Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Ultra in the West: The Normandy Campaign of 1944-45 by Ralph Bennett
Ultra in the West: The Normandy Campaign of 1944-45 by Ralph Bennett describes the use of intercepted German communications in the Allied campaign in northwestern Europe. Bennett one of the participants is able to give insights into the material that most historians would be unable to. He's perhaps a little quick to criticize Eisenhower and Montgomery for failing to take note of the intelligence. He also points out that it seemed like particularly around the time of the Battle of the Bulge that the traditional means of intelligence gathering were ignored. If it wasn't confirmed by Ultra it wasn't going to happen.
Recommended.
describes the use of intercepted German communications in the Allied campaign in northwestern Europe. Bennett one of the participants is able to give insights into the material that most historians would be unable to. He's perhaps a little quick to criticize Eisenhower and Montgomery for failing to take note of the intelligence. He also points out that it seemed like particularly around the time of the Battle of the Bulge that the traditional means of intelligence gathering were ignored. If it wasn't confirmed by Ultra it wasn't going to happen.Recommended.
Selling out
Amazon links will be slowly going up for the reviews. I'm tired of messing around with Abe. The interface was extremely frustrating to use. Amazon's is much more easy to build links. Yes, yes I know I've criticized them in the past.
Friday, June 26, 2009
On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society by Dave Grossman
On Killing: The Psychological Cost of Learning to Kill in War and Society by Dave Grossman argues that the act of killing has not been dealt with by military historians. That the resistance to kill is something that is central to the experience of soldiers. He makes the case through use of Marshall's Men Against Fire "research" and other studies. I'm pretty sure I've made my feelings about Marshall clear so I'll leave that aside. The book is very useful in how it breaks down the act of killing into a series of reactions. There's also some interesting stuff about the psychological aspects [although perhaps he goes too far linking it with sex]. What I found frustrating was the larger apparatus around this discussion. Much of the book is polemical Grossman for instance argues that PTSD is caused because of the resistance to kill and the stress that is engendered. Strange I've read of cases of PTSD from those who were in natural disasters. Who are they trying to kill? The book also concludes with a rant against video games.
I can't really recommend this there's too much bad research but it is certainly interesting. This is a revised edition it's unclear how much is different from the previous one.
Not recommended
argues that the act of killing has not been dealt with by military historians. That the resistance to kill is something that is central to the experience of soldiers. He makes the case through use of Marshall's Men Against Fire "research" and other studies. I'm pretty sure I've made my feelings about Marshall clear so I'll leave that aside. The book is very useful in how it breaks down the act of killing into a series of reactions. There's also some interesting stuff about the psychological aspects [although perhaps he goes too far linking it with sex]. What I found frustrating was the larger apparatus around this discussion. Much of the book is polemical Grossman for instance argues that PTSD is caused because of the resistance to kill and the stress that is engendered. Strange I've read of cases of PTSD from those who were in natural disasters. Who are they trying to kill? The book also concludes with a rant against video games.I can't really recommend this there's too much bad research but it is certainly interesting. This is a revised edition it's unclear how much is different from the previous one.
Not recommended
Note: this was provided by the publisher for review.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Terra Insegura by Edward Willett
Terra Insegura by Edward Willett
is the sequel to Marseguro. The survivors from the attack on Marseguro are returning to earth. They have to deal with various factions. I'm being vague about this mostly because I don't want to spoil Marseguro. As I mentioned in my review for the first book ethical choices are at the center of the narrative. There are one or two of the choices that I found less convincing but this is still very enjoyable. I'm sorry to hear that there isn't a third book planned.
Recommended.
Note: this was provided for review by the author.
is the sequel to Marseguro. The survivors from the attack on Marseguro are returning to earth. They have to deal with various factions. I'm being vague about this mostly because I don't want to spoil Marseguro. As I mentioned in my review for the first book ethical choices are at the center of the narrative. There are one or two of the choices that I found less convincing but this is still very enjoyable. I'm sorry to hear that there isn't a third book planned.Recommended.
