Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris

Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris is a collection of Christmas themed pieces. Yes we are doing this in October. Probably the best of the bunch is a biographical piece about the authors time as a Macy's elf the rest are various ranges of horrible. There's satire here in droves but it's just not funny. Sedaris has no subtlety no nuance. Points are hammered home with a sledgehammer. Several pieces go on and on for no apparent reason except to reinforce the painfully clear point. If there was something profound here then maybe it would be better but there's not. Commercialism is bad. Entertainment executives are manipulative. Well wasn't that enlightening! Their also seems to be a definite attempt at shock value which tends to be a refuge of the lazy writer.

Not recommended at all!

Is available through Abebooks.

Barry Trotter and the Unauthorized Parody by Michael Gerber

Barry Trotter and the Unauthorized Parody by Michael Gerber is a parity of a particular fantasy series. The plot such as it is describes the attempt on the part of the now grown up Barry Trotter to stop a movie being created. It's quite funny. There's a lot of puns and bathroom humor which is to be expected. There is also some good situational humor. It's not line for line satire but it does make some excellent points about the books. There's actuallya message buried underneath everything else about fandom and the entertainment industry.

Highly recommended if you have a sense of humor about Harry Potter [whoops I did say it].

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

Wing Leader by Group Captain J.E. Johnson

Wing Leader by Group Captain J.E. Johnson is the memoirs of the top scoring allied fighter pilot in the second world war. The narrative starts off just prior to the war. The training was difficult. There was very little information given on the experiences of combat. It was mostly the technicalities of flight. He spent most of his time with Canadian units. There are various funny anecdotes. There's also a discussion of tactics and strategies for air combat as well as analysis of the various fighter types. The combats are excellently described its quite easy to understand what's going on.

Highly recommended!

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

The Twilight of Ancient Egypt: 1st Millennium B.C.by Karol Mysliwiec Translatorer David Lorton

The Twilight of Ancient Egypt: 1st Millennium B.C.by Karol Mysliwiec translated from the Polish by David Lorton is a history of ancient Egypt from the 11th century to the 4th century B.C. this was after the fall of the 25th dynasty. According to Mysliwiec there isn't much analysis on this era. Most of the book describes art and archaeology. There were various influences from the surrounding peoples. Political history is touched upon occasionally the Pharaohs tended to be weak there were occasional invasions. The Persians took over Egypt twice until they were eventually defeated by Alexander the Great. I don't know much about this myself so I can't comment on the accuracy of the analysis. The book concludes with a discussion of Polish archaeology in the region. The translation is very good. Almost every page has a picture. There is extensive quoting of primary sources. As well as the usual endnotes and bibliography.

Recommended! I need more on ancient Egypt.

Is available through Abebooks.

Her Majesty's Spymaster: Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Walsingham, and the Birth of Modern Espionage by Stephen Budiansky

Her Majesty's Spymaster: Elizabeth I, Sir Francis Walsingham, and the Birth of Modern Espionage by Stephen Budiansky is the biography of this British nobleman. The narrative revolves around two key intelligence events the Spanish Armada and Mary Queen of Scott's. It seems almost rushed like Budiansky is trying to get somewhere quickly but never really arrives. The book is short on analysis which seems strange because of the title. If you know about intelligence you can draw some comparisons with modern practices but it's not made explicit in the text. If anything Budiansky takes pains to point out that Walsingham was basically a one-man operation without him the system collapsed. There was no institutional memory or for that matter an institution. The book contains endnotes and a bibliography. There's a discussion of sources which provides some editorial comments for further reading.

Mildly recommended it could have been so much more.

Is available through Abebooks.

Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson

Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson is the first book in the Malazan Book of the Fallen epic fantasy series. This is the first book seven books in total have been published. It's projected to take 10 volumes.

The plot is very difficult to summarize. Basically an empire is expanding most of the activity in the book is based around a military unit sent to an independent city state. There's all sorts of political machinations going on. The magic system used in the book is very well thought out. I'm always slightly concerned about books that have a glossary and list of characters but I didn't have to worry. Enough distinctive traits are mentioned to keep the cast straight. The terminology is also pretty easy to pick up.

Highly recommended! I'm off to order the second book in the series.

Is available through Abebooks.



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

SEAL Force Alpha by Richard Marcinko and John Weisman

SEAL Force Alpha by Richard Marcinko and John Weisman is a novel in the Rogue Warrior series. Its next in the series after Designation Gold but you don't have to read them in order you could easily start here. The Chinese are causing trouble this is combined with treachery within the US government. Marcinko's politics which tend to be very conservative come out here. Often it comes off as a lecture. The plot is fast-paced and definitely not politically correct. A very enjoyable way to spend a few hours. Like I commented in the other review the writing is good the lack of a romantic angle also makes sense.

Recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.

