Sgt Big G's 75 for '09

Actually keeping track of every book I read helped me realize how few books I actually read these days. I started the challenge in October, at that point I had read 39 books or about 4.25 a month. In the two months since then I've read 20. Actually seeing how much I had read got me motivated.

Obviously I have less free time with three young girls, a house, etc, then I did as a single guy in an apartment but I think I need to make some more free time for reading.

edited to make coherent.

Looking forward to seeing if you succeed in making free time, if you do then please can you give me the recipe.

We could all move to Venus where the days are something like 72 earth days long. Of course, we would be dead in seconds, but we'd have plenty of time for reading.

Glad to see you back Sarge!

1. Fearless: The Lost Fleet by by Jack Campbell. Book two of the Lost Fleet series. I've been having a hard time getting back into any of the half finished books from 2008, so I started a new one. Must like the first book this was an uncomplicated SF story and I enjoyed as much as the first.

Now I'll try to get back to the unfinished books.

sgtbigg

I going to "stick" with you. I, too, finished my first book of 2009 on Tuesday. I'm getting intimidated by all those people who have already read 5 or more books in 2009! When do they eat?! Or work?

One of the areas I'm exploring this year is SciFi/Fantasy. I'm not familiar with the Jack Campbell series so I'm going to check it out. The book I finished was Doomsday Book by Connie Willis--a SF book involving time travel back to the Middle Ages. Don't want to tell too much--but it was really fascinating. It sort of combined SF with historical fiction and was extremely well done.

I have Doomsday Book on my TBR pile, it's actually in my desk at work, where it's been for a couple of years just waiting for me to get some free time at work.

One of the benefits of the Lost Fleet series as opposed to some others is the books are relatively short (200-300 pages) and there aren't 10 plus books in the series.

MusicMom and SgtBigg--I only finished three books because they were short--and I was on flights most of New Year's Day. I also haven't tackled any of the longer books on my 999 List or my general wishlist. Last year in January I read exactly 6.5 books, the first being The Terror by Dan Simmons. By year's end, I was on a roll and reading everywhere I could!
That pace seems to have carried over--at least until I hit the Eliot and Dickens on my TBR list this year!

>4 sgtbigg:: They don't change...at least, for the first four. The fifth is due out in April and I'm looking forward to it. Whenever I get a little overwhelmed by the size or complexity of my recent reads, or too distracted to read something "deep", it's nice to know that there's another Geary adventure waiting! :-)

re The Lost Fleet series--I'm going to try this series. I could use a "quick read" so as soon as I finish the 3 books which I am currently reading I'm going to order the first one, The Lost Fleet: Courageous, from the library system. If I like it I will have to buy the second one because there is no copy of Fearless in all of the Valley Cat system. They do have Dauntless, but that's later. Well, "I'll worry about that tomorrow!" First I must see if I like them. My Dad was career US Coast Guard so the idea of a Navy in space is appealing to me.

#7 Prop2gether

I think I will hit my stride in a few days. There are so many threads right now that I was getting overwhelmed. Now I'm just checking in a couple times a day and only hitting a few at a time. Also this week is a planning week for me so lots of extra work and meetings. My goal is to try to average at least 7 book a month--fewer when I'm reading really long or dense books and more when I'm reading lighter stuff. I had not expected Doomsday Book to be such an intense read--I though scifi was more "fluff." Was I ever wrong! I'm going now to write my comments so I can post it on my thread--I'll give you a hint: it gets at least 5 stars! :-)

I'm about half way through Doomsday Book and I'm liking it. It's very fast paced and the story is pretty much carried by the dialogue more than descriptive prose. Very absorbing. I'm surprised it's not a movie.

>9 MusicMom41: Dauntless is actually the first one, I think Courageous is number 3.

2. We Were Soldiers Once... and Young by Hal Moore and Joe Galloway. I decided to read this after I saw the movie and not surprisingly, the book was much better. The book contains a detailed account of the battles in the Ia Drang Valley, particularly LZ X-Ray and LZ Albany. I read this shortly after reading Joker One and had a similar feeling after reading it – pride in the heroism and courage of the men involved offset by the senselessness of the war. I liked that the authors interviewed the Vietnamese officers who led the PAVN (NVA) forces that fought against the Americans as well as interviewing the American officers and troops, it gave a fuller picture of what happened. Highly recommended.

Edited to try and fix touchstones.

#12: We Were Soldiers Once is on my list to read this year since I am trying to learn more about the Vietnam War era. Thanks for your input on it.

#13

I guess I'll have to try to squeeze in We Were Soldiers Once this year--or early next. Right now I'm reading Soldier's Heart which is about West Point told by a literature teacher there. It is fascinating how the cadets need to do such a balancing act--absolute obedience in their military classes vs thinking for themselves in their literature classes and balancing the idea of "duty, honor, country" against the reality of the horror of war which they may have to face in defending that country. After reading The Red Badge of Courage last year which is about a very young man who goes off to the Civil War with romantic notions of the "glory of battle" from reading such classics as Iliad and his disillusionment and coming to terms with the reality of war when facing battle himself I am keenly aware of the fine line West Point professors and officers must walk to train these men.

It takes a very special person to become an effective officer and I'm interested to see that what they read is very important in helping to develop those special people.

MusicMom41..regarding message#5, if you are interested in exploring science fiction, may I suggest Robert Heinlein who is, IMHO, one of the best writers of this genre. Have Space Suit Will Travel is excellent.

And, if you haven't read Ray Bradbury, he is a great writer to use as a starting point. The Illustrated Man is an incredible book.

Whisper1

Funny you should say that--I'm reading The Martian Chronicles right now. I will check out Robert Heinlein--The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress has also been recommended to me.

hi MusicMom41.
Both the books you mention are excellent.

And, SgtBig..Thanks for the recommendation on my thread of We Were Soldier's Once..and Young. It sounds like a very powerful book. Having been married, and divorced to a Viet Nam vet, when I read these books I understand more and more about my ex husband and the ghosts and demons that haunted him.

>15 Whisper1:-16: I think Have Space Suit, Will Travel may be his best YA title and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress is probably the best, or tied for best, of his more adult titles. I enjoy his earlier writing. However, I would avoid his later stuff. It's generally insipid or fairly obsessed with sex.

continuing the posts regarding Robert Heinlein, I'd like to add that he wrote an incredibly beautiful poem called The Blue Greeen Hills of Earth. Quoted by the American astronaut Russell Schweikert as he looked at earth from space and realized the stunning and awesome planet we inhabit and the fragility of it all.

I highly recommend reading this.

3. It's a Job, Not a Jail: How to Break Your Shackles When You Can't Afford to Quit by Robert Hochheiser. This is not normally something I would read, my wife got it from the library for me. I'm not sure why, I love my job, I mean except for the part where it sucks the life out of me. Other then that it's not too bad. This book, on the other hand, is that bad. Apparently sucking up to your boss will make you happier at work, who knew. I finished this book in just a couple of hours, it failed the 50 page test but I kept reading so it's my own fault. I can't recommend this book to anyone.

4. America's Defense Meltdown by the Center for Defense Information. The authors make the case that the U.S. armed forces are still preparing to fight the Soviet Union rather then more-probable 4th Generation opponents. They further point out that U.S. defense spending is currently about equal to that spent by the rest of the world combined and it is unlikely the U.S. will be fighting the rest of the world combined. The authors also make numerous recommendations for reforming the armed forces.

I found most of the book to be interesting except for the last two chapters, dealing with acquisitions and budgeting. It also reminded me that I don't particularly enjoy reading e-books.

5. Apocalypse How: Turn the End-Times into the Best of Times! by Rob Kutner - Humorous guide to life after the apocalypse, sounds like a good idea but in this case it's really not. It was mildly amusing but nothing to make me fall from my chair with laughter.

I would have thought the apocalypse would be funnier.

6. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling. I enjoyed this one more then the first three, when I felt like I was forcing myself to read them. I have hopes for the last three books. Hopefully I'll finish book six before the movie comes out this summer.

