wildbill's 2009 book challenge

No. 1 Brave New World 311 pages.
This book is on many lists as a 20th century classic. The author portrays a chilling vision of the future where sex and drugs are promoted to achieve a programmed empty happiness for one and all. Huxley's vision of the future is chilling because it provides for happiness and stability two qualities highly sought after in the world today. The question raised by the book is whether or not achieving those goals is worth the price.
An important component of this future is the Bokanovsky process which creates series of Gamma, Delta and Epsilon twins, as many as eighty-six, from one egg whose fetal development is chemically retarded to equip them for the mundane tasks of industrial society. There are also Alphas and Betas who were developed as individuals for the more complicated jobs in society. All are subject to programming to make them enjoy their lot in life and eliminate ambition or envy.
The author uses two devices to contrast the goals and mechanisms of the Brave New World from the world we know. The first is the Savage, John. He comes from an Indian reservation but his father and mother came from the civilized world. He is brought from the reservation by Bernard Marx an Alpha who doesn't fit in and sees John as his entree into the circles of the influential. John provides the title of the book, a line from Shakespeare he read as a youth. John reacts strongly to the immorality he sees in this new civilization and rejects the quest for happiness without guilt.
There is also a meeting with John and Bernard Marx and Mustapha Mond, his Fordship. Mond carefully explains that all else in society is sacrificed for stability, security and contentment. He defends the system as meeting the needs of the human animal and providing what they really need in life.
After this meeting John leaves the world of civilization to seek his own path. A path that ends in tragedy.
By design there is a lack of real emotional relationships in the book. Those types of relationships are not part of the Brave New World.
The book is artfully written and brings to mind the saying, "Be careful about what you wish for, you may get it." It shows that the tragedy and pain of life are a necessary part of humanity. I enjoyed the book and the juxtaposition of ideals and how they can be achieved.
I am now reading 1984 to get an alternative view of a possible future. Destructive to the individual in a different way and just as undesirable.
Last year I made 56 so 50 seems doable. I also like creating a book journal for the year. Wotthehell, wothtehell, toujours gai, toujours gai.

I finally found you for 2009!

It has been a lot of years since I read Brave New World and perhaps, with age and some amount of acquired wisdom, it deserves a re-read.

Your "blurbs", Bill, are turning into full-blown reviews, in addition to your full-blown reviews. You have tremendous insight.

Charlie

Charlie, I did feel that I got carried away and I accept your gracious compliments.
No. 2 The Tin Roof Blowdown 528 pages ( 839 total pages)
This is James Lee Burke's eulogy for the city of New Orleans destroyed by hurricane Katrina aided by the sloth,greed and corruption of many people from George W. Bush on down. The human tragedy of Katrina is a significant part of the story.
What I really enjoyed in this serving of the Dave Robicheaux saga were the characters. The characters in this book go against the grain of stereotype. The most tormented character in the book is a young black man who has participated in two violent gang rapes. The star of the book is the villain. He speaks in a soft voice and is courteous to a fault and is a sexual psychopath who early in the book picks Alafair for a victim. The final confrontation between them is worth the price of the book.
I have read five books by James Lee Burke in six months and this is one of the best of his I have read so far.

I agree that this is one of Burke's finest books and, to his credit, he did not badmouth the Bush administration (a redundancy). It was only through Burke that I knew how active the Navy and Coast Guard were rescuing people, and about the sniper on the hospital helipad.

The sad part is that much of New Orleans, one of the most unique cities in America, will never be rebuilt.

No. 3 The Explainers: The Complete Village Voice Strips (1956-1966) 564 pages (1403 total pages).
I started reading Jules Feiffer when I was about ten years old. I have some of Feiffer's old paperbacks and was happy to see this book published. Given the age of these strips it was quite a time trip. Feiffer writes excellent satirical humor on politics, relationships and the angst of being alive in America. I think of him as a junior Mark Twain.
A couple of examples would be better than what I have to say.
LBJ complaining about political dissenters: " This current criticism has but one aim. To make me feel bad."
A young man who has grown from reading comic books to the literary quarterly. The pop culture movement starts and he is back reading comic books. " In a society without standards who needs to grow up?"
For anyone who enjoys this type of humor this book will provide hours of thoughtful fun.

No. 4 The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch 200 pages (1603 total pages)
This book is another journey to a different reality courtesy of Philip K. Dick. It reminds me somewhat of Ubik because of the different levels of reality that the story travels on. It is about a competition between two tycoons who sell hallucinogenic drugs. It is about a being who inhabits the body of someone on an interstellar space journey and when it comes back to the nine planets seeks to invade the bodies of others. And it is about God and/or the Devil. At least I think so.
Some of it takes place in reality and some takes place in drug induced hallucinations. The author is reputed to have dropped a lot of acid and seems comfortable in the world of drug induced hallucinations.
The book did keep me turning the pages to see how it would turn out. Then when I was finished I was not certain how it turned out. It is well written and with all the weirdness going on is internally coherent. I read a review of the book which while accurate does not convey the experience I had while reading the book. You will just have to judge that for yourself.
This is the fourth Philip K. Dick novel I have read and I am putting Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep on my tbr list. He is very thought provoking but definitely more work than some nice narrative history.
It is good to see my list growing because I have a couple thick history books on the horizon. Looks like no TV tonight.
wotthehell wotthehell toujours gai, toujours gai

#4 It was only through Burke that I knew how active the Navy and Coast Guard were rescuing people A friend of ours, a retired Coast Guardsman turned librarian (why he doesn't frequent this site I cannot imagine) has made the same point about how little official recognition those two branches of the service got for their amazing work after Katrina.
I quote him here, to review a book he read and I didn't.

LW3: I didn't read or watch all the news coverage of Katrina, but I don't remember hearing about the CG or the Navy at all. It would seem that the media were more interested in Bush- and Brownie-bashing rather than covering true heroics.

My husband and Galen (the guy quoted in my review) were part of a Coast Guard helicopter unit doing search and rescue missions in the Gulf of Mexico in the mid-1970's. When a bad storm was brewing, they'd be gone for days, because they flew all the birds inland out of harm's way, so they'd be ready to come back in when they were needed. We all knew what would happen if a hurricane made landfall near the mouth of the river. Katrina was the realization of our biggest nightmare from that period of our lives.

No. 5 What Hath God Wrought 928 pages (2,531 total pages)
This is an interesting book with a great deal of information. Before I read this book my knowledge of the period from the end of the War of 1812 to the end of the U.S.-Mexico War was limited to Andrew Jackson and his presidency. Mr. Howe added a great deal to my knowledge of the events and the changes in America during this time.
He emphasized the developments in transportation and communication. From the building of the Erie Canal to a railroad network that exceeded the miles of track in Europe America in this period built the infrastructure that led to the Industrial Revolution in the last half of the century.
The use of steamboats meant that no longer did westerners sail down the Mississippi, break up their boats and sell the lumber and walk back home.
The penny newspaper carried information to a country where for the first time the rate of literacy in women equaled that rate in men. The development of the telegraph led to speed of light communication from one end of the country to the other making the information in newspapers more timely.
Jackson's political revolution masterminded by Martin van Buren gave rise to the spoils system and the growth of national parties. Jackson also led the beginning of manifest destiny with the wholesale ethnic cleansing of native Americans living in the American southwest and southeast. Howe does not pull any punches in describing the practices that destroyed the inheritance of the five civilized tribes in the name of white superiority. Jackson's disdain of the rule of law in getting done what he wanted to leaves little doubt as to who was civilized.
Religion was another topic covered in detail in the book. The Methodist church grew in this period from a small sect to 2.7 million members by 1850. The Baptist and Roman Catholic churches also grew in this era the former based on the efforts of traveling preachers and the latter gathering members by immigration. When the American Methodist Episcopal church was founded in 1816 it was the only institution in the country under black control. Temperance and abolitionism were causes supported by the growth of religion. Howe also describes the founding of Mormonism and its move to Utah after the assassination of Joseph Smith.
This era saw the rise of abolitionism and the growth in the South of pro-slavery ideology. The life and career of Sojourner Truth provide a good example of how abolitionism began and grew.
The book ends with the U.S.-Mexico war and the presidency of James Polk. Howe gives a thorough description of the events of the war and the political controversy that surrounded it. Abraham Lincoln's speech in opposition to the war details the Whig opposition to the war. The annexation of Mexican territory fueled the debate over the expansion of slavery foreshadowing the controversy that led to the Civil War.
There is a 20 page bibliographical essay at the end of the book. The author describes numerous sources for each of the topics covered in the book. This is an excellent resource for further study.
I enjoyed the book very much. This review is only a brief outline of the wealth of information provided in a well written and accessible fashion. I have read some criticism of the author for distorting the narrative of events in the name of political correctness. What I found was an even handed, accurate and honest portrayal of events. America is a great country but the government and people of the country have done some reprehensible acts in the course of their history. Any honest history of the country has to include those actions.

Hi wildbill,

Thanks for such an interesting look at What Hath God Wrought. I have it and have so far only read the introduction. I seem to keep putting it aside for other, shorter books I may just have to read a bit every night the way I've just started to do with War and Peace. Your review reminds me that I do really want to read it.