Note: this was provided for review by the author.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Marseguro by Edward Willett
Marseguro by Edward Willett
is a science fiction novel that deals with the issues of religion and genetic engineering. Marseguro a Waterworld is colonized by a crew of human/fish hybrids created by a scientist. Earth is controlled by a tyrannical religious movement that wants to cleanse the universe of such an abomination. All of the characters here have well thought out motivations and there's excellent characterization. I liked that even the protagonists are flawed in some way. This isn't black vs. white there are shades of gray. Lots of ethical decisions to be made by individuals.
Recommended.
Note: this was provided for review by the author.
is a science fiction novel that deals with the issues of religion and genetic engineering. Marseguro a Waterworld is colonized by a crew of human/fish hybrids created by a scientist. Earth is controlled by a tyrannical religious movement that wants to cleanse the universe of such an abomination. All of the characters here have well thought out motivations and there's excellent characterization. I liked that even the protagonists are flawed in some way. This isn't black vs. white there are shades of gray. Lots of ethical decisions to be made by individuals.Recommended.
Note: this was provided for review by the author.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The Mitrokhin Archive II: The KGB and the World by Christopher M. Andrew
The Mitrokhin Archive II: The KGB and the World by Christopher M. Andrew
describes the operations that Soviet intelligence carried out in the second and third worlds. The title is somewhat of a misnomer there aren't any documents only the occasional one or two line quotation the rest is Andrew's summary. I was rather disappointed that. We still get a breathless account of just how remarkable the material is. Well in that case let's see it. The narrative itself is intriguing. The KGB had a particular fondness for disinformation campaigns which come to think of it does kind of put into question this material. There's also a lot on just what the Soviets thought of different individuals from Nelson Mandela to Gandhi.
Recommended.
describes the operations that Soviet intelligence carried out in the second and third worlds. The title is somewhat of a misnomer there aren't any documents only the occasional one or two line quotation the rest is Andrew's summary. I was rather disappointed that. We still get a breathless account of just how remarkable the material is. Well in that case let's see it. The narrative itself is intriguing. The KGB had a particular fondness for disinformation campaigns which come to think of it does kind of put into question this material. There's also a lot on just what the Soviets thought of different individuals from Nelson Mandela to Gandhi.Recommended.
Quotation [occasional]
If the bulk of American sf could be said to be written by robots, about robots, for robots, then the bulk of English fantasy seems to be written by rabbits, about rabbits and for rabbits.
-Epic Pooh by Michael Moorcock
-Epic Pooh by Michael Moorcock
Monday, June 22, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Vimy by Pierre Berton
Vimy by Pierre Berton nationalistic history of this WWI battle. Berton was one of the major popular historians in Canada during the last century. The narrative is mostly from the soldiers perspective. Much of the oral history was collected by the CBC. The description of the battle is pretty good even if it is quite limited. There are maps and a bibliography of sources. Berton is at great pains to uphold the national myth of the campaign. Which does seem to conflict with his closing comments that the whole thing was a waste.
Recommended
nationalistic history of this WWI battle. Berton was one of the major popular historians in Canada during the last century. The narrative is mostly from the soldiers perspective. Much of the oral history was collected by the CBC. The description of the battle is pretty good even if it is quite limited. There are maps and a bibliography of sources. Berton is at great pains to uphold the national myth of the campaign. Which does seem to conflict with his closing comments that the whole thing was a waste.Recommended
Friday, June 19, 2009
Garden of Beasts: A Novel of Berlin 1936 by Jeffery Deaver
Garden of Beasts: A Novel of Berlin 1936 by Jeffery Deaver an American hit man is sent to Berlin to kill a German general responsible for rearming Germany. A fast pace book but the characters are psychologically complex. I particularly liked the interaction between the various German officials. The daily decisions about how much to do for the regime is a frequent backdrop to novels like this. It's handled particularly deftly. I'll be looking for other books by Deaver in the future.
Highly recommended.
an American hit man is sent to Berlin to kill a German general responsible for rearming Germany. A fast pace book but the characters are psychologically complex. I particularly liked the interaction between the various German officials. The daily decisions about how much to do for the regime is a frequent backdrop to novels like this. It's handled particularly deftly. I'll be looking for other books by Deaver in the future.Highly recommended.
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