>5 MusicMom41: Go back and reread Good Omens if you want a funny apocalypse! Did you hear Gaiman won the Newbery Award today? Go hear to hear his take on it...
http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/01/insert-amazed-and-delighted-swearing.html

I haven't read Good Omens yet, it's still sitting on the shelf but I'll move it up on the TBR pile.

Well, then, definitely move it WAY up your TBR pile. I saw it in your library, so thought you might have already read it.

Will do, I'll make it my next "fun" read. Not that they all aren't fun, but, well you know.

>23 sgtbigg: sgtbigg, I've heard that about the 4th novel before - two people I *urged* to read the Potter series said they only felt they started loving it from the 4th book on. My favorites are DEFINITELY all the ones from the 4th onwards, but, having grown up with the books I love them all the same. I think it's different if you read them as an adult or read them as a teenager and had to WAIT for 2 YEARS for the next one to come out. We had two years each time to speculate and make guesses about what's going to happen - I listened to podcasts where HP fans came up with theories about what's going to happen next almost every day, and it made it so much more exciting. I also think that Rowling purposefully altered her writing style a little bit which each book - making them more complex each time. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the 5th and 6th, which are my favorite.

>27 sgtbigg:: GOT TO read this. It's great. Actually, better than great. OK, it's my personal all-time favourite book.

>28 girlunderglass:. I understand what you mean, it's similar to when the Star Wars movies first came out.

>29 FlossieT:. I'll fit it in between all of the WW II and WBS books I'm currently involved in.

7. Day of Infamy by Walter Lord. I can't believe I've never read this before. I'm reading Eagle Against the Sun and when I got to the section about Pearl Harbor I decided to read a little more about it so I got this from the library. I don't think you can find a better, short book about PH.

I remember reading Day of Infamy several years ago and loving it. I'm adding Eagle Against the Sun to my TBR--probably for next year. I reading about the Civil War this year and I think I may return to WWII next year.

Have you ever read The Rising Sun: the Decline and Fall of the Japanese Empire by John Toland? I read it shortly after I read the Walter Lord book. I remember when I went to check it out the librarian said "Don't you also want Volume 2?" I almost backed out--Volume 1 wasn't exactly small! But I found the book really excellent--both volumes. It tells about the war from the Japanese perspective.

I haven't read The Rising Sun but I'll add it to the list after several other WW II in the Pacific books I have in the wings. I think Toland also wrote a book about Pearl Harbor which claimed FDR knew all about the Pearl Harbor attack ahead of time, but maybe I'm getting the author wrong.

One of my favorite books by Lord is The Miracle of Dunkirk, so if you are in the mood for more Lord on WWII, that is a good one.

8. Paladin of Souls by Lois Mcmaster Bujold. This book failed the 50 page test but I kept reading anyway and I'm glad I did. It didn't measure up to The Curse of Chalion but it was enjoyable after the slow start. I know there is at least one more book set in the same world but I think I'm done here.

I'll add The Miracle at Dunkirk to the TBR list. Lord also wrote Incredible Victory about Midway which I might try sometime but I'm already reading Midway: The Battle That Doomed Japan so it will have to wait awhile.

9. Midway: The Battle that Doomed Japan, The Japanese Navy's Story by Mitsuo Fuchida and Masatake Okumiya. As the title states this is the story of the Battle of Midway told from the Japanese point of view. Fuchida was the air group commander for the Akagi and led the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was aboard Akagi during the Midway battle but did not participate because he recently had an appendectomy.

I always find it interesting to see battles from the other side and this was no exception. While I’m not sure that I believe that Fuchida had all of the reservations prior to the battle that he claimed to have had, I do think he did a good job of explaining the causes for the Japanese defeat. I would recommend this to anyone with an interest in World War II or naval history and tactics.

#36: I am putting Midway: The Battle that Doomed Japan, The Japanese Navy's Story on Continent TBR. Thanks for the review. It definitely looks up my alley.

> 36

I'd be interested to know whether you have read Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway by Jon Parshall and Anthony Tully, and how you compare this with Midway: The Battle that Doomed Japan?

Shattered Sword is now widely considered to be the definitive work on Midway from the Japanese POV; and most importantly, corrects Fuchida's 1951 account of the battle which is "irretrievably flawed" - a fact that has been recognised in Japan for over 20 years.

Personally, I have not read either book (although Shattered Sword is on my reading list for this year), thus my interest in your thoughts.

Thanks

I've never read Shattered Sword but i'll add it to by TBR list. Any idea what the flaws in Fuchida's account were?

> 39

Here is a link to the introduction from the book Shattered Sword, which will answer some of these questions...

http://www.shatteredswordbook.com/ShatteredSwordIntroduction.pdf

---
I don't think Shattered Sword should be above critical review itself, so I've added the following link to the Spring 2008 issue of the "Midway Sentinal" (from the International Midway Memorial Association), which has the first in a series of articles, looking at the chapter entitled "Myths and Myth Makers". You can access subsequent issues from the newsletter archives link...

http://www.immf-midway.com/newsletter_54.html

10. A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah. I read this because/ in spite of the comments from LT members. It's the story of Beah who starting fighting in the Sierra Leonean army at the age of 13. I think it was worth reading and it's an interesting story. However, he sort of glosses over the part of the story were he was actually with the army. We get an almost day-by-day account of events from the time he first flees his home until he begins military training. Then there was a sentence that read something like, "Then two years passed", we then get an account of his life after the army. Later in the book, he discusses several events that occurred while he was a soldier but I felt like a big part of the story was missing.

>40 petermc: Thanks, I'll take a look at it.

11. The Civil War Soldier: A Historical Reader – edited by Michael Barton and Larry Logue. As the title states this is a collection of essays about Civil War soldiers, why they fought, what they felt, and so forth. The essays were taken from books written by a number of authors prominent in Civil War writing. There are several essays by Bell Irvin Wiley, whose Life of Johnny Reb and Life of Billy Yank were the first in the field and are a bit dated now, they were originally written in the 50’s. There is a selection from Earl Hess’ The Rifle Musket in the Civil War that has been somewhat controversial. Also included are essays by Reid Mitchell, James Robertson, and James McPherson. Several of the authors present conflicting opinions making this a good starting place for anyone looking to learn more about the soldiers and their lives. I would not recommend this as an introductory volume as some background is necessary.

12. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling. I enjoyed this one about as much as the previous one, which is a good deal more then the first three. I think seeing the film versions took something away from the books. Since there was less of the book in the later films that might be why I have enjoyed them more. I hope that I’ll get to finish book six before the film comes out this summer.

>38 petermc:. The intro to Shattered Sword definately does a job on Fucida. I didn't really find the IMMF's defense all that convincing.

I spoke to a history professor I know who teaches a class about WW II and uses Fucida's book. He acknowledges Fucida's defecinces however he believes that since Fucida was a pilot rather then a historian his errors were more likely just that rather then lies as Parshall and Tully maintain. Fucida's other error was his reliance on on Ukagi's diary as his sole source. He also noted that Fucida's book has formed the basis for the non-Japanese historian's viewpoint on Midway for 50 years and is important for that reason alone.

Someday I'll read Shattered Sword, but I imagine the truth is probably somewhere between the two.

> 44. Appreciate the feedback. Thanks!

Been busy lately and I haven't gotten to update my list or take a look at anyone's thread in at least two weeks. My wife is out of town this week and I'm off from work so I'm going to try an catch up on what everyone else has been reading and get a bunch of reading done myself. At least as much as I can in between watching the three kids. I also need to post a brief recap of my Gettysburg trip.

13. Liberty, Virtue, and Progress: Northerners and Their War for the Union (no touchstone) by Earl Hess. Hess explains why northerners supported the war effort both at the beginning of the war and as the war progressed and soldiers learned of the horrors of combat and civilians learned of the deaths and maiming of their brothers, sons, and friends. His basic premise is that northerners saw the war as a battle between freedom and tyranny and no cost was too high. I cannot say I enjoyed this book, while only about 125 pages, it still seemed somewhat repetitive, like a journal article that was stretched out to (barely) book length. I would only recommend this to hardcore Civil War buffs.

