second Opium War. As backdrop is one of the most famous events in Victorian military history the destruction of the Summer Palace. As usual highly historically accurate and funny. It's almost lyrical in some places Fraser certainly had some talent.

Highly recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.

From Capetown to Ladysmith;: An unfinished record of the South African war by G. W Steevens

From Capetown to Ladysmith;: An unfinished record of the South African war by G. W Steevens. This is the Journal of a British reporter reporting on the Boer war. It's very short. The reprint I have from the 1960s sadly does not contain any scholarly apparatus or introduction. The author died of cholera during the siege of Ladysmith. Final chapter contains an obituary and some remembrances. The tone of the work changes from rather lighthearted to cynical particularly about the siege. As a primary source there isn't much here perhaps useful for some color.

Not recommended.

Is available through Abebooks.

Flashman's Lady by George MacDonald Fraser

Flashman's Lady by George MacDonald Fraser. This is the sixth book in the series. Our unheroic hero travels from England through Borneo and Madagascar having his usual terrifying and hilarious adventures. Unlike the other books in the series this also contains portions from his wife's Journal which nicely helped to move things along.

Highly recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.

Flashman in the Great Game by George MacDonald Fraser

Flashman in the Great Game by George MacDonald Fraser. This is the fifth book in the Flashman series. Flashman is embroiled in the Indian mutiny. Flashman must try to survive both sides attempt to kill him as well as the attacks of one of his enemies from his earlier Russian adventures. There are several examples of the double cross Fraser through his use of the first-person narrator is able to make them surprising to the reader.

Highly recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.