No. 6 In The Electric Mist with Confederate Dead 384 pages (2,915 total pages).
This is number 6 in the Dave Robicheaux series and is a very good mystery thriller. The Confederacy and the supernatural are more prominent in this book than in any others I have read by James Lee Burke. General John Bell Hood, or his ghost, makes multiple appearances in the story. One point of historical accuracy. Hood started the Civil War as the leader of the Texas brigade which was infantry not cavalry as stated in the book. That aside.
The book begins with the brutal murder of a beautiful young prostitute who it is revealed later had connections with one of the primary villains Julie (Baby Feet) Balboni. In Robicheaux's youth Feet was the catcher on the high school baseball team where Robicheaux was a pitcher. The interaction between Balboni and Robicheaux is one of the main story lines of the book. Balboni has moved back to New Iberia where a movie he is backing is being made. Balboni is a prime suspect for the murder along with Michael Ducet who provides security for the movie. Ducet is also a suspect for a murder Robicheaux witnessed when he was 19.
The sheriff calls for the FBI who shows up in the person of a Rosie Gomez who becomes Robicheaux's strong ally. Then another murder occurs matching the pattern of the first and now the search is on for a serial killer.
Burke keeps the action moving and Robicheaux's inner dialogue is what separates this series from a straight forward who done it. The last 75 pages turn very quickly as the stakes are raised with the kidnapping of Alafair, Robicheax's adopted daughter.
I enjoyed the book but it does not show the depth of The Tin Roof Blowdown, the most recent book in the series. It just shows that Burke is a good author who is always improving his craft.

An excellent review, Bill. I find Burke's books difficult to review because they are written on several levels.

I've heard somewhere along the way that this book has been made into a movie and is supposedly in post-production. I don't know if it's true or not because it was apparently filmed quite a long time ago.

I'm not exactly your Entertainment Weekly type of guy.

According to IMDB (Internet Movie Database), In the Electric Mist has a release date AT LAST....and it's soon. February 20th, to be exact. I'm so glad you read it now, Bill, and put the movie back on my radar. I've been checking every so often, but hadn't thought about it lately. Tommy Lee Jones will play Dave Robicheaux, and Levon Helm will appear as Hood. Buddy Guy will have a role, and judging by the rest of the cast names, there will be a few authentic Cajuns in it too. Should be good. Here's the link to the IMDB page

I saw one of the trailers for the movie on Burke's website. Buddy Guy is my main man best blues player alive. I have seen him live 4-5 times in Atlanta and own about 80% of his catalog. I have been listening to him for close to 40 years. He is over 70 now and I would love to see him as Hogman and listen to him sing. I would also like to see the rest of the movie.

No. 7 Thermopylae The Battle for the West 256 pages (3,171 total pages)
This book is a good complement to The Greco-Persian Wars by Peter Green (touchstone problems and Gates of Fire which I read last year.
The book does not focus on Thermopylae as much as the title would suggest. It tells the full story of Xerxes invasion of Greece and does so very well.
One point well made about the battle of Thermopylae is the effect it had in uniting the Greeks as a group against the Persians. It should be noted that the Persians included all of the nations of the east from Asia Minor down to Egypt and across the fertile crescent to the eastern edge of present day Afghanistan and the Indus river. That is a big part of the world and it was all united under Xerxes against Greece. Greece on the other hand was not united at all and many of the kingdoms and city-states joined Xerxes seeing him as the eventual victor.
Athens and Sparta were the prime powers who opposed Persia and they did not function well as allies.
The war had three phases. The northern phase consisted of the Battle of Thermopylae and the naval battle of Artemisium. In the naval battle the Persians were also victims of the weather and Greece's rocky coast. The Persian navy greatly outnumbered the Greeks but lost a good one-third of their ships to the weather. In the main naval battle the Greeks held their own, much to the surprise of the Persians.
Contrary to popular belief there was a total of 7,000 Greek hoplites at Thermopylae of whom only 300 were Spartans. The first two days of fighting at the pass were brutal warfare. The Persian weapons were no match for the Greeks and large numbers of Persians died with the Persian Immortals attacking the Greeks at the end of the first day.
The second day the Persians drove forward their troops with the whips of overseers to be slaughtered by the Greeks. That night a Greek soldier offered to lead Persian troops around the pass to attack the Greeks from the back. The Greeks found this out and those who went forward to fight the third day knew they would die. Thespians and Thebans joined the Spartans for the third day and after they were encircled they were all killed.
The Persians then take the rest of northern Greece and sack the city of Athens. The action then shifts to the naval battle in the Gulf of Salamis. Themistocles by the use of clever strategy gets the Persian fleet to enter the Gulf where their numbers and size are no advantage. The skill and tactics of the Greek ships and their men defeat the Persian fleet. At this point Xerxes goes back to his capital at Susa leaving his brother-in-law Mardonius with a large army to defeat the remainder of the Greeks.
At the battle of Platea the Greek armor and training overcomes the Persian cavalry and the Persians are defeated.
The book also mentions a Carthiginian attempt to defeat the Greek cities of Sicily, a populous and wealthy island, as part of Xerxes attempt to defeat the west. This also was thwarted.
The book is made interesting by the author's references to incidents from his service in World War II. It is a well written book that gets a lot of information in its short length.
If Xerxes had conquered Greece there would have been no Classical Greece that laid the foundation of Western civilization. Historical events do make a difference to what the present world is like. The events in this book provide a real appreciation of that fact.

>14 laytonwoman3rd: Now IMDB says the movie is to be released directly to DVD on March 3, with no theatrical release. And it's been cut from the international version that was seen at the Berlin International Film Festival. Bother.

No. 8 Fusiliers: The Saga of a British Redcoat Regiment in the British Revolution 400 pages (3,571 total pages.
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would and I learned a great deal. The 400 pages contains 320 pages of text that is full of information. The book is a chronological narrative of the career of the 23rd Royal Welch Fusiliers during the American Revolution. Their story begins with a regimental party commemorating the anniversary of Wales patron saint on March 1, 1775. Many in attendance are "Old Mindonians", veterans of the battle of Minden fought in Germany in the Seven Year's war.
The regiment's action in the Revolution begins with a detailed description of their participation in the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Each action in which the 23rd was involved is discussed through the Battle of Yorktown which ended the war. The 23rd was involved in all of the major campaigns of the war, except for Saratoga. I have some knowledge of the history of the revolution but the author's account helped to give me an understanding of the course of events that took place.
There was a good discussion of the light infantry tactics developed by William Howe and used by Earl Cornwallis that made the British more effective fighters. They learned how to fight more like the Americans in spread out formations using the natural cover. The author's description of the Southern Campaign under Cornwallis gives high praise to the men of the 23rd. Cornwallis decided to take his troops inland and the men endured great hardship from lack of supplies and the elements including disease.
The Battle of Guilford Courthouse was perhaps the greatest hour for the 23rd as described by the author. The troops had chased General Greene's army from South Carolina to the Dan River on the Virginia border in a three week march. Greene picked out the battlefield in North Carolina and faced 1,900 redcoats with approximately 4,400 men, the majority being militia. The British fought hard for about two hours going through the three lines of American troops driving them from the battlefield. The British had casualties of 532 officers and men, a sizable percentage of their force. The American casualties were less. While Cornwallis won the battle Greene showed that at this pace he would win the war. While the battles in this war did not involve large numbers the fighting was sharp and any casualty was just as wounded or dead as if it were a bigger battle.
One item that I found appalling was the British system of buying commissions. It was practiced throughout the army. If you were able but poor you had to borrow to the hilt to get the position you deserved. If you were rich and had connections you could have your choice with the welfare of the men be damned.
I had grown up watching the "Swamp Fox" and learned here that in real life there was blood thirsty guerrilla warfare between the Whigs or Patriots and the Tories. This aspect of the war favored the Americans and accounted for the lack of support for the British in the countryside. *Further readings in another reliable source state Frances "Swamp Fox" Marion was humane and lenient in his dealings with the Tories.
The Battle of Yorktown is well covered including the surrender ceremony. Once surrounded the British were done for and since Clinton disliked Cornwallis he took few efforts to rescue him. The book ends with the 23rd's return to England. The total returning to England was further reduced by many who resigned from the regiment and settled in Canada. At that point there are few left from the party of March 1, 1775.
I did use Encyclopedia of the American Revolution as a reference while reading the book. It is a must have reference for studying this period of history.

# 9 Constitutional Journal audiobook
There have been many books written on the Constitutional convention. This author presents the story of what took place from May 25, 1787 to September 17, 1787 as daily newspaper stories. It was first published as a daily series in the Christian Science Monitor in 1987. I did a project in college using this format and it requires a lot of research and organization of the material. The book is a well written and interesting narration of a very important event.
I have some general knowledge of the subject and the people involved. The author brought out details of what happened and was able to introduce the parties through their speeches and actions. The fact that Luther Martin had a drinking problem and Gouverneur Morris had a wooden leg. The changing of the preamble to leave out the names of the States as the final draft of the document was written. The fact that the street outside the meeting room had to be covered with dirt and the windows closed so everyone could hear each other. All of these details give the reader a you are there feeling.
There is also a good discussion of the issues involved and how the different interests represented at the convention worked their way to a conclusion they could all agree on. The discussions of the Virginia Plan, the New Jersey Plan and Roger Sherman's compromise are presented in the way they happened.
I think the reason that the final document came out so well is that all of the different aspects of the government, such as all of the details of the office of the President, were gone over time and time again. There were probably eight to ten resolutions on the length of the President's term in office. That is how this very short document that is the framework of our government was crafted with such precision. This process is presented very well in the day by day narration used by the author.
The result is an interesting story that provides a lot of historical information.

You know, Bill, I think you missed your calling. You should have been a history prof and, with tenure, you'd be making a living too.

Seriously, I learn a lot from your reviews.

Loved the review. I recently read a book on George Washington and it was fabulous. Reading that book got me interested in the beginnings of the USA. It is truly amazing that such a short document has been so long-enduring.
--BJ

When the Constitution was written the population of the United States was 3.9 million. In the 2000 census it was 281 million. It is amazing how flexible and all purpose the document has turned out to be.