14. Wahoo: The Patrols of America's Most Famous World War II Submarine bu Richard O'Kane. O'Kane was the Executive Officer during the Wahoo's first four patrols and he describes what life was like on the boat during that time, with detailed descriptions of each attack made. Using logs and interviews he gave a similar description of the fifth patrol. The sixth and final patrol was somewhat problematic, he used his knowledge of the boat's captain and Japanese records to piece together what happened on the final patrol however he goes into more detail about what happened on the boat then there is any evidence for. This book was a part of my effort to expand my knowledge about the war in the Pacific. I think the only thing I knew about the sub war came from the movie Operation Petticoat so there was a pretty big gap to fill. I'm going to look for another more general book on the same topic, but this was a good introduction.

Welcome "home!" We missed you.

Don't think I'll add the Hess book to my Civil Waar read, but I'm making a note to check out Wahoo when I finally get to WWII for a category. Got a couple of other "conflicts' intervening--like WWI. :-)

15. Conversations with Carl Sagan Edited by Tom Head - In my younger days I was not a fan of Carl Sagan. I didn't know much about him other then his activities with the Union of Concerned Scientists which was enough for my then right wing brain. As I got older my opinion about him changed, especially after reading The Demon-Haunted World which is one of the best books I have read. This book is a collection of interviews conducted by different magazine and television interviewers between 1973 and 1996. The interviews were interesting although the older ones were a bit dated. There was also a good deal of repetition with similar question and answers in multiple interviews. It wasn't a bad book, but I don't feel as if I would have missed anything by not reading it.

16. The Pacific War Atlas by David Smurthwraite. I've been reading Eagle Against the Sun as my main source on World War II in the Pacific however it doesn't have great maps so I picked this book up when I saw it in the library figuring it would help. I was incorrect, for an atlas there aren't very many maps and the ones that are there are usually so packed full of information as to make them unhelpful, at least to me. On some of the maps the time period was over six months and there was just too much going on for one map to work. The book was published in London and there is a decided Commonwealth slant to the text, to the point of specifically mentioning the five or six British ships in a fleet of over 200 ships. Lastly, when discussing total casualties for the Pacific war, U.S. and Japanese figures were for the number killed while Commonwealth numbers were for killed, wounded, and captured, giving a skewed view of the stats. Playing with numbers like that annoys me.

A quick recap of the Gettysburg trip for anyone who is interested. It was very cold and not at all crowded. The lack of crowds is apparently normal for March, traffic still tended to get backed up in the town square. I can't imagine what the traffic is lack during the summer (sorry Joyce). There were a couple of things that stuck out:
1) Terrain looks different in real life then it does on a map.

2) I always thought that a ridge was higher then it apparently is. McPherson's Ridge and Cemetery Ridge are barely a bump.

3) On the southern end of the battlefield everything is very close together. The Peach Orchid, Wheat Field, Devil's Den, and the Round Tops are all right on top of each other.

4) Going back to point one, on the Triangle Field the Union left flank could not see the approaching Confederates until they were less then twenty yards away, time for maybe one shot. The Union right flank could not see the Confederates moving on their left flank. All because of dips and curves in the ground.

5) Longstreet's Assault - I don't know how 15,000 men could be brave enough to even try crossing that mile of ground under fire the entire time. The fact that any of them made it to the Union lines amazes me.

6) All of the main points on the battlefield look as they did in 1863 with some minor exceptions. There are some powerlines between Devil's Den and the Round Tops which are supposedly going to be buried. At the highwater mark you can see a few houses, the Cyclorama and a McDonald's. The Cyclorama is closed and will be torn down soon. NPS has maintained all of the treelines so they look as they did in 1863. All of the peach trees in the Peach Orchard died about three years ago so there are only saplings there now.

I can't believe that it's less then two hours away and this is the first time I've been in 30 years.

You've got questions, I've got answers.

>47 MusicMom41: Thanks. I need to start on WW I myself, someday.

#46 - On submarines in the Pacific, you might have a passing interest in "U.S. Subs Down Under: Brisbane, 1942-1945" by David Jones and Peter Nunan. I may be a little biased as Brisbane was my home for 4 years while I attended university there, but it's a very good book.

#48 - Fans of Carl Sagan, of which I am unashamedly one (see my thread for a recent review on The Black Hole War in which I wax lyrical about the great man), should pick up the Sagan biographies: Carl Sagan: A Life by Keay Davidson, and Carl Sagan: A Life in the Cosmos by William Poundstone. They are slightly different in their focus, but are both excellent!

#46: I read O'Kanes Clear the bridge! : The war patrols of the U.S.S. Tang last year. Since you are interested in the subject, you might want to give it a go.

#49, sgtbigg: Great recap! sounds like you had an excellent visit!

Oh well, maybe the crowds will keep me from getting lost! :-)

1) Isn't that the truth! Has me a bit worried.

2) The movie Gettysburg certainly doesn't show a really high elevation.

5) IN the PBS series, Shelby Foote makes a very interesting statement: he claims that the greatest bravery shown by any troops were those of the Union at Fredericksburg. Possibly because at Gettysburg there was this massed assault but at Fredericksburg, that idiot Burnsides fed those brigades in piecemeal against exactly the same conditions as obtained at Gettysburg. By the second or third assault, every man knew--could see--what was going to happen. Longstreet's corps was 3 deep behind a stone wall. Don't recall how many pieces of artillery were on Marye's heights, but Porter Alexander made his famous "a chicken couldn't cross the road and live" comment about the fields of fire.

How much can you actually wander around? On my trip 50 years ago, I remember actually going in and around Devil's Den.

Hopefully the McDonald's will get trashed somehow.

>51 petermc: - I read your review of The Black Hole War last night, good review. I bought Cosmos on DVD a few months ago but I've only seen the first one. I'll have to make time for the rest.

>52 alcottacre: - Thanks.

>53 Joycepa: - It was a pretty quick trip, but I did climb the rocks in the Devil's Den. I watched the movie Gettysburg that night when I got home and you're right, no heights.

17. Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. This was recommended by FlossieT and Ronincats. I liked it but I don't get all the fuss. It was funny, but not that funny, or maybe I'm getting old.

18. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling. After a slow start to the series it has definitely picked up. When I finish book seven I'll probably wish there were more.

Re: Good Omens

Mike, I'll bet it's not age--I'm probably older than you. A lot of the exquisite humor comes out of the way that Revelations and the concomitant folklore surrounding it are utilized accurately in totally unexpected ways. And a familiarity with The Screwtape Letters doesn't hurt. However, the book can be enjoyed on one level with absolutely no prior context.

19. Death Star by Michael Reaves and Steve Perry. A long time ago I read a lot of Star Wars books. I eventually gave up on them because they all sounded pretty much alike. When the second trilogy of films was released I read a few of the books that were set between the films however since I already knew how everything turned out in the end I didn't enjoy them much. This week my oldest daughter and I watched all six films, she had never seen them, and I got into a Star Wars mode so I read this book. It takes place just prior to and during Episode IV. Not surprisingly the Death Star blows up at the end. The book was ok, but again I already knew how it was going to end. I think I'll continue to pass on future Star Wars novels.

> 56 - Maybe reading the The Screwtape Letters and having more then a passing knowledge of the Book of Revelations would have helped.

20. The Lost Fleet: Courageous by Jack Campbell. Just as good as the first two, I'm looking forward to the next one.

sgtbigg

I loved the first one, Dauntless and Fearless is on the top of my "because I want to pile"--hope to get to it in May. I have the first 4 and I've heard a rumor that number five is about to be released--by now it might have been released already. I'm glad to hear that the series is holding up.

April 28th per Amazon

Thanks, Tad. I knew I could count on you!

As I have almost caught up to the most recent book, I was glad to find that Campbell has two other series, written under another name. Hopefully they are as good.

Could you possibly give us a hint? What name? What series? Science Fiction?