Designation Gold by Richard Marcinko and John Weisman

Designation Gold by Richard Marcinko and John Weisman is a novel in the Rogue Warrior series. A friend of the main character who works at the American Embassy in Moscow is killed with his family. Naturally their turns out to be a wider conspiracy. The plot is fast-paced and action-packed. The writing is actually decent perhaps surprisingly so. One interesting note is that there is no romance subplot which is pretty unusual but it's better than being tacked on. This is good mindless fun. There are a few technical glitches. The Royal Canadian army? But it doesn't really matter.

Recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.

The Peninsula Campaign of 1862 : Yorktown to the Seven Days Volume 1 edited by William J. Miller

The Peninsula Campaign of 1862 : Yorktown to the Seven Days Volume 1 edited by William J. Miller is the first volume in a three volume series containing essays about this campaign. Essays include the discussion of Lee's relations with Jefferson Davis, a Pennsylvania unit history, manpower shortages in the Confederacy, Stewart's circling of the Union Army and extracts from a diary of an Union soldier from Boston. There's also a 30 page chronology of the campaign including references to whether conditions. The chronology also includes citations to relevant documents in the Official Records of the War of the Rebellion just in case you have the 128 volumes on your coffee table. The essays are quite good. There are various maps and illustrations which highlight the text. Much of the research is based on primary sources. One strange thing is that when secondary sources are used they where usually published prior to 1950 which seems strange considering this was written/published in the early 1990s.

Recommended I'll be looking for the other volumes in the series.

Is available through Abebooks.

Forearmed: History of the Intelligence Corps by Anthony Clayton

Forearmed: History of the Intelligence Corps by Anthony Clayton is a history of this British military unit. There were ad hoc military intelligence organizations put in place up until the late 19th century. It was only in World War I that the Corps was created. The bulk of the book is taken up with the second world war. There were various intelligence gathering techniques including photo reconnaissance, prisoner interrogation and signals intelligence. The differences in Outlook of Germans from different areas where interesting. The postwar history of the unit is described particularly its involvement in various counterinsurgency operations. There are notes but no bibliography. There are appendices. I would have preferred a little more objectivity in this book the core never did anything wrong. Which tends to be one of the weaknesses of unit historys.

Recommended

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

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

The French Revolutionary Wars by Gregory Fremont-Barnes

The French Revolutionary Wars by Gregory Fremont-Barnes is one of Osprey's essential historys covering the years 1789-1902. The various campaigns are described with particular care to the various naval operations as well as Napoleon's Egyptian campaign. The different forces involved are discussed as well as the economic impacts the wars had. There's also a few social history flourishes showing the experiences of common soldiers and sailors. This is all packed in under 100 pages. There's the usual treatment from Osprey including maps and illustrations on every page. The book also contains a short further reading section.

Recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.

Spies by Michael Frayn

Spies by Michael Frayn is a coming-of-age novel set in World War II England. The narrator remembers his childhood as he walks through the modern community where he grew up. The narrator's best friend informs him that his mother is a German spy so they must keep an eye on her. Her behavior is strange and eventually leads to a series of revelations. The solution is a little over the top but it is still enjoyable.

This novel received the 2002 Whitbread Novel award.

Recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.

At the Crossing Places by Kevin Crossley-Holland

At the Crossing Places by Kevin Crossley-Holland is the second book in an young adult trilogy. I read the first book in this series the Seeing Stone years ago. Actually had this on my shelf for all this time I never got around to it. It would be possible to start out with this book there's enough background given describing the first book.

There is a dual narrative one of which is the classic King Arthur legend in the other is the day-to-day trials and tribulations of a squire in 13th century England. The two stories are very loosely connected often there's not much linking them at all. I'm quite familiar with the King Arthur stuff so I was mostly interested in Arthur the squire. He really doesn't do much in this book. Much of the storyline revolves around his discovery that he was adopted and his search for his mother. He is also preparing to go on Crusade. There are quite a few characters which are handled quite effectively. There seems to be very little description which can be frustrating at times.

Crossley-Holland evidently did quite a lot of research on medieval England. I could've wished for some more explanations I was confused by some references, I'm sure readers who didn't have much background in medieval history would be confused also. Perhaps most frustratingly the titular climax actually happens between chapters we only hear about it when characters discuss it I found this rather bizarre.

Mildly recommended I'll probably read the third book in the trilogy at some point but I certainly won't be running out to get it.

Is available through Abebooks.

Hitler's Scientists: Science, War, and the Devil's Pact by John Cornwell

Hitler's Scientists: Science, War, and the Devil's Pact by John Cornwell is an excellent look at science and ethics within Nazi Germany. Cornwell deals with social sciences including how they relate to the Holocaust as well as hard sciences. Much of the narrative is taken up with a Nazi nuclear weapons program. By using recently declassified recorded conversations after the war Cornwell shows that the scientists did not understand the concepts involved instead of actively delaying the program like they said after the war.

The book contains notes and a bibliography.

Recommended!

Is available through Abebooks.


For more WWII book reviews take a look at My World War II bookshelf or My Holocaust bookshelf.

I'm still alive

Reviews should begin again tomorrow. I've been bogged down with some stuff.