#10 A Child of Fortune by Jeffrey St. John audio book (touchstone error).
This book is the second in a trilogy beginning with Constitutional Journal. In this book the topic is the ratification of the Constitution and the author has expanded to a weekly news format.
The ratification process was longer and more involved than the writing of the Constitution. The author sets out the major issues that were debated and identifies the major states and individuals involved. The format portrays the events as they happened without anticipating the result. This makes the story much more interesting and actually adds some suspense about the outcome.
The Constitution was first sent to the Continental Congress who forwarded it to the state ratification conventions. Nine states were required to ratify the document before it became effective. Any state which did not ratify would be left out of the Union. Delaware was the first state to ratify and did so by unanimous vote of their convention. The Constitution was then ratified by seven more states prior to the conventions of Virginia, New Hampshire and New York. The primary issue that developed was the lack of a bill of rights. This was used by the Anti-Federalists as a strong argument against ratification.
The other major issue was the diminution of the power of the states. Under the Articles of Confederation the central government was a compact between the states that had no direct relationship to the citizens of the country. The Constitution created a central government that had national powers derived from the citizens that were exercised directly. This change was seen by many as the path to monarchy or tyranny.
Virginia was the largest state at that time and James Madison had multiple debates with Patrick Henry over ratification in that convention. Madison and Alexander Hamilton were also involved in writing a series of articles in a New York newspaper in favor of the constitution under the name "Publius" Those have now been collected as The Federalist Papers. The author points out that Madison was at a disadvantage in his debates with Henry since he was only 5'4" and 130 pounds while Patrick Henry was about 6' and two hundred pounds. There were also times when Madison was very difficult to hear.
Patrick Henry was still the preeminent orator of his time and spent hours talking about the tyranny that the Constitution would bring and demanding a bill of rights. Massachusetts and South Carolina ratified with a recommendation for amendments and Henry wanted to make the ratification conditional upon the passing of a bill of rights. In the end Virginia ratified with a ten vote majority and a recommendation for amendments. They then found out that New Hampshire had become the ninth state to ratify the day before. New York was the last large state to ratify. The new government came into office and Congress began work on the bill of rights which is covered in the next book.
The author's factual information is correct and he uses the news format to tell the story as it happens. I couldn't list all of the details used by the author that make this a good story. This is an interesting book that it a painless way to learn about a very important event in history. Two items of trivia. Rhode Island was the last state to ratify the Constitution on May 29, 1790, after the election of George Washington as President and the First Congress. The The 27th Amendment to the Constitution ratified on May 18, 1992 was first proposed in the Bill of Rights drafted by James Madison proposed to the states by Congress on September 25, 1789. It provides that no law varying the pay of the Senate or House of Representatives can take effect until an election of Representatives has intervened.

# 11 Nixon and Mao audiobook. I am getting to like audiobooks. I put them on my Ipod and listen to them wherever I can.
This book was written by the author of Paris 1919 which I enjoyed very much. It is the story of Nixon's first visit with Mao. That was quite an event at the time and did mark America's acceptance in 1972 of the victory of the Chinese Communists in 1949. I remember before this happened I thought it was downright silly that the American government pretended that the Chinese Communists didn't exist. The author points out that prior to this trip all of the American government spokespeople would refer to Beijing as Peking in imitation of the government of Taiwan.
The author begins the book with the first meeting between Mao and Nixon. Mao had been very sick and there was medical equipment just outside his study in case he had a relapse. This is followed by a brief synopsis of the Chinese Revolution and the relations between America and China since 1949.
One event that is highlighted occurred in 1954. At the meeting of a conference in Geneva, John Foster Dulles, then American Secretary of State, walked past the outstretched hand of Zhou Enlai, the Premier of China, snubbing his proffered handshake. That led to some very prolonged handshakes between the parties at the 1972 meeting.
The author narrates the events leading up to the meeting from the American side in great detail. Unfortunately she had no access to Chinese sources to be able to tell their side of the events.
The story of the first banquet ending with numerous toasts using mao-tai, Chinese white lightning, is told with journalistic detail. The other event that I found significant was the negotiations on the communique that was announced at the end of the week long visit.
Each of the primary parties is then followed to the end of their career and their death. I had forgotten that long after resigning in disgrace Nixon appeared once again on the cover of Time magazine.
The style of the book is "popular history" somewhat akin to Barbara Tuchman. Although in my opinion not as good as Tuchman. It is a well written narrative with interesting details that I found enjoyable. I recommend it for anyone with an interest in this event.

# 12 The Birth of the Republic 1763-1789 Edmund S. Morgan
This is a marvelous little book that goes from Lexington through the ratification of the Constitution in 155 pages. After reading it I don't feel that the author left out anything important and he did give me a good understanding of what happened in this period.
While short the book is not a quick and easy read because of the wealth of details scattered throughout the book. The book's size gives it the ability to provide an understanding of the relationship of the events that gave rise to our nation.
The author shows a great mastery and subtle understanding of the events covered to convey such a clear understanding of the events of this period of 26 years.
I would think the book is excellent to read at any stage in a study of this period. If you are deep in a detailed treatise on the writing of the constitution this book will give you a quick overview that places the events you are reading about in perspective. If you are beginning to read about this era this book provides a thoughtful outline of the period.
It takes a special type of understanding and talent to put a series of very significant events that occurred over a period of 26 years in such a concise form. If you have any interest in the events of these years this book will greatly add to your understanding of this era.

Hi
About Hurricane Katrina coverage. The Weather Channel has done several specials featuring the rescue efforts of the Coast Guard. During the storm itself, & the immediate afterward, The Weather Channel provided up to the mninute coverage of the storm itsel without going into any personalities.

# 13 The Swallows of Kabul
This book is a 180 degree change of pace for me. It is the story of two couples, Atiq Shaukat and his wife Musarrat and Moshen Ramat and his wife Zunaira set in Kabul under the rule of the Taliban.
The setting is so foreign it could be science fiction. The poverty and misery of existence between the covers of this book is appalling. Moshen and Zunaira had good jobs and were respected educated people before the Russians invaded and the world turned upside down. Now we watch as their inner lives become distorted and destroyed.
Atiq is a jailer. He fought as a muhjadeen and after being wounded in the war was nursed for months by Musarrat who he then married. They were not able to have children and now she is dying from a disease that is beyond the skill of the doctors available. His soul is in constant torment and only she who truly loves him can see it.
The book is a depiction of misery and tragedy equal to the ancient Greeks. Everyone suffers in a primitive world run by the Taliban who are barely human and abuse everyone in the name of God.
There are brief moments of beauty such as Atiq watching the moon and remembering his father tell him where it came from.
Those brief moments only emphasize the bare, hot and dusty world that everyone moves in. To describe the story would give it away. Suffice it to say that the book ends in tragedy piled on tragedy until there is nothing.
It is not an uplifting book but this is life as it was lived by people I will never know. The people in the camps stayed alive so that there would be a memory of what happened. This book is that type of memory and it should be read if only to acknowledge how circumstances beyond our control can inflict ghastly misery on life's innocents.

# 14 Cadillac Jukebox This is #9 out of 17 in Burke's Dave Robicheaux series. I was able to get an autographed copy in excellent shape at the local used bookstore for less than retail price of the book new.
James Lee Burke lives up to his high standards in this suspenseful story. This book is distinctive for the number of villains that run a broad range of psychological deviancy. I don't think I have ever encountered a prostitution boss who is shunned by his cohorts in crime because of frequent outbursts of profanity caused by Tourette's syndrome. He also has psychic powers that give him knowledge of the dead.
Buford LaRose is a former LSU football player turned professor who is running for Governor with financial help from organized crime figures, a more common adversary for Robicheaux. Buford's wife Karyn had a brief romance with Dave in the past and is suitably vicious as the woman scorned.
Aaron Crown on the surface is a former member of the KKK who was convicted of a racial murder by LaRose. He is a northern Louisiana peckerwood with an unusually offensive body odor. He escapes from Angola prison and his quest for revenge is one of the major plot lines of the book. The past of his daughter Sabelle, a prostitute, ties together some of the leading characters in a fashion that would do Shakespeare proud.
Jimmy Ray Dixon, the brother of the slain civil rights leader, wears a hook for a hand, courtesy of the Vietnam war. His activities, including his connection with Sabelle, provide a twist in the ending that must be kept secret.
The psychopathic sadists are represented by Mookie Zerranga whose past also provides another now you know them now you don't element to the ending.
As you can gather the ending is suspenseful and surprising in fine Robicheaux fashion.
Dave Robicheaux as always is trying to solve the case with too little information and berating himself for his human frailties. The sheriff provides a steady hand throughout the story adding insight when Robicheaux will listen.
I found the combination of bizarre villains and the multiple surprises at the end takes this book out of the realm of pulp fiction into the arena of well written literature. This step up is aided by Burke's almost poetic descriptions of scenery and his constant use of the past of New Iberia in present events.

#27. I'm glad you "liked" Swallows. The sad part is, the Taliban is still in control (even though we've had troops their since 2001), and are now ravaging Pakistan. How lucky we should feel, sitting in our comfy chairs reading these horrors instead of living them.

#28. This was one of my favorites too. Burke has a new book coming out in July, his usual publishing time, but it isn't a Dave R. or B.B. Holland--it is a sequel to one of his early books. I'm hoping that he's just giving Dave a well-deserved rest, and Clete definitely needs to dry out . . .