It's not nice to tease people! ;-)

Sorry about that. It's John G. Hemry, the first series is Stark's War, I don't remember the second series but it was like JAG in space. Someone in this group has been reading the second series but I don't remember who that was either.

Edited to note that it is Sten who is reading and posting regarding the JAG in space series.

Thanks, sgrbigg! I'll look it up on fantasticfiction.co.uk where I can get a list of the titles. TadAD has me becoming a scifi junkie! I'm stocking up supplies to feed my new habit! ;-)

Thanks for the Gettysburg descriptions, Sarge. Helps my visualization a little. Too bad they can't tear down the McD's building while they are at it! Maybe someday I'll be able to get there to see everything myself.

>66 Fourpawz2:. No problem. The McDonald's really wasn't too bad compared to some other battlefields I've been to.

21. The Confederate War by Gary Gallagher. Gallagher does a good job of challenging historians who believe the Confederacy lost the Civil War due to a lack of will, a lack of nationalism, and a poor military strategy. After this book I don't imagine Gallagher gets a lot of party invitations from his fellow historians.

What was Gallagher's conclusion, then? All the major historians I've read say it was pretty much a lack of resources of all types, really, to reduce it to a few words.

Gallagher believes the will of the Confederate public was tied to Lee and the ANV. As long as they continued to fight the majority of the public supported the war effort. Once they surrendered, the public gave up even though there were other armies still in the field.

He doesn't really discuss the military defeat as much as the loss of public will to continue the fight.

He also has an interesting discussion of the idea of a guerrilla war as an alternative to the open war both as an initial strategy and as a continuation of the war in place of surrender. He does not believe either was viable.

He has a very good point about Lee and the public. It's as if the Confederates practically identified their nation with Lee.

However, the other armies truly didn't matter. The only one of any size left was with Johnston in Tennessee, and was in as bad shape as the ANV. Sherman was closing in fast; once the ANV surrendered, that would have freed up Grant and the Army of the Potomac. Johnston recognized that fact, of course. There was nothing left of the Confederacy. almost all of it was conquered territory.

Davis refused to surrender. He fled Richmond, was finally caught-what, 4-6 weeks later?

Will to fight or no will to fight, there was nothing left to fight with!

I think most historians would agree with the guerrilla warfare not being a real option. Besides, the South really didn't need it. It lost the Civil War but certainly won rewriting history and the Reconstrction!

I would agree with winning the reconstruction.

The interesting thing about the guerilla option is that several historians think the Confederates should have used that option from the beginning rather then using field armies, Davis as 19th Century Ho Chi Minh. I think this is a good example of looking at past events through modern eyes because there was no way that type of war would mesh with 19th Century Southern honor.

I think you're exactly right on this point, Sarge. I've been trying to think of what nation - the CSA certainly saw itself as such - ever began hostilities in guerilla mode? Maybe it's the late hour, but I can't think of one.

What to do when you work nights? I know.

1) What author do you own the most books by?
It’s a tie between David Drake and John MacDonald

2) What book do you own the most copies of?
Two Years Before the Mast by Richard Dana.

3) Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?
I’m not even sure what a preposition is.

4) What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
I don’t think there is one.

5) What book have you read the most times in your life (excluding picture books read to children; i.e., Goodnight Moon does not count)?
Tales from Margaritaville by Jimmy Buffett. I used to read it a couple of times a year, whenever I was feeling depressed. It’s been years since I’ve read it though.

6) What was your favorite book when you were ten years old?
Adventures of Robin Hood by E. Charles Vivian

7) What is the worst book you've read in the past year?
Empire by Orson Scott Card

8) What is the best book you've read in the past year?
Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson – I haven’t actually finished it yet, but it’s a re-read so I already know.

9) If you could force everyone you tagged to read one book, what would it be?
The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin – I used to give copies as gifts for all occasions. I don’t think one was ever read.

10) Who deserves to win the next Nobel Prize for Literature?
I have no idea. There was an article in the Sunday Washington Post about why this award should be done away with.

11) What book would you most like to see made into a movie?
The Last Full Measure – hopefully more like Gettysburg and less like Gods and Generals.

12) What book would you least like to see made into a movie?
Too many to list.

13) Describe your weirdest dream involving a writer, book, or literary character.
I don’t remember ever having one.

14) What is the most lowbrow book you've read as an adult?
I used to read a lot of trash. To pick one at random The Survivalist # 1 - Total War by Jerry Ahern

15) What is the most difficult book you've ever read?
On the Nature of Things By Lucretius

16) What is the most obscure Shakespeare play you've seen?
I’ve only seen 2 or 3 and none were obscure

17) Do you prefer the French or the Russians?
No opinion.

18) Roth or Updike?
I read one book by Roth, which I disliked, and I’ve never read Updike. So, Updike by default

19) David Sedaris or Dave Eggers?
Who?

20) Shakespeare, Milton, or Chaucer?
Shakespeare

21) Austen or Eliot?
Neither

22) What is the biggest or most embarrassing gap in your reading?
Classics

23) What is your favorite novel?
Ivanhoe

24) Play?
Henry V

25) Poem?
Not a big poetry fan.

26) Essay?
Not big on essays either.

27) Short story?
"A Letter from the Pope," by Harry Harrison & Tom Shippey.

28) Work of nonfiction?
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan

29) Who is your favorite writer?
Bernard Cornwell

30) Who is the most overrated writer alive today?
Can’t think of one right now, so I’ll go with the easy one – Dan Brown.

31) What is your desert island book?
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle

32) And... what are you reading right now?
Eagle Against the Sun, Battle Cry of Freedom, Alternate Gettysburgs, and An American Family in World War II

#72: Right on with the looking at the past through modern eyes! It's the reason why I have a had time with "serious" alternative history as opposed to fictional stuff--and I rarely read that, either.

Favorite novel is Ivanhoe! Wow! Haven't thought abut that one in how many decades? One I should definitely reread--I remember how much I loved it the first time around.

>75 Joycepa: - What's funny about Ivanhoe is that I hated it the first time I sort of read it. It was required reading when I was a high school freshman and I mostly just read the cliff notes version. At the time I was more interesting in reading what I wanted rather then what I was supposed to.

22. An American Family in World War II by Ralph Minker. Capt Minker was a bomber pilot in Europe during WW II. He and his family kept all of the letters they wrote from the time he left for training until he came home from the war, about 800. This book contains about 200 of them from and to his parents and two younger sisters. The letters are in chronological order with editorial notes in between commenting on world affairs or clarifying some point in the letter. I find it amazing that all of these letters have survived. I hoped there would be some interesting information here.

Unfortunately there was not. Most of the letters contain mundane information about his sister's math test or the performance of the high school football team. While I'm sure the letters were important to the senders and recipients I can't say the same for me. Minker does discuss some of his training, but even that is not overly interesting. I held out hopes that when he went overseas the letters would become more interesting. About three quarters through he gets sent to England but due to war time censorship his letters actually became less interesting. The editors did include a paragraph description of each mission though.

I did note one interesting thing, one of Minker's sisters wrote that she was concerned about being able to get into college. Apparently many more women were going to college since they were now able to afford it. They had gotten jobs that would not have been open to them without the war and now had more money. Something I'd never thought of.

I can only recommend this book to anyone that has a serious interest in the WW II home front or enjoys reading other people's mail.

Edited for typos

#78 - Great review, and an interesting juxtaposition next to the reviewer who waxed lyrical on amazon. Personally, I think I'll give this one a miss. Your last remark cracked me up - bravo!

#78: I think I will give this one a pass as well. I agree with Peter about your last remark.

>79 petermc:. Thanks. In a way the Amazon review is right. The book has all those things, he just makes them sound more interesting then they actually are.

23. Okinawa: The Last Battle of World War II by Robert Leckie. Prior to reading this book I had very basic understanding of the Battle of Okinawa. Unfortunately reading this book did not change that much. Leckie gives a good accounting of events leading up to the invasion but does not continue once the invasion takes place. I think a major problem was my inability to follow the described troop movements and relate the different battle locations to each other. This was because the book had absolutely no maps, I don't know how a military history book describing a battle can be published without a single map, but apparently it can be. Besides having no maps, there were also no footnotes. There were a couple of occasions where I was very curious how Leckie came about his information, one in particular described a conversation between Japanese officers, none of whom survived the battle. I would like to know if Leckie recreated a probable conversation or if there was some other witness there who later reported it.

So unless you're looking for a very basic treatment of Okinawa I would skip this one.

#82: Definitely skipping that one, Mike. After spending time reading Cozzens' Civil War trilogy I know that good maps are essential for understanding the battles.

24. Eagle Against the Sun: The American War with Japan by Ronald Spector. Outstanding single volume history of the war in the pacific. Covers all of the main points of the war and it's well footnoted. The book could have used more maps. Highly recommended.

#84: I will add that one to the Continent. Thanks for the recommendation, Mike.

25. Hiroshima by John Hersey. The story of six people who survived the atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima. It mainly concentrates on the week or so right after the bombing, but continues for about a year. The book was written in 1946 and was only 118 pages, so it was quick to read.

This book further cemented my feeling that bombing civilians is wrong. I know all the reasons it was done but I have a hard time justifying it, but that might be because I'm looking at it from 60 plus years in the future. I imagine if my army division was slated for the invasion of Japan I would probably have very much approved of it.

Other then that, I'm at a loss to describe how I felt about this book. Maybe I need to let it sit awhile.

In the meantime read this book.

#86 - Here is one of those books that I come across so often, and yet for some unfathomable reason have never read! I will do better. A book that I do have, and is rapidly nearing the top of the TBR pile is First Into Nagasaki: The Censored Eyewitness Dispatches on Post-Atomic Japan and Its Prisoners of War by George Weller and Anthony Weller.

On the morality issue, I have long wanted to read Among The Dead Cities: The History and Moral Legacy of the WWII Bombing of Civilians in Germany and Japan by A. C. Grayling. Will get to that one soon too!

>87 petermc: Among the Dead Cities looks interesting and I'll be adding that to the TBR list. It's also only $6 at Amazon.

#86 sgtbigg

Didn't your copy of Hiroshima have the section where Hersey went back to Japan about 40 years later to find out what had happened to the people he had written about right after the bombing? It added a lot to the impact of the book.

#86: I'm impressed, Mike--will read it.

#89: And get the edition with that epilogue--I know I'v read about it somewhere.

>89 MusicMom41:. The copy I had was the pre-epilogue edition. I need to find another copy now.

26. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era by James McPherson. I read this book 20 years ago when it first came out. I decided to read it again back in January and have finally finished it. It is the best one volume history of the U.S. Civil War. If you have any interest in the subject at all and have never read anything about the war before, this is a fantastic starting point.

#92: I simply don't know how McPherson did it. That book has everything-the politics, the war, everything. It is an absolutely terrific book. I do disagree, however, with his conclusion that the North won the war more or less by chance.

25- I'm going to try to get Hiroshima read this year. I've read Day One and The Making of the Atomic Bomb but have not read Hersey's book.

#92 - Just moved Battle Cry of Freedom up the list! I also have the single volume American Heritage edition of The Civil War (American Heritage Books) by Bruce Catton, and am wondering whether it's worth reading both or just the more comprehensive McPherson treatment. How thinks you?

Edit: Damn touchstones!

#95: I know you didn't ask me specifically but will put in my two cents anyway.

I'm not the biggest fan of Catton. However, he was the first, really, to popularize the Civil War and his writing is lovely. But if I had to choose between the two, I would definitely take McPherson. He's far more balanced and gives a lot more than Catton does. Catton more or less ignores what was going on politically at the time and gives very short shrift to what was happening in the West.

#96 Joycepa - Your 2 cents is greatly appreciated. I have been an avid reader of your thread (in fact I have it starred) as it regards civil war matters, and will bow to your judgement on McPherson. Thank you.

Aagh! Too much responsibility for me!! :-) But when you have time (now there's a laugh), do read Catton because he writes beautifully, lyrically. I adore Shelby Foote, but he depended on Catton for some of his research and he's a very different writer. It's just that Foote was one of the first to recognize the critical importance of Vicksburg and what was going on in Tennessee.

I've never read Catton's The Civil War so I don't have two cents to contribute.

>93 Joycepa:. I don't think McPherson believed the North won by chance, I think he was saying that the South could have won and was in a position to win on several occasions but didn't take advantage. The South just couldn't win enough victories at the critical times.

#99: I think it's going to turn on what your interpretation of the word "contingency" is. On page 858 of my edition, McPherson says" dimension of contingency--the recognition that at numerous critical points during the war things might have gone altogether differently." He then cites 4 crucial ones: fall of 1862 with Antietam; he doesn't list a second; third was summer of 1863 with Gettysburg, Vicksburg and Chattanooga; 4th in summer of 1864 with the appalling losses in the Overland Campaign. The way he writes about it, I have always interpreted that as saying if those battle or circumstances had gone differently (and the 4th was contingent upon the fall of Atlanta in September), then the South would have won--not necessarily militarily, but perhaps politically.

That's very nice, but as I've remarked before, that assumes Luck is going to favor one side, as was needed at many of those battles. If the Union had been lucky in the Wilderness or the race to Spotsylvania Courthouse or other occasions when Lee was lucky, then?

You can argue that the Union didn't take advantage of circumstances, and believe me, when you read Rhea's accounts of the Overland campaign, there were many.

Many years later, I'm still with Shelby Foote--the Union won with one arm tied behind its back. I simply don't believe in McPherson's contingency theory.

Another book re Hiroshima I highly recommend is Black Rain by Ibuse Masuji. It is fiction, but was written by a Japanese author shortly after the event, and involves the effects on the day to day lives of the people in and around Hiroshima.

#101: I heartily concur with abw's recommendation of Black Rain!

#92 sgtbigg

Thanks! You gave me a boost of confidence. I started Battle Cry on April 2nd fully intending finish it by the end of the month. I am loving it and thought I might have been slowed down because this was such a hectic month. I now see why I've only read about 25% of it so far--I'm right on track for a 4 month read! :-) I find that I need to read it about one chapter at a time--and then ponder the chapter before going on. So far it is a 5 star book for me--but the actual War has barely started.

>100 Joycepa: I agree with your interpretation of McPherson’s use of “contingency” but I don’t think it really involves luck. I think it’s similar to what Gallagher said; the Confederacy could not win enough battles at critical times. If they had won, or not lost, at each of the points McPherson mentioned the war would have gone in a different direction.

In my opinion the best chance they had was in the fall of ’62, a victory in the Maryland campaign would probably have brought on British and French recognition. Recognition wouldn’t have necessarily meant victory but it would have sent the war in a new direction. The Maryland campaign is also one of the best examples of luck favoring one side. If McClellan did not have a copy of Lee’s orders he would have moved at his usual slow pace and the armies would probably have met at a time and place of Lee’s choosing, which in all likelihood would have resulted in a Federal defeat.

I hate to disagree with Shelby Foote but in this case, I think I have to. While there was a large source of untapped manpower in the North, most of it was made up of men who did not want to fight and who would not have willingly done so. I believe untying the other arm would have led to untold political problems in the North. I think the North was somewhat like Britain during the American Revolution; they had the ability to crush the rebellion but did not have the will to expend the resources to do so. The North did not have the will to untie the other arm.

Therefore, I agree to disagree with you on this.

27. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling. After six books of build up I was disappointed by this book. I'll leave it at that.

>103 MusicMom41:. You are welcome. Keep with it, it's definately worth it.

Oh sorry, Harry's seventh book was disappointing. Personally, my hat's off to Molly Weasley in this one, although I did think some of the wind-up was a bit precious. Still, as a series, I think it holds up well. Glad to see you continued after the early books.

28. Jacob's Ladder: A Story of Virginia During the War by Donald McCaig. The story of a fictional extended plantation family from the mountains of Virginia. Follows one son who joined the Confederate Army, a neighbor who became a nurse in Richmond, a runaway slave who joined the Federal Army, and assorted other characters. I had a hard time staying interested and had to force myself to pick the book up several times, but it wasn't a bad book. I'm also not much into historical fiction.