# 15 The Chinese Bell Murders This book is one of the Judge Dee series written by Robert van Gulik, a Dutch diplomat. The actual Judge Dee lived from 630 to 700 c. e., in the Tang dynasty. The author began the series by translating Chinese stories written from the 16th to 19th century. Later books were written by van Gulik based upon themes from Chinese stories. The books are entertaining historical fiction that provide insight into the culture of Imperial China, something most Westerners are not very familiar with.
The criminal justice system in Imperial China used many practices alien to the West. Torture was commonplace and was often used by the judge to obtain a confession. Executions were more frequent and used many different methods. In this book one of the criminals is quartered, a particularly gruesome method of execution. Searches did not require a warrant and the accused did not have the right to remain silent. The investigator and the judge were combined in one person. This book illustrates that these methods were effective in finding the truth and punishing the wrongdoer.
There are three mysteries in this book; the rape and murder of a Chinese girl, a Buddhist monastery engaged in fraud and a twenty year old family feud. Most of the books in the series have multiple mysteries going on side by side and Buddhists are often cast as villains because of their challenge to the official Confucian philosophy.
Each story begins with a complaint being presented at the tribunal where Judge Dee is the presiding officer and questions all involved parties. The scribes make a record of each person's statement and they must affix their thumb print to the document. Then the Judge and his aides investigate the crimes. Three of the senior investigators are former criminals, two were highwaymen and the other a confidence man. They were converted to working on the side of the law by the force of Judge Dee's personality and bring a variety of skills to their jobs. Judge Dee often works in disguise and uses indirect methods similar to Sherlock Holmes.
There is action and danger as the investigations proceed. In one incident Judge Dee and his three lieutenants are trapped under a large heavy bell in an attempt to kill them. Each of the mysteries ends with a twist in the ending you expect in a good detective story.
What I most like about this book and the others in the series is how it places the reader in the environment of Imperial China. Their culture was truly alien to our life today. It is emphasized in many ways that the group was more important than the individual and stability more important than freedom.
The end of the story provides an excellent example of the difference in culture and philosophy. Four top officials review Judge Dee's actions and decide to award him with an inscription written in the vermillion calligraphy of the Emperor. The inscription is placed on a horizontal board set up over the dais in the tribunal. The book closes with Judge Dee kneeling in prayer before the Emperor's words.

"Justice outweighs individual life."

Interesting book. Thanks for the review. :)
--BJ

very interesting review! You might want to put a little "spoiler alert" there because' you're kind of giving away the ending though ;)

Thank you. I am a real fan of the Judge Dee series. I could have written a lot more. They are very interesting on many levels.

#16 I, Claudius audio book. I read this book about 25 years ago and also remember watching the PBS series. It is a very entertaining behind the scenes version of the lives of the first three Roman Emperors which covers the period of Claudius life up until he became Emperor. It is done in first person narration as a book written by Claudius that according to prophecy would be discovered in 1900 years. The primary source for the facts in the book is The Twelve Caesars which was written approximately eighty years after Claudius' death.
The villain in the book is Livia, the second wife of Augustus. She manipulates Augustus against the members of his own family and murders a number of people with poison to insure that her son, Tiberius, would succeed Augustus as Emperor of Rome. There is an interesting scene where she spends four hours answering all of Claudius's questions about her evil doings.
Tiberius spent many years leading the armies of Rome in numerous campaigns at the order of Augustus. After Tiberius became Emperor he retreated to the island of Capri where he divided his time between philosophical discussions and sexual perversion.
Tiberius appoints Caligula as his successor thinking that Caligula is so cruel and corrupt history will not notice the evil of Tiberius. Caligula proves him right.
In the second year of his reign Caligula became very ill and many historians hypothesize that he suffered a massive nervous breakdown or organic brain damage that accounted for his insane cruelty. In the book Caligula kills his sister when she is pregnant with his child and has relationships with his other two sisters. He proclaims himself a god and makes his horse a member of the Senate. His pattern of theft and murder made him such a threat to the members of the ruling class that he is finally assassinated and Claudius becomes Emperor.
Claudius was afflicted with numerous disabilities from birth and was excluded from public office by his family. He limped and was not fit to join the army. He stammered and never was able to speak in public. His disabilities saved his life as everyone else that was seen as a threat to the Emperors was killed one way or another.
The book is more fiction than history but it is a good story. These were the people that ruled the world and this depiction of their personal lives, even if it is not all true, brings them to life as people, and like most powerful people not really nice people.

I haven't read I, Claudius but I did see the mini-series. It was an absolutely marvelous historical fiction show. If the book comes in any way close to the TV production I think I will have to read it.

You know, Bill, I think I'll have to read it too--your review is very interesting.

# 17 Ordinary Men This review is not for the faint of heart. The topic of the book is a group of 500 men who participated in the holocaust and their actions are depicted up close and personal.
The book is based upon judicial interviews of 125 men of Reserve Police Battalion 101 from Hamburg, Germany. In 1942 and '43 they were stationed in Poland and participated in the killings and deportation of Jews and some Poles. These men were the foot soldiers of the Final Solution. They did the actual killings and loaded and guarded trains carrying Jews to the camps. This is the holocaust up close and personal.
The book is full of very disturbing images of groups of armed men going through a village and selecting and killing all of the Jews in the village. They also put thousands of Jews into train cars nailed them shut and then shot anyone who tried to escape.
As the title says these were ordinary men. They were simply manpower selected from the city of Hamburg and given the task of making a small portion of Poland judenfrei. Their selection for this task was based primarily on their unfitness for combat. Their unit was called a reserve police battalion but they were not policemen.
I am leaving out the gruesome details but there are many very detailed descriptions of the killings and the deportation process. It is enough to say that the unit participated in the killing of 38,000 people and the deportation of 45,200. After the war four of the unit were put on trial in Poland and two of those were executed. Fourteen men of the unit were indicted in Germany a few of whom received very light prison sentences.
After this book was written Daniel Jonah Goldhagen wrote Hitler's Willing Executioners. Part of his book was based upon the same interviews as the author of this book. The author has added an afterword of thirty pages where he discusses Goldhagen's book. Goldhagen's premise was that these men wanted to be willing executioners because of the virulent anti-semitism present in German culture. Browning agrees on some points but sharply disagrees with Goldhagen's premise. It appears that Goldhagen started with his premise and then built the evidence around his theory. I have avoided reading Goldhagen's book because that was also my perception. Goldhagen has been sharply criticized by others as an extremist and a poor historian. On the other end of the spectrum is David Irving, an historian who denies that the holocaust took place. I think the comment in the book which accurately describes the situation was from the psychologist Stanley Milgram. He did a number of studies to assess obedience to authority and concluded " Men are led to kill with little difficulty".
I think the book is an important study and analysis of how the holocaust happened. Unless you want to be informed on that topic I would advise you to avoid it. The images that remain in my mind and the truth about what ordinary people with just a little push will do make the horror stories of H. P. Lovecraft and Stephen King seem like child's play.

When I was in junior high school, we watched a Holocaust documentary and listened to a talk from a Holocaust survivor both years. Now, 35 years later, I have never forgotten those events. I can still see the films in my head. As hard as it is to watch, I do think that it is important to know about so that it doesn't happen again.

Thanks for your review.
--BJ

I have also avoided Goldhagen's books because of the perception that he started at the wrong end of things. It appears the Browning work has more integrity. Grim subject, but important to face. We need to know what we are in order to make the best of it; otherwise the worst will easily take control. It's been proven time and time again.

That was a very good review.
Thank you.

#37. As the title says these were ordinary men.

This is the part that disturbs me most about the Holocaust: seemingly ordinary men who became cold-blooded torturers, rapists, and mass murderers.

Some rhetorical thoughts and questions:

1. One does not suddenly throw his morals to the wind—these men must have been monsters from the get-go.

2. I believe, however, that it is nurture rather than nature that shapes personal values and morals. The hatred of Jews and the extent of that hatred, then, must have been passed down and taught to these men.

3. I have always wondered why there has been, and is, such a hatred of Jews over the milleniums.

4. I wonder how these men lived with themselves all the years after the Holocaust.

5. Could this happen in America? Yes, its happened with Black Americans, and I believe it could happen with Muslim Americans should there be another attack of some sort. American troops and mercenaries have perpetrated atrocities in Vietnam, Iraq and God only knows how many Central American countries.

Just thinking out loud, Bill, but this has been food for my thought for a long, long time.

The book does mention Russian prisoners of war who when given the opportunity to work with the Germans volunteered and were used to assist the Reserve Police Battalion in their work. The only men accepted were non-Russians primarily Latvians, Ukrainians and Lithuanians. They were used as shooters alleviating the psychological burden on the Germans.
In America during WWII citizens of Japanese descent were placed in "relocation camps". When given notice they were allowed 24 hours to appear at a train station with one suitcase of their belongings. The camps were stockades with barbed wire along the top of the walls and manned guard towers. Browning talks about Marine units in the Pacific who bragged about never taking any prisoners. The reason to be aware of these ordinary men is because there may somewhere be a monster in all of us.

# 18 A Savage War of Peace: Algeria 1954-1962 audiobook. This book was so good I am going to get a print copy for my library. I had only sketchy knowledge of the events set forth in the book and I am sure I will want to go through it again.
This book is not only a lengthy and thorough history of the Algerian revolution it is an excellent description and analysis of modern wars of insurgency and tactics of counter-insurgency. It is said to be read by Osama Bin Laden and American officers in Iraq.
The author also provides an excellent description of the French civil wars that resulted from the Algerian conflict. For anyone who enjoyed The Day of the Jackal this book gives the historical background for that story.
While the book is lengthy it is never dull. At times it reads likes a suspense novel with several ongoing story lines. The major conflict is the revolution of the Algerians, led by the FLN, against the French. That conflict led to the fall of the French Fourth Republic and the coming to power of Charles de Gaulle in May of 1958.
In 1960 there was an insurrection by the pieds-noirs (the French community in Algeria) and a splinter faction of the army formed the OAS which conducted terrorist activities against the French government. It was the OAS who made several assassination attempts on de Gaulle. The French army was able to win the military battle against the FLN but their indiscriminate use of torture helped turn the French public against the war.
In 1961 de Gaulle made a decision to make peace with the FLN. After the peace the pieds-noirs and Algerians who had fought for the French left Algeria for France. This is only a brief outline of the author's narration of a stormy and violent era in French history. There are many interviews with the principal actors and a cogent analysis of the events. I enjoyed the book very much and give it a five star rating.

Charlie, you forgot to mention the American Indian. Look what happened there!~~!