>106 Prop2gether:. I'm glad I read the series just so I know what everyone else is talking about.

29. Victory Conditions by Elizabeth Moon. The 5th and final book in the Vatta's War series. The entire series has been uneven and the final book was quite a let down. The two previous books have built up one major villain and this one continued the build up, however his demise was not fitting and was in fact rather ordinary. I didn't hate any of the books but I didn't love them either. I very much prefer Campbell's Lost Fleet series.

>89 MusicMom41:. The library had a newer edition of Hiroshima which had the added chapter. It definitely added to the book and highlighted some of the long term medical effects.

>108 sgtbigg:: I stopped reading the Vatta books after #2...not deliberately, they just weren't foremost in my attention. Based upon your comments and a couple others, I should probably just leave the series unfinished.

30. The Best Friend I Ever Had by David Nuffer. Review here

31. The Blood of Lambs: A Former Terrorist's Memoir of Death and Redemption by Kamal Saleem. Review to follow.

32. The Lost Fleet: Valiant by Jack Campbell. Book four was very similar to books two and three, unfortunately it was too similar. The plots of all of the books are pretty much the same and it's starting to get a little boring. Something big needs to change in book five but I'm not hopeful. Still worth reading.

#112: Tad has said pretty much the same thing about The Lost Fleet books, which is too bad for me, since I have them all but have only read the first two.

#112 & #113

I have the first 4 and have only read the first one so far which I enjoyed. I figure if I read them far enough apart they will make a nice "light" read when I need it and I won't remember enough of the previous ones to be bothered by the repetition. :-)

I have posted a review of The Blood of Lambs for anyone who is interested.

33. Alternate Gettysburgs. A collection of short stories that I assumed from the title would be about alternate Battles of Gettysburg. I was only partly correct, some of the stories were actually about alternate actions during the battle, however a bunch just assumed an alternate outcome and dealt with some future time where the CSA had won the war. A number of stories dealt with the assassination of Lincoln in one way or another.

While the first story by Harold Coyle and the last essay by WBS historian and SF writer William Forshen were good, I don't recommend the rest, they were mostly throw away stories from authors I've never heard of with varying degrees of historical inaccuracy. The were also two additional non-fiction essays one of which read like an elementary school text book. And one of which started out poorly, so I skipped it.

#113 I'll probably still read the next one, since they're such quick reads.

#115: Based on that review, I think I will give the book a pass.

#116: Too bad about the book. I would have made the same assumption that you did about the content of the book based on its title. I think I will give that one a pass as well.

#117. It seems I've had a run of average to poor books. I'm going to have to choose more wisely in the future.

Thought or you yesterday while at a local antique store. Great civil war stuff in one of hte booths. Best item (I won't describe this well but....): A printing press medallion of the great seal of the Confederacy! It was quite cool. Also lots of other memorabilia. While I am not a big reader in this area, I like old stuff!

#119 - Sounds cool, I like old stuff as well. Sometimes I think about collecting but I have no where to put anything and I already spend most of my extra cash on books.

Well, then, your priorities are straight.

34. Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis. Breaking my streak of mediocre books. I had put off reading this due to my issues with the author. I finally decided to read it anyway, I don't seem to be as strident about some things as I used to. I found this to be an interesting book about a period I am embarassingly less informed about then I should be. Recommended to anyone interested in early US history.

#121. My wife doesn't seem to agree. "Don't you have enough books?" Although I'm beginning to bring her around.

Never enough books!!!!!! Keep at her.

I have that one but haven't read it yet. Thanks for the recommendation.

#122 - Ah! The "scandal". Mostly a personal issue I think. I don't think it would be the sort of thing to affect his work, but we tend to hold historians to a high level of personal integrity - especially in terms of honesty!

#124 - Obviously what Ellis did doesn't compare to the issues with Ambrose, Goodwin, and Bellesiles. However it still bothers me but it does not seem to affect his work in any way so I guess I'm willing to overlook it.

35. Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History textbook Got Wrong by James Loewen. Loewen maintains that high school students hate history because of the way it's taught, and more specifically because of the text books. He reviewed the 12 most used books and found them wanting. He quotes extensively from the text books and points out important information that has been minimized or completely left out. One of the issues he found was the practice of presenting American history as an unending series of triumphs resulting in the preordained arrival of American hegemony at the end of the 20th Century.

I generally agreed with Loewen's concerns, although I didn't always agree with his specifics. I found a number of flaws in his section on the Civil War and his discussion of the labor movement was a bit to socialistic for me.

There was a very interesting paragraph in the chapter discussing what text books teach about the federal government. It talked about not questioning the increasing power of the executive branch and concluding that criticism is incompatible with citizenship. Although this was written in the early 90's I thought perhaps Loewen had a crystal ball and could see ahead about ten years.

A good but not great book.

>126 sgtbigg:: This looks interesting. As someone who is just getting started in the teaching profession, I too have been shocked at some of the history textbooks that I have encountered so far. The one that I just used, to teach a required 20th-century Canadian history class, had only 3/4 of a page on the Holocaust - a subject that I took an entire university class on. Needless to say, I supplemented that paltry amount with a lot of my own information.

36. The Coming Anarchy: Shattering the Dreams of the Post Cold War by Robert D. Kaplan. This is a series of essays that were published seperately between 1993 and 1999. The first one "The Coming Anarchy" is worth the price of admission by itself. Kaplan describes the problems in West Africa and relates how the collapse of institutions there will probably spread. He doesn't paint a bright picture of the future, after I finished reading I told my wife, "If he's right, we're screwed."

One of the themes the run through several of the essays is that democracy is not for everybody. There are certain elements that need to be in place prior to an attempt to establish democracy, and without them it won't work.

The other essays are also well done but not quite as good as the first. Recommended.

37. The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing by Mayra Calvani. I started writing occasional reviews late last year and I'd like to think they have gotten slightly better over time. To help with that I read this book eventhough I don't generally read about writing. I think the only way to improve writing is to write. I figured since book reviewing is somewhat specialized it wouldn't hurt to read a little about it.

This book was not really what I expected. I expected it to mostly be tips about reviewing, and there was some of that, but not as much as I expected. There was alot included about the relationships between reviewers and authors/ publishers/ readers, etc; the different types of reveiws; and other non-writing information.

Most of what was written about the actual process of writing reviews was mostly common sense and I didn't find anything enlightening. I guess I'll just have to practice, practice, practice.

This is book number 37 which puts me at the halfway point for my goal.

Congratulations on making it to the halfway point, Mike!

38. Death Piled Hard: A Tale of the Confederate Secret Services by W. Patrick Lang. This was the sequel to The Butcher's Cleaver, and followed two men, one a member of the Confederate Secret Service and one a member of the the French Army, during the Overland Campaign in Virginia. I have not read the first book in the series and I won't be reading the third. For a more detailed account you can read my review here.

#132: Too bad about that one, Mike. It sounds like the book could have been done so much better than it actually was.

I hope your next read is better for you!

39. The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin. I normally don't read mysteries, but I picked this one up after reading Tad's review. I quite enjoyed it, perhaps because it was less a mystery then a 19th Century James Bond novel. Just what I needed, another series to read.

I just put The Winter Queen on my TBR list from Tad's review. Sounds like I made a good choice. :-)

Thanks, sgtbigg, I will be looking for Boris Akunin books.

I've also added Boris Akunin to my must read lists.

Thanks to Tad and the Sarge. On the list to look out for now!

Ah! The Winter Queen! Erast Fandorin has been my lunch time companion for about a week now - Forty minutes of pure escapism! Great little book. I've since picked up the next three in the series!

135-138, glad I could help.

40. The Lost Throne by Chris Kuzneski. I liked the idea of The Da Vinci Code, unfortunately it was poorly executed, so i've been trying to find another author who writes the same type of book except better. For about 2/3 of The Lost Throne I thought I had done so, alas I was wrong. I'll be posting a full review soon.

#141: Go back to Akunin - he sounds much better than your last read, lol.

I have posted my review of The Lost Throne, if anyone is interested it's here .

#142. I'll be reading Murder on the Leviathan shortly. I received The Lost Throne as an ARC and felt compelled to read it. I haven't had much luck with ARCs and am considering no longer requesting them.

#143: Boy, you are just having bad luck with the ARCs, Mike. I sincerely hope you like the Akunin book more than you did The Lost Throne.

41. Taliban: Militant islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia by Ahmed Rashid. I saw this in the library and having heard good things about Rashid decided to give it a try and it was well worth it. Everything you wanted to know about the Taliban pre-2001. While the book concentrates on the Taliban, hence the title, it does a good job of putting them and Afghanistan is perspective regarding Central Asia and the Islamic world. Since this book was written in 2000 it misses some important events. I'll be looking for Rashid's later books to fill in some of the gaps.

That sounds like a "must read" to me! Thanks for another really good suggestion for reading. You do read things that help keep us informed in this world.

42. The Rough Guide to Evolution by Mark Pallen.

This book is definitely not for anyone who majored in biology in college. Mr. Pallen, a Professor of Microbial Genomics at the University of Birmingham, offers evolution for the non-specialist and manages to explain everything in a manner that is easy to understand. If you have a hazy grasp on Mr. Darwin’s theory give this a read.

My full review is here for anyone interested.

#146 - Thanks, considering the state of the world I sometimes think I shouldn't read about anything the occurred after 1900.

43. Murder on the Leviathan by Boris Akunin.

I didn't like this one as much as The Winter Queen, it was still good but it was a little more like a traditional mystery. It seems that each book will be completely different in style from the ones before it so I'm not really concerned and I hope the next book will be better.

44. The Ascent of George Washington: The Hidden Political Genius of an American Icon by John Ferling. Washington was human after all, and not a particularly nice guy. Recommended. Review to come.

45. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism by Benedict Anderson. As the subtitle inplies, discusses the creation of nationalism. A short book but not a quick one. I had to reread paragraphs at times to get their meaning. It went on my tbr list after reading The Coming Anarchy, which cites it several times. I moved it up after reading a review here on LT, by gregtmills. I was bothered by one thing however, there were several occasions where Anderson gave a quote in French or German and did not provide a translation. I haven't read French in 25 years and I was never much good at it, and I don't know more then a dozen words of German. It seems a translation should be provided.

46. Defence of Duffer's Drift by E.D. Swinton. A British soldier in the Boer War, Lieutenant Backsight Forethought has a number of dreams that involve defending Duffer's Drift. The dreams serve as a way of imparting lessons about small unit tactics. If you have any interest in military tactics/history or the Boer War this would make a quick and enjoyable read. There is also a modern day version titled Defense of Hill 781: An Allegory of Modern Mechanized Combat by James McDonough which I read years ago.

For those of you holding your breath for my review of The Ascent of George Washington, my computer crashed over the weekend so the review is on hold until I can get it back up and running.

edited because I remembered who posted the review.

47. The Death of Achilles by Boris Akunin. The fourth Erast Fandorin mystery, I enjoyed this one much more then the previous entry, Murder on the Leviathan, probably because it was more like The Winter Queen. About half way through the book, Akunin changes the POV character and at first I was bothered by this but by the end I was glad for it. I will definitely be continuing to follow the adventures of Fandorin.

My highly awaited review of The Ascent of George Washington is now available. You can find it at the LT book page or here.

Edited because I still have a hard time with links.

Nice review

Thanks, for some reason I had a hard time with it.

Great review. Even though I've already bought two books to read about George Washington, I'm adding this one to my wish list. It sounds like it might be the best one yet! I gave it a "thumbs up."

edited for spelling.

That's a thumbs up from me as well. As for "does anyone still believe he chopped down a cherry tree?", well I refuse to answer that on the grounds that I might incriminate myself! Such is my knowledge... This book goes on the TBR pile

#155 & 156. Thanks for the kind words.

You are welcome, sgt"hotreviewer" ;-)

48. Blood Diamonds: Tracing The Deadly Path Of The World's Most Precious Stones by Greg Campbell. During the 1980s I knew several people from Sieraa Leone, they would talk about how beautiful it was and how what a great place it was to live, this all changed in the 1990s. In Blood Diamonds, Campbell documents the horrific Sierra Leone civil war, he also discusses the history of diamond mining and the De Beers Company. Campbell explains the causes for the war, mostly who was going to benefit from the country's huge diamond deposits, and how it was influenced by outside forces, notably Charles Taylor, president of neighboring Liberia. There seem to be no good guys in this story. This was worth reading for the history of the diamond industry alone, it also serves as a good companion piece to A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier which I read earlier this year. This book was used as the basis for the movie Blood Diamonds although there are few similarities.

A interesting side note, Charles Taylor is currently on trial for war crimes at The Hague. You can watch the trial here: http://www.charlestaylortrial.org/.

#159: Thanks for the recommendation, Mike. Blood Diamonds looks very good. Have you read Matthew Hart's Diamond? I have had it on Planet TBR for a while now, but have not gotten a chance to read it.

#159 - Thanks for the review. Also read A Long Way Gone earlier in the year; and although I do have a copy, have yet to read Blood Diamonds.

49. American Lion by Jon Meacham. Prior to reading this I knew almost nothing about Jackson, I'm sure I read a biography of Andrew Jackson at some point, but it was probably when I was in Jr High. Meacham concentrates on Jackson's time in the White House while giving some coverage to the time before and after. He seems to do a good job covering everything and in a readable fashion.

One notable point I found was Jackson's efforts to increase the power of the Presidency at the expense of the legislative branch. While the details have changed this seems to be an ongoing effort that continues today. The more I read about America's early days, the more I find they were very similar to today.

A full review will be forthcoming.

50. Road to the Rim by A. Bertram Chandler. The first book in the John Grimes series. It was recommended by someone on LT when I first joined and I have no idea who it was. I was looking for something short and simple between other reads and this fit the bill. I thought it was average SF, I have a second book which I've started and it doesn't seem to be getting much better. I doubt I'll read anymore after this, unless there is some great outcry from fans insisting that the books get better.

#160 - I haven't read Diamond but Campbell quoted from it and it sounds interesting, so I'll probably try it at some point.

#161 - I definately prefered Blood Diamonds to A Long Way Gone.

#162 - Still reading American Lion - only up to page 197 - but I'm really enjoying it! I also get the feeling reading it that little has changed in the intervening years, and Meacham makes a good case that many features of the modern presidency flowered during Jackson's tenure.

> 159 I'm adding Blood Diamonds to the wishlist. I remember one of my college professors talking about the diamond trade and saying he would never buy another diamond again in his life. I have wanted to learn more; thank you for the review.

51. The Hard Way Up by A. Bertram Chandler. The second book in the John Grimes series, it was a number of semi-connected short stories. Not particularly good or bad, I won't be looking for any additional books in this series.

#164. My wife asked if I was going to use this as an excuse not to buy any future diamond jewelry.

My review of American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House is available on the LT book page or here.

Nice review, Mike!

Good review. I have this one for the President's challenge--when I get that far! Glad to know it is going to be good--but I agree with you about the problem with the notes! That will drive me nuts and slow me down. And I'll need two book marks--one for the reading and one for the notes. However, it was probably a publisher's decision because the intended audience seems to be general readers interested in history rather than "historians."

#166 - I agree with your comments regarding endnotes. Unfortunately the system used by Meacham seems to be becoming all too common, and I wonder whether this is actually being dictated by the publishing companies (as noted by MusicMom41 above). They may see numbers in the text pointing to the endnotes as being a) alienating to the general reader due to their academic appearance, and/or b) disrupting to the reader as they may feel they have to refer to that note at each instance.

Of the several books I have on the go, one is a model of endnote usage. The author plainly states that the book can be read independently of the endnotes, which are primarily provided for scholars. The notes are numbered, and make fascinating independent and in depth reading on each point, and while I'm not a scholar in the subject, I am excited whenever I come across one of those small raised numbers in the text!