I loved The Day of the Jackal, so I should probably read this book! I have been thinking of a reread of DOJ for a while now. I like both the movies, but I think that I liked the book better. I wonder where my copy is? Have a great day!
--BJ

# 19 Last Car to Elysian Fields. This is the thirteenth book in The Dave Robicheaux series and I cannot say it was one of my favorites.
First what I liked. The scenery including the weather is something that James Lee Burke does better than any author I can think of. In a beautiful metaphor he describes lightning as mercury moving across a dark sky. The book is set in the winter and there is a countdown to the winter solstice as the days get shorter and colder. The environment is a big part of the world we live in and Burke makes it a big part of his novels.
My favorite character in the book was Max Coll. He is a hit man who started with the IRA and gets a job to kill Father Jimmy Dolan a friend of Dave's. The problem is that he is an Irish Catholic and he can't kill a priest. I found his story offbeat and interesting.
What I didn't like. The major bad guy is Castille LeJuene who is the ultimate rich guy/bad guy. He did a lot of evil things and Robicheaux is after him for all of them including the obligatory very old racial killing. Part of the end, which I won't give away, borders on a gimmick as LeJuene's evil ways punish him in the manner of a Greek tragedy.
Cletus Purcel goes over the top early and often. His violence in one instance creates a bizarre situation that closes a drawbridge for a couple of days.
Robicheaux is alone with Bootsie dead and Alafair away in college. His inner dialogue becomes a broken record of gloom made up of the evil of others and the world around him plus his own actions which become increasingly erratic. Another negative was Robicheaux's unusually incessant and descriptive obsession with having a drink. His supernatural experiences seemed forced and not as well done as some of the other books I have read. Burke seems unable to bring any balance into Robicheaux's thoughts. Robicheaux eventually finds the peace that we all need to keep on going but even that feels contrived and lacking in depth.
The last 75 pages of the book did not move as well as trademark Robicheaux action and suspense. The end proceeds in fits and starts with elements of a deux ex machina as everything is suddenly resolved.
The book is a lot better than many books I have read. Still for me it was not up to Burke's usual standard of excellence.

# 20 William Carlos Williams:Selected Poems This is a volume from the American Poets Project published by Library of America. The editor describes Williams' poetry as fresh and challenging and I agree. I read many of the poems two and three times and each time was like a first reading. I only remember two specific poems. The first is titled "Danse Russe" about the author dancing naked in front of a mirror in the north room when everyone in the house is asleep. "Who shall say I am not the happy genius of the household?" That would be hard to forget. It was reading that poem in an anthology that piqued my interest in his poetry. I also remember a poem titled "To a Poor Old Woman". She was on the street munching a plum out of a paper bag. The author describes the action by repeating the phrase "they taste good to her".
What I remember most is the author's way of looking at the world and seeing what was there and only what was there. The poems had a down to earth realism that gave a special value to what he had to say. His writing was done with carefully selected words delivering a clear-cut meaning. His poems don't have any rhyme scheme and he was not the member of any "school" of poetry. I know I can read the book again and experience the same eye opening immediacy in his poems.
Williams kept up a busy medical practice all of his life. Along with poetry he wrote novels, short stories and plays. Late in his life he received two prestigious prizes for his poetry.

thank you for your clearly-expressed thoughts on W.C.Williams's poetry book - I agree with your opinion on his poems, they are very immediate, realistic, and visually evocative.

very nice review bill. thanx. It will be nice to find some new, clean, clear poetry for a change.

Has any poem ever given a more vivid picture, and opened up more avenues of contemplation than "The Red Wheelbarrow"?

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.

I love it so much that I have a red wheelbarrow in my yard, and spent years searching for realistic white chicken statues (live ones aren't allowed where I live) to place beside it. I have one that perches, but the quest for just the right fowl figure continues.

Linda,
That is wonderful and I have never come across it before. Thank you for the sharing of it.
belva

#46. This was the first JLB book I read, admittedly because I liked the title, so I had none of his other books to compare it to. Perhaps a reread, in context with all of Burke's others, would highlight its shortcomings.

#47. I only have one APP volume, but Williams seems like a more-than worthy addition—especially because of your review and Linda's comment.

#50 Love the poem. I wish I could write like that.
--BJ

50: I love it so much that I have a red wheelbarrow in my yard, and spent years searching for realistic white chicken statues (live ones aren't allowed where I live) to place beside it.

That is just AMAZING!!!

#50 Lovely poem. It's amazing how words work so differently in poetry.

# 21 Tried by War This book is touted as a look at Abraham Lincoln as the commander-in-chief during the Civil War. James McPherson, the author, has a reputation as one of America's finest writers on the Civil War based to a large extent on his authorship of Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era one of the volumes in the Oxford History of the United States. In the foreword McPherson states that this aspect of Lincoln's presidency has never been adequately covered, neglecting a very good book, Lincoln and His Generals by T. Harry Williams. Having read this I will have to go back and review Williams book which as I remember was much better than this book.
Much of the focus of the book is on the relationships between Lincoln and the commanders of the Army of the Potomac. George McClellan was the commander until late 1862 and McPherson added little information or insight to my knowledge of what passed between the two men. McClellan was a great trainer of men but was always hesitant to take them into battle. The quote of Lincoln regarding McClellan that McPherson uses "He has a case of the slows" is repeated in many other sources. The generals who succeeded McClellan had were not much better. Of course they had to face Robert E. Lee.
Lincoln had similar frustrations with generals in other theaters. They all wanted everything just perfect before making an attack.
McPherson did add one specific item to the understanding Lincoln developed about the best strategy for the Union armies. Lincoln figured out that the Union had used their superior numbers and attack the Confederates at many points so the Confederates could not use their interior lines to transfer their forces to defeat individual attacks. It was only when Grant took supreme command of the Union armies that this strategy was adopted and the Confederates finally defeated.
McPherson added very little to my knowledge of Lincoln as an individual. Lincoln is simply portrayed as a man who is continually frustrated and depressed by the failures of the army. This is how Lincoln appears in any number of books about the Civil War. In short, Mr. McPherson does not live up to his reputation as an excellent Civil War scholar in this book. I cannot give any recommendation of this book. The author only repeats what can be learned in any number of books about the subject. I have the feeling that Mr. McPherson is coasting on his reputation and had to get a book out for the anniversary year of Lincoln's birth. One star.

Bill, do you ever follow Joycepa's thread? She's a real Civil War buff, as well as a fellow named sgtbigg. You folks could probably talk for hours . . .

# 22 The Sweet Science by A. J. Liebling (touchstone error). This is one of five books by Mr. Liebling in one of the two volumes of his writings published by Library of America. The sweet science refers to boxing, which is one of my secret pleasures. It's not politically correct to be interested in seeing men beat each other up. The book is a collection of articles Liebling wrote for the New Yorker. The writing is excellent journalism and Liebling is a writer not an author. Reading the articles is very pleasant and not dry or thick, almost the opposite of Dostoevsky but the same quality. I think Liebling could have written about paint drying and made it interesting reading. I am sure Liebling is one of the writers that gave the New Yorker their reputation.
One of the more interesting features of the articles is Liebling's references to the writings of Pierce Egan an English journalist who wrote on boxing in the early 1800's. Liebling periodically refers to Egan's descriptions of fights, boxers or specific moves in the ring. I don't know how he found out about Egan but he has obviously read a lot of Egan's writing. Liebling has a number of other ongoing characters whose words of wisdom appear in the articles regularly.
These articles cover the period of the early 1950's. Each article is usually about a specific fight and also covers some background on the fighters involved. The author often talked to the fighters or their managers and trainers before the fight. Writing about the fight he would discuss previous fights at the same venue or other fights with similar moments as the one he was watching. He writes about what happens at each fight but not in a blow by blow fashion. He might write as much about what the people sitting around him were doing as what was going on in the ring. At the end of the article I had a real feel for what was involved between the fighters and what the experience of going to the fight was like. Somehow the violence of the fight was tempered and that part of the experience largely omitted. Liebling would always write about where he went to have a drink or a cup of coffee after the fight.
The writer's style is literary but not highbrow. He imparts the experience indirectly but in a fashion that is more thorough than if he wrote what happened each second. I went right into the second volume in the book which is about Earl Long of Louisiana. I look forward to reading much more of Mr. Liebling's writings.

"It's not politically correct to be interested in seeing men beat each other up."

And to that I say, to hell with PC. It's the sport of Kings (or is that water polo?).

In the early 1960s I asked Sonny Liston for his autograph. I handed him a ballpoint pen and it completely disappeared in his hand--it was the biggest hand I have ever seen.

I enjoyed your review. I am not a big boxing fan, but I remember lots of the big moments in boxing. Sugar Ray Leonard, Macho Comacho, Roberto Duran, Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, and who could forget Mike Tyson -- though we all try (or at least I do, I just don't like him). And who couldn't find Don King interesting? And George Foreman is such a happy guy these days. Sports in general are such a big part of our lives. I will have to check Liebling out. I think I have one of the books. Thanks.
--BJ

I enjoyed your review also. The boxer I remember so well is Floyd Patterson. He was soooo handsome and very underrated. I always would sit with my pop at the radio (we didn't have TV) and listen to the fights. He and my 4 brothers would argue over each and every punch thrown and the other 2 girls would run and hide. But I liked all the excitement of seeing the male members of my family bonding over the boxing matches. Sometimes there would be punches thrown over the kitchen table. Then Ma would have to intervene and put a stop to the physicalities.
Hopefully it was not politically incorrect to "listen" to guys bashing each others heads in.
belva

The author George Kimball is a member of LibraryThing and I received and reviewed his book Four Kings last year through the Early Reviewers. It covers the careers of Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvelous Marvin Hagler (he had his name legally changed) and Thomas Hearns. I thought it was a very good book and their careers formed the last really interesting era in boxing.

#23 The Earl of Louisiana. This book by A. J. Liebling is based on three articles he wrote about the 1959 gubernatorial primary in Louisiana for the New Yorker and later expanded into a book. The book opens right after Earl Long had extricated himself from a State mental hospital where his wife had committed him. It follows through the Governor's race and a Congressional primary that Earl Long won right before his death. In reading a Wikipedia article to get my facts straight I discovered that Earl Long in 1944 was defeated for the office of Lieutenant Governor by someone from Iberia parish. Some Dave Robicheaux related trivia I had to pass on.
The politics of Louisiana in 1959 had the corruption and racial contention of all Southern politics. This was complicated by the fact that it was the only Southern State that had a viable Roman Catholic constituency and in New Orleans the only real city in the South at that time. Liebling spends as much time as possible in New Orleans eating its fine food and describes it as a Mediterranean city more like Marseilles than Atlanta. He does a masterful job of guiding the reader through the politics of the primary and providing an insightful portrait of Earl Long. In this primary Long as the sitting Governor could not run for Governor and so ran for Lieutenant Governor.
His ticket was defeated and the winner in the runoff was Jimmie (not Jimmy) Davis, who is more famous for his association with the song " You Are My Sunshine" which was made the official State song of Louisiana in 1977. Long then ran in the Congressional primary for the Eight District. He had a heart attack the night before the voting and would only go into the hospital after the polls had closed. He died very soon thereafter and was given a splendid funeral while receiving the heart felt praise of all of his political friends and enemies, his enemies outnumbered his friends.
Earl Long gave a new meaning to the word eccentricity and the tales of his antics are more than worth the effort it takes to read this book. The information on the down and dirty of Louisiana politics contained in the book has an equal or greater value. I recommend that you make every effort to acquire a copy of this book and read it as soon as possible. When you do you will wish you had done it sooner.

That book sounds really interesting, too. But I want to add Four Kings to my wishlist. Unfortunately, I can't find a pen. The problems associated with cleaning house.
--BJ

The first place you want to check --BJ is behind your ear.

Or sometimes stuffed in my hair to keep it off my neck.
--BJ

#24 The Polish Officer. It took me longer than it should have to write this and I think it was because this wasn't a really good book that provided much material.
The novel is one of many by Alan Furst in a genre he has created for himself, historical spy fiction in the WWII era. The protagonist is often an unlikely hero thrown into a dangerous situations. This is similar to many books by another of my favorite authors, Eric Ambler.
The protagonist is Captain Alexander de Milja, a cartographer in the Polish Army. We meet him as the army is disintegrating under the attack by the Germans. He is recruited by Colonel Vyborg into ZWZ, the Union for Armed Struggle. His first assignment is to smuggle the gold reserve of the Polish government out of the country by train. He then moves to operating a spy network out of Paris and after his recall is parachuted into the Ukraine to work with a band of partisans.
The novel is well written and has a realistic feel in the details of life and death moments in a world of gray emotional content. De Milja is not as engaging as some of the other characters in the book. He is primarily a fighter and a survivor. The other characters are ordinary people from all parts of Europe whose lives have been changed by the war. The plot is lackluster. The moments of suspense are underplayed and the story is primarily about day to day survival. The book is rather short and the ending is just a chopping off of the story. The war goes on and de Milja says, "I will go on fighting." I don't feel like I'm giving anything away, there isn't any "ending" to give away.
Furst is a a good author but this is not one of his better books. I never found an event or character that gave the book any real meaning. It seems the author's only purpose was to portray the banality of the underground war on a daily basis.
I have been working on a book titled The Mind of the Master Class. It is a tome listed at 824 total pages with extensive footnotes. It has about 750 pages of text and the footnotes are on the page with the text. It is an incredibly interesting book subtitled History and Faith in the Southern Slaveholders' Worldview. The authors, one of whom is a Marxist, refer to the Civil War as The War for Southern Independence. The scholarship is very impressive. Each paragraph has a lengthy footnote which includes sources for everything said in the paragraph. The text is about one-half the page with the footnotes the other half. One more book will make 25 which is halfway and then I will have at least one month to finish the opus. I plan to start the book over to get a good reading of it.
I have a number of longer books waiting on the shelf and am going to make an effort not to allow the requirements of the challenge dictate what I read.
My reading has always been done with the purpose of self study and enrichment. I have referred to my reading as a one person graduate seminar. The Mind of the Master Class is definitely a three hour class. Reading what I want to and then creating a journal through the challenge is my goal. I did print out and put in a binder my notes from last year's challenge. I decided that it was not necessary and for me a little pompous to list the the number of pages for each book and keep a running total. But the journal is a big reason I do the challenge. Plus it helps me to share with others which is a great part of LT. My friends at LT have turned me on to some good fiction which I plan to continue. It's just a question of balance. I also put five volumes of poetry on my tbr. So many books.

Hear me out here, Bill, just for a sec.

I read that through three times and then I think I finally "got" it. Your journaling is part of your motivation for reading......that makes sense to me and is to be admired. You put your thoughts down on paper which in and of itself helps you to retain the material, you have something to look back on for discussion and review purposes and unlike the rest of us you who, three years from now, will be looking at our shelf going: "hmmmm, did I read that, it seems....., Because you will be able to go to your journal and know.

Your first sentence really threw me a curve for a while. Am I understanding you correctly? The book wasn't that great but the material in it was, thus making it worth the read.
belva

Although this was not the best book by this author, it is the sort of book that I normally enjoy, so I am going add it to my wishlist. Thanks for the review. I started out trying to book journal, but somehow lost my way. I think it is great that you are keeping it up. You do a really great job with your reviews. Have a great weekend!
--BJ

>68 rainpebble: nannybebette
Before I got into the 50 book challenge I had not kept a book journal. The journal is a plus I get from being in the challenge. As I started the challenge I began to do longer posts on each book and realized I was writing a reading journal. I also copy and paste many of the book posts as reviews with some revision.
Yes, there was some material, particularly the characters, that made the book worth reading. It just never went anywhere.

> 69 BJ If you would normally enjoy this sort of book I would recommend Dark Star by the same author. It has a much better plot and there is a love affair in the book that is very well written

Thanks so much for the recommendation. It looks like a great book. I added it to my wishlist. And I am hoping to go to a bookstore today!
--BJ

#67. I'm a little behind with my comments, Bill. And the Liebling volume is the only one I don't have yet.

But I found an interesting quote about Earl and his brother Huey on Wikipedia:

"The outraged Earl, at thirty-six, called Huey "the yellowest physical coward that God had ever let live." Huey Long said of Earl: "Earl is my brother but he's crooked. If you live long enough he'll double cross you. He'd double cross Jesus Christ if He was down here on earth." (Quoted in Richard D. White, Jr., Kingfish, Random House, p. 137)"

I'll read The Earl of Louisiana when LoA decides I'm ready for it.

# 25Columbine At the time of the killings at Columbine High School I did not follow all of the news stories about the event. I was curious about it but I was waiting for a thorough, well researched account that was not written for ratings or selling newspapers. This book is what I was waiting for. Dave Cullen, the author, is a reporter with the Rocky Mountain News who worked on this book for almost ten years. The book is very thorough and shows the results of extensive research. Most important the author is more interested in providing the facts than selling some theory about why this happened. It is clear that the author made a strong commitment to tell all of the truth he could find.
The description of what happened opens the book with great drama. Then we go back to the beginning and are taken slowly through the events a second time with the complete story of the killers actions included. Interwoven through these events is a narration of the exhaustive investigation and the stories of the people who lived around the killers. The primary focus of the book was the ongoing stories of the people involved which gives a humanity to this tragedy and is the strength of the book.
Frank DeAngelis was the principal of Columbine at the time of the killings. At the first assembly of the students after the killings he took the stage and expressed his grief in tears. This was extremely important in giving the students the courage to express their feelings about this unspeakable tragedy that occurred in their midst.
Patrick Ireland was one of the students who was seriously injured. He showed courage and perseverance after this violent event that completely changed his life in a matter of seconds. Cassie Bernall is one of the students who was killed. What happened to her in the moments before her death became an event in itself which illustrates how the actions and motives of others in response to a tragedy had their own agenda. Dwayne Fusilier was an FBI investigator who was also a clinical psychologist. It is his investigation of the killers and their motives that comes closest to providing any answers to the why of this tragedy. It is their stories and many others that kept me so interested in this book.
The story of Columbine is also the story of human mistakes that may have contributed in some way to the tragedy. Mistakes made by law enforcement, mistakes made by the juvenile justice system, mistakes by school personnel and mistakes by parents. The author simply sets forth the facts with a minimum of speculation. The reader is left to make their own conclusions. While I could point to a mistake and say that would have made a difference, my conclusion is that these were mistakes made by people like myself and it was the actions of the killers and not these mistakes that created the tragedy of Columbine.
The main story is that of the killers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. Their lives are told in great detail. They left behind a mass of material about their lives and plans. As they got toward "Judgment Day" they recorded a series of tapes about their actions. They both kept journals setting forth their inner lives and their motives. The killings at Columbine were planned in detail. If the plans had been successful many more would have died. What they left behind made it clear that it was their plan done for their own reasons that created this tragedy. As Eric Harris quoted in his journal,"Good wombs have born bad sons".
After reading this book I am no longer curious about the facts of Columbine. The author shows respect for his readers in leaving them to make their own conclusions. I only know that it happened. It happened because two young men wanted to kill people and they were able to get guns and bullets and learn to make explosives. The only way to stop an event like this is to limit freedoms or teach people to love each other. I don't mean to make it sound simplistic it is just the basic facts.

You did a really good job with the above review. It is easily seen that you took quite a bit of time putting your thoughts together before posting that one.
belva

> 72 Charlie I am pretty sure that both of those quotes are in Liebling's book. I am sure the Huey Long quote about Earl is in there.

Nobody could ever accuse Louisiana politics of being bland and colorless. Have you fellas seen the movie "Blaze", in which Paul Newman played Earl Long? Rowdy and hilarious.

Wasn't that hysterical??? And who played the little redhead?

It was the first film in the career of Lolita Davidovich or Lolita David. I had to look it up.

Yup. I was thinking the actress's name was Lolita, but then I thought: "no belva, you are thinking of the book."
Thanks Bill.
That kind of stuff drives me nuts and makes me miss my dad. He always , well almost always had the answers for me.
Enjoy the sun wherever you may be. It is gorgeous here already and it is not even 6:00.
What did you pick up after Columbine?
belva

I'm reading Mind of the Master Class. I've written about it before. It is quite long and scholarly. A very interesting book. It gives a whole different look at the ante-bellum South. I figure with 25 books finished I have until July 1 to finish it.

Hey, there were a couple great comments about my book Columbine here, so I thought I'd remind people that I'm doing an Author Chat starting Monday.

If you have questions, I'll be here on LT for two weeks to discuss them. See you there:

http://www.librarything.com/groups/authorchat

# 26 Battle Cry of Freedom This book is part of the Oxford History of the United States series. I have seen it called the best one volume history of the Civil War and it lives up to that reputation. James McPherson also lives up to his reputation as one of the finest contemporary authors on the Civil War. This book is head and shoulders above Tried by War which tells me that Mr. McPherson can write some very good history when he tries.
My 5th book this year, What Hath God Wrought is also a volume in the Oxford series and on the strength of these two I bought the two volumes from the series that cover in total the years from 1929 to 1974. Just in case I run out of something to read.
What makes this book exceptional is that it is about the Civil War era, not just about the Civil War. The author displays a comprehensive knowledge of the material in an excellent narration of the events of the era that is thorough and skillfully written. While the book is touted as a book about the Civil War the war starts on page 273 of 862 pages of text.
The book begins with Winfield Scott's entry into Mexico City which was the end of the fighting in the Mexican War in 1847. The results of the Mexican War accelerated the sectional conflict that culminated in the Civil War. The growth of the Southern economy that gave rise to slave power as a potent force in American politics was the prime factor in the growth of the sectional conflict. As much as the Southerners portrayed themselves as underdogs in the years of the 1850's they exercised political power in greater proportion than their numbers. It was the politicians from the South who consistently made the greatest demands during this period. Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan, the presidents of the 1850's all favored the South.
Popular sovereignty, the Dred Scott decision and Bleeding Kansas were all examples of slave power. The United States postmasters under the democratic presidents refused to deliver abolitionists tracts mailed into the South because of Southern protests of attacks on their peculiar institution. As the Whig party was driven apart by the issue of slavery the Republicans were formed as the party that opposed the slave power.
Two events mobilized the popular feeling on each side. John Brown, who was first known as Pottawatamie Brown for his cold blooded murder of Southern sympathizers in Kansas, led a raid that took over the armory at Harper's Ferry in 1859. His ill-conceived plan to start a slave rebellion backed by the conspiracy of rich northerners known as "The Secret Six" convinced Southerners that the North was bent on their destruction. In the North Brown was lionized as a hero. The book Uncle Tom's Cabin was a national bestseller that raised popular feeling in the North against slavery and struck a raw nerve in the South. It is said that when Lincoln was later introduced to Harriet Beecher Stowe he said "So you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war." The animosity between North and South became too great to be contained by the political institutions.
In 1860 the Democratic party split at the Charleston convention and the Republicans nominated Lincoln in the Wigwam at Chicago.
With the split of the democrats Lincoln was elected without carrying any Southern state and immediately South Carolina seceded from the Union. They had waited for cooperative action at the Nashville Convention in 1850 and would not wait this time. By February 1, 1861 six more states had seceded and Jefferson Davis was named Provisional President of the Confederacy in Mongomery, Alabama on February 16, 1861.
The lame duck congress in Washington was still trying to reach a compromise but the politicians of the North would not accede to the Southern demands. Lincoln was inaugurated on March 4, 1861 and Fort Sumter fired upon April 12. The Civil War had begun. When Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers four more states seceded and the battle lines were drawn.
McPherson covers the military action in the war but also covers many other aspects of the conflict. Examples of the topics discussed include Confederate diplomacy, the development of the minie ball and the beginning of modern nursing in the efforts of each side to care for vast numbers of casualties. The author provides interesting details of the methods each side used to finance the war.
The military side of the war began with the battle of amateurs at First Manassas. In April of 1862 the Battle of Shiloh gave a glimpse of what the war would be like as two opposing armies of 40,000 men produced a total of 23,000 casualties.
In September of 1862 Lee invaded the North and was defeated at the Battle of Antietam. With this victory in hand Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation, to go into effect January 1, 1863. The Confederate efforts for the intervention of France and Britain on their behalf were doomed by their defeat at Antietam and Lincoln's announcement.
In the middle of 1863 came the two military events that mark the beginning of the end for the South. The fall of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863, split the South along the Mississippi, and Lee was defeated at Gettysburg June 1-3, 1863. From that point the South lost the military initiative and their only hope was the election of 1864.
In the summer of 1864 the Union was tired of war and Lincoln felt certain he would be defeated. On the military front Grant had Lee engaged in Virginia and Sherman was marching on Atlanta. Sherman announced the capture of Atlanta on September 1, 1864 and this revived the North. The author highlights furloughs given to soldiers so that they could vote for Lincoln in critical states where they were not allowed absentee ballots. It is these types of details help to give a complete picture of this era in one volume.
Lincoln won the election easily and Grant and Sherman continue to crush the South militarily. Sherman's army burned their way through South Carolina, hated as the cradle of the confederacy, wreaking much greater destruction than the fabled march to the sea. Lee surrendered at Appomattox on April 9, 1865 and the Civil War was over.
In a closing chapter McPherson argues that the defeat of the South was not inevitable. The author compares the Southern military effort to that of Paraguay in the War of the Triple Alliance. In that war Paraguay held off the combined forces of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay from 1865-1871. Paraguay lost 56 percent of its total population and 80 percent of its men of military age. In comparison the South lost 5 percent of its total population and 25 percent of the men of military age were casualties. The importance of states rights in the Confederacy also hindered an efficient mobilization of resources for the war.
The author closes with some interesting thoughts on how the Northern victory changed the course of the country. The Civil War was a Second Revolution in the United States. The South had provided much of the leadership in the Revolution and for 32 years after the ratification of the Constitution the country was led by presidents from the South. After the Northern victory it was a century before a resident of the South was elected president. The United States changed from a federal republic to a national union whose government became increasingly centralized. No longer dominated by agriculture the United States became the largest industrial economy in the world by 1900.
As much as I panned McPherson in Tried by War I must give him high marks for this book. It is well written and an excellent narrative. There is a good balance of social and military history that provides a complete picture of what occurred during this time. After reading this book the reader is well equipped to follow any particular areas of interest in greater detail. If the reader wishes to stop here they have a solid understanding of what is arguably the most important era in the history of the United States.

You had better, I was into it.
I think our government should have funding set aside so that each year every junior or every senior can visit Gettysburg.

Hi!
I saw that you added the Richard Burton translation of The 1001 Nights. I was wondering, is this the unabridged version? Who is the publisher? I have been wanting a copy of this for a while, but haven't found the right one yet. Did you order it from amazon? I have a version of this for children which is significantly abridged, but I want both that and an unabridged version. Thanks so much for any advice you might have for me. :)
--BJ

Bravo!~!
Excellent review on Battle Cry of Freedom. I have already "starred" it. Now I just need to find a copy of it. Amazon, here I come.
Great job Bill! Thanx,
belva

p.s. what order do those 3 books go in or is there a specific order?

> 84 BJ My copy of 1001 Nights was published by Heritage Press in 1962. I paid $12.88 for the three volumes. It doesn't read like Tropic of Cancer but it is definitely more graphic than Little Women.
>85 rainpebble: belva Thank you. I got a little carried away but it is a very good book. I've been reading about the Civil War for about 5 years and this book ties it all together.

It is great to be so excited about a book you have read, isn't it?
Love it!~!

# 27 Tortilla Flat. When I was about 19 for 6 months I lived a work for two weeks then off for a month, hang around, go to a party, sleep late kind of life. I was almost a paisano.
This book is a very personal experience. The reader grows to love the characters that come alive through the skill of the author. There is a strong spiritual theme in the love the characters developed for each other and how it bonded them together. The paisanos bring personal dignity to the act of drinking wine out of a fruit jar in the late sun. I didn't see any horses or a round table but the author's inspiration is made clear in the preface. On one level the characters were poor men with nothing living from day to day. On another level they all participated in the famous quests that made up the story of Danny's house.
Their high ideals and the life of Tortilla Flat set them on epic adventures that build the story. The climax is the night of the party and Danny's famous last fight. Then Danny was translated and the only sadness was that his friends did not have clothes to wear to the funeral. The story of Danny's house is part of the mythology of an imaginary place called Tortilla Flat and in my memory a little part of my life.

That was beautiful Bill.
Sounds like the right person and the right book got hooked up here.
Tortilla Flat and Cannery Row are my 2 favorites of Steinbeck's excepting for The Winter of our Discontent which most people dislike.
I'm very glad you enjoyed your read.
catcha later,
belva

Thanks for the info on 1001 nights and for your wonderful thoughts on Tortilla Flat. :) Really, you should write a book!
--BJ

Hi --BJ, miss you. We need to hook up!~!
***waves***
belva

#88 What a lovely review of Tortilla Flat, Bill. You took me right back to a summer when I was in high school, and read right through Steinbeck's short novels on our upstairs porch. I found them magical then. I think it's time to re-visit Tortilla Flat.

Hey, Belva! ***waving*** I see you round here and there. :) Happy reading everyone!
--BJ

Ok, you've moved Steinbeck up a few notches on my TBR...I've been wanting to give him another chance for a while now but keep putting it off. One of these days!

Whoo Hoo!~!~!
We have been working on it and the work is beginning to pay off.
Yippee!~!

LOL, I keep hearing there's not enough Steinbeck in my life so I might as well get some, right? ;)

I have four volumes of Steinbeck from Library of America with a total of 16 of his novels. I'm going to read Winter of Our Discontent next. Belva recommends it highly and it seems like a good contrast to Tortilla Flat.
I have a number of LOA volumes and I plan to keep something from that collection in my reading list to balance all the non-fiction I read. I just started Carson McCullers Member of the Wedding. I enjoyed The Heart is a Lonely Hunter and A Clock Without Hands.

Bill,
The Winter of Our Discontent is my personal favorite of Steinbeck's but remember what I said about most people I have discussed it with not liking it. The only other person I have ever heard say it was also her favorite of his is the owner of the independent bookstore I use.
And it is totally NOT like Cannery Row or Tortilla Flat. Hopefully you will like it. I doubt you will enjoy it, but perhaps appreciate it.
belva

I'm reading an excellent book and since I am on page 474 it should count as enough of a book that I can legitimately write something about it. I will think of this as my mid-term exercise in my one person seminar. The book is The Mind of the Master Class which I have been name dropping for months. I am now seriously into the book and can see completion in weeks.
The primary author, Elizabeth Fox-Genovese died 2 years after the completion of this book after suffering from multiple sclerosis for 15 years. The book was the product of seven years of work after the publication of her previous book, Within the Plantation Household. Her husband Eugene Genovese, the co-author, had written Roll Jordan Roll, a very influential book on slavery in America. Both of the authors came from Marxist intellectual roots growing into conservatives as they grew older, a pattern seen often in the intellectual community.
The scholarship of the book can be seen clearly in the format. The authors have not inserted footnotes for every citation. Instead, at the end of each paragraph there is an inserted footnote in serial order from the end of the last paragraph. That footnote is placed on the page below and consists of sometimes sentence by sentence citation for the contents of the paragraph. The authors refer to magazine and newspaper writers as well as people who write books. The variety of sources involved is impressive. The footnote paragraph is often as long as the text paragraph. The authors also refer very often in the text to the writings of different individuals for example Thomas De Bow of De Bow's Review.
I have read the entirety of the portion of the book dealing with history in the worldview of the Southron. That term often appears in the writings of the Southerners to describe themselves. The authors proceed on a topical basis to narrate and analyze the various ways in which ideas from different periods of history were incorporated into southern culture. The Southern reaction to the French Revolution and the history of the Middle Ages are examples used to highlight ethics and political instruction in Southern culture.
The authors spend many pages discussing the feudal era. The plantation owner with his slaves is compared to the feudal lord with his serfs. Sir Walter Scott was a favorite author as Southrons romanticized their role as slave masters. Chivalry is held up as the example for male behavior. Sometimes they had duels and killed people, but that came with the territory.
The discussion is always centered around slavery as the central fact that dominates all aspects of Southern life.
I am now beginning the section dealing with the role of faith in the slaveholder's worldview. The day to day world of the small towns and villages that composed the ante-bellum South was dominated by the religious life of the community. That is not to say that there were no unbelievers. However, most of the unbelievers recognized the practical value of religion and did not vocally disagree with Christian beliefs. The resident of the ante-bellum South was much better educated in scripture and doctrine than people of this generation. Many towns were so small that church premises were shared. The small town social controls acted to keep different denominations from exhibiting hostility in their theological disagreements. Heads of churches were prominent members in their community. Perhaps only the high church Episcopalians held themselves apart from the rest of the Christian community.
At this point in the book I feel myself slowing growing into the world of the ante-bellum South.
( As I said this is only a halfway report. I had the urge to write something on what I had covered so far. The total book is 750 pages and I should be finished in 2 weeks. Then I will give my final.)

Very interesting, Bill. I read Roll, Jordan, Roll many years ago, and in fact recently excavated it out of my attic. I await your further thoughts on The Mind of the Master Class with anticipation.

Damn it Bill,
You would stop right there!~!

>#56:
I finally found a copy of McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom and was sooooo excited. Have been looking since May 2nd. Whoo Hoo!~!
Winter reading, I am thinking. Still looking for his others. I want to get the entire collection of the 5 so that I have them at my fingertips when I want to delve into one of them.

>80 wildbill::
Just when are you not reading something "big and scholarly"? Hmmmm??

>#97:
You spoke of Carson McCullers and some of her works. When I was reading Capote: A Biography, I was amazed at their relationship. They started out as cohorts and she ended up rather quickly hating his guts!~! I assume there was some professional rivalry going on there.

And just an aside: I found Sir Richard Burton's translation of Arabian Knights: the Book of a Thousand Nights and a Night. It is HUGE!~!

Well, better let you get on with it. You've got a great review going up there.
later dude,
belva

>#101
I had to stop, that's all of the book I have finished.

There are currently a total of 7 volumes in the Oxford History of the United States. The 1st is The Glorious Cause:The American Revolution, 1763-1789. Common knowledge shows that volume as the projected 3rd in the series. There is also another volume Restless Giant: The United States from Watergate to Bush vs. Gore. There is an additional volume on American diplomacy from 1776 titled From Colony to Superpower: U.S. Foreign Relations Since 1776. In October a volume will be released to cover from 1789-1815. Interestingly there was a volume published by Oxford press The Market Revolution:Jacksonian America, 1815-1846 which was rejected for the series. Publishing politics. Now all they need is something between Battle Cry of Freedom and Freedom from Fear:The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945, 1865-1929. That would probably take at least two volumes plus the first two. So when finished it will be an 11 volume series, quite a bookshelf full.

Whoa, that is a lot of print. And how many of these have you already read other than "Battle Cry"?

# 28 Dixie City Jam This book is number seven in the Dave Robicheaux series and also the seventh of the series that I have read. It is a well written and fast paced mystery in what is becoming one of my favorite series.
The story centers around a German U-boat sunk a short way out in the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi river. That area was a busy shipping lane and a hunting ground for the U-boats in WW II. As a teenager Robicheaux had seen the remains of a sunken merchantman. Later while scuba diving in college he came across one of the U-boats that had been sunk in that area.
Finding the U-boat again becomes important after a cop from NOPD hangs a murder case on Batist. After the charges are dismissed Robicheaux is $11,000.00 in debt. The cop, Nate Baxter, really hates Robicheaux from Robicheaux's days on the New Orleans PD. A mobster named Hippo Bimstine, his nickname comes from his girth, is willing to pay Robicheaux big bucks to locate the sunken boat. Bimstine is also an active member of the Jewish Defense League. This begins a story populated by local mobsters, NOPD officers and a white supremacist named Will Buchalter. Besides Bimstine the mobsters include Tommy Lonighan who grew up in New Orleans with Bimstine and is a competitor in the gambling business. The Calucci brothers are all purpose slime balls who are the victims of some creative acts of destruction courtesy of Clete Purcel. Brother Oswald Flat provides some local color and philosophical observations.
The murder that Batist was accused of turns out to be part of a series of unusually violent and grotesque killings involving inner city drug dealers. Those killings are another ongoing plot line in the book. While working on the case Robicheaux meets Sergeant Lucinda Bergeron a black woman detective for NOPD who is also on Nate Baxter's s**t list. Lucinda Bergeron has a 17 year old son named Zoot who is befriended by Robicheaux.
The prime bad guy is Will Buchalter who enters the story by performing a sexual assault on Bootsie. After that incident Buchalter haunts the Robicheaux family. Bootsie turns to alcohol and pills to numb her fear and Dave can only watch. Buchalter is a sadistic psychopath who wants the information Dave has on the U-boat. The violent struggle between them is the emotional center of the book. During her troubles Bootsie gets to know a nun named Marie Guilbeaux who remains in the story to the end.
Having introduced the characters and the story lines I don't really want to give away much more. The twists and turns in the story are artfully done and keep the story moving at a fast pace.
One of Burke's hallmarks and a strength of his writing is his vivid description of physical background in each scene which makes them more vivid and realistic. The flora and fauna are carefully named and described. Often there is one animal, such as a gar fish, that reappears in successive scenes. In this book it is sting rays, one gets stuck on Batist's hook and then they are seen seen in the waves and swimming in the ocean. He also gives historical descriptions of buildings that are a backdrop to the action. The weather is carefully described and I can guarantee a number of colorful lightning flashes.
The ongoing inner dialog of Dave Robicheaux brings humanity to the story. The attention to the background and Robicheaux's ongoing moral dialog give Burke's books depth that is not often present in many mysteries that are plot driven.
Burke's writing is at his best in this book. He switches back and forth amongst the different plot lines and the characters constantly grow and change. The last 50 to 75 pages accelerate the action in the rush to the end.
James Lee Burke provides a well written thoughtful story with great depth. He always holds my interest and his characters and background add to the enjoyment of the book. I would be remiss if I didn't pass along a thank you to BrainFlakes who introduced me to this author.

#104. Thanks, Bill. As you refresh my memory I remember this as one of the best books in the series. I especially liked the story line with Lucinda Bergeron and her son. And you're right about Baxter, too—he's a real piece of work.

didn't see a review over there, so I'll just put 'er here:
Thumbs Up!~!

# 29 Plain, Honest Men This book is a well done narrative history of the writing of the Constitution. I listened to the audio book edition and I will put this book on my wishlist for a used print copy. This book is much more detailed than Constitutional Journal, a book I read earlier this year on the same topic. I do not understand the title. I am sure the delegates would would be glad to be referred to as honest but plain does not seem a description they would prefer.
I have read several books on the Constitutional Convention. I read this one more for two reasons. First I am fascinated by the topic. 55 men spent the summer writing a document which is the blueprint for a nation that has changed immensely and is the longest lasting constitutional republic in the world. That is the type of accomplishment that is worthwhile to