Edit: Just noticed similar points raised my MusicMom41

#167 - Thanks

#168 - Thanks and I agree, I think this was definitely written for a general audience.

#169 - I just read a review for another new book that apparently uses the same notation (or lack of notation) style. While I prefer footnotes, I can live with endnotes, but I really like those little numbers.

The author of the review I mentioned in #170 responded to my comment about the footnotes with the following: "The author told me his publisher forced this style of "footnotes". My understanding is it is cheaper and the publishers don't care if it upsets us." I guess we'll be seeing more of it.

52. 101 Things to Do 'Til the Revolution by Claire Wolfe. I've been reading a lot about the collapse of the state recently and this seemed to fit in with the theme. Some of the 101 things are just common sense, like keeping a three-day supply of food. Some of the others were a little bit far out, such as declaring yourself a sovereign state. There was nothing earth shattering here and I could have skipped it without missing much I haven’t read elsewhere. If you’re interested in learning about self-reliance and don’t know where to start this wouldn’t be a bad place, there are lots of resources listed.

53. Wolf of the Deep: Raphael Semmes and the Notorious Confederate Raider CSS Alabama by Stephen Fox. I've known the basic story of the Alabama for years without knowing any of the details. Wolf of the Deep has corrected that oversight. It also answered (in my mind anyway) the big question of why Semmes decided to fight the Kearsarge. Definately worth reading and it pushed me to start reading the Diary of Gideon Welles. Thanks to Petermc for the recommendation.

#173 - Glad you enjoyed Wolf of the Deep. As for Gideon Welles, I downloaded the 1911 version of his 3-volume diary from Google Books a few weeks back, but don't know when, or if, I'll read them. I generally hate reading books on the computer. I also downloaded James Parton's 1859-1860 3-volume Life of Andrew Jackson, for further reference to Meacham's American Lion.

P.S. I should note that Parton also published a shorter biography of Jackson in 1892 entitled General Jackson, which can also be downloaded. All these Parton books have also been recently republished in their original form.

I started reading the online edition of Welles' diary a few days ago, but like you I don't really like reading books on the computer. I doubt I'll finish it, but it's a start until I get a real copy.

I am reading The Winter Queen and really happy with it. Thank you for the recommendation, sgtbigg.

#176. Glad you like it.

#175: I will admit frankly that there is no way I could read the Welles' diaries on the computer. I hate reading books that way and will avoid it like the plague if I can. I am very lucky in being able to get my hands on hard copies. I hope you can find the books!

54. Gladiatrix by Russell Whitfield is the story of a Spartan priestess who became a slave and ended up in the arena as a gladiatrix (female gladiator). She is not a particularly likeable character and there are few surprises other then the rather crappy ending which was surprising for its crappiness only. The dialogue and characters seemed like modern people transported back to the Roman Empire. As you might expect there is a generous amount of sex and violence. It makes a decent beach read but I wouldn't search it out.

I received this book from the LT Early Reader Program last year and somehow it got lost in the holiday shuffle. I just found it again and read it. I’ll do a somewhat longer review soon.

Gladiatrix sounds like a "don't bother" to me. Thank you. I have way too many books on my TBR right now! :-)

One of the often unmentioned advantages of LT is that even though it sometimes seems to expand the TBR pile to frightening levels, it also helps weed out the "bummers" so that less time is wasted on "2 or fewer star" books! I like that editing because now almost every thing I read is worth the time.

#180: I have found the same to be true as well since joining LT. I read far fewer 'bad' books than I did 3 years ago.

Does anyone else have a hard time imagining a pre-LT Stasia?? :D
I can barely remember what it was like for me before LT, lol!

55. The Ascent of Man: Downhill All the Way by Richard Guy. No touchstone and not listed in the LT catalog. To see why read my review.

Short version - "science", receding seas, expanding earth, Noah, etc. Has to be read to be believed, although you won't believe and please don't read.

#183 re The Ascent of Man

Glad I read the review and didn't waste time with the book!

"This is a work of non fiction, Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.” Then I got it.

Is there a typo in that sentence--or did he really say it was non fiction and then admit it was fiction? It that sentence is what he said--I get it, too!

You get the public service award this week! :-)

It's an exact quote, typos and all.

LOL!

I'm with Carolyn - not wasting time on that one, Mike.

Completely weird. Thanks for the public service work!

56. Inferno by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. I used to read a lot of Jerry Pournelle, so I don't know how I missed this one. Someone on LT recently read this and it sounded interesting, so I gave it a try. It was worth the effort, it was very similar to Dante's original without all the obscure 13th Century Italians. I'll probably give the sequel a try soon.

Thanks to Prop2gether for the recomendation.
Touchstones aren't working correctly.

Inferno by Larry Niven--let's see if it works this time. I want to "check it out."

ETA Added to wish list! I love Dante and want to see what Niven can do with an update.

#189 and #190--for the record, it's the team of Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle who did Inferno, the same duo who brought us the fun Lucifer's Hammer and The Mote in God's Eye and a couple of others. I generally really like their joint works, although this Inferno was one I had missed. It's recently been reissued, so it's on a lot of shelves again.

#191 - I got the new edition from the library and when I entered it into my LT library it came back as a duplicate. A little looking and I found the original pb on a bookshelf behind some other books. If I told my wife she would say that proves I have too many books. As if!

Just be glad you got it from the library and didn't buy it! I've been known to do that. :-(

#191, 192 I've done that, too -- both from the library, and from the bookstore! :)

57. The Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold. Recommended by Roni ncats a while back.

I enjoyed this, although I wasn't sure at first. I generally don't like books about teenagers and this seemed to be going that route but it pretty quickly settled down into a good SF story, if a little far fetched. I'll be reading more of this series. Great, more books tbr.

I just bought my first Lois McMaster Bujold book, Cordelia's Honor on Roni's recommendation. If I like it I will try this series. Don't want the TBR pile to get too small! :-)

#196. It will never happen as long as you're on LT.

58. The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution by Kevin Gutzman. I really enjoyed the first two-thirds or so of this. Dr Gutzman gave an outstanding background on the Constitution, the ratification process, and the debates surrounding the ratification. He also did a good job discussing the Reconstruction Amendments. However the closer he got to the present, the more his conservative bias began to show. It's hard to put my finger on what bothered me. He didn't necessarily say anything that was wrong, but his tone changed. I'll still recommend it for the first two thirds.

I did have one disagreement with Dr. Gutzman, he maintains that broadcast media and the internet are not the "press" since they didn't exist when the Amendment was written and are therefore not covered by the 1st Amendment. I don't buy that argument any more then the argument that only flintlock musckets are covered by the 2nd Amendment.

59. Half Moon: Henry Hudson and the Voyage that Redrew the map of the New World by Douglas Hunter. Mr. Hunter documents Henry Hudson's second to last voyage. I use the term document loosely as there are very few written sources from that era and there are even fewer footnotes in the book. I had a very difficult time finishing this book and I probably wouldn't have if I had not received it as an ARC. I will be posting a full review shortly.

#199

I'll wait for the full review to make my final decision--I was considering reading Half Moon because I don't know much about Henry Hudson, but I may have to look further for a good biography of him. That would also cover more than just one expedition.

My review of Half Moon is now available on the LT book page or here.

I found your review very helpful--so I gave it a thumbs up. I appreciate your giving me enough information so I now don't have to read the book. :-) I love sea stories--but talking about the salinity of the water? I'll pass on that one.

60. Dangerous Games: The Uses and Abuses of History by Margaret MacMillan. The main thrust of the book is people need to know and understand history so when others (particularly politicians) use and abuse it for their own purposes, you can call them on it. If you have read and studied history, nothing here will surprise you.

I found the discussion a little superficial, which isn’t surprising considering the book was only about 170 pages. In spite of that, I enjoyed it, in large part because I agree with her argument. Recommended for non-history buffs because it explains some of what you are missing. Recommended for history buffs because of quotes like this, “The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.”

#202. Glad I could be helpful.

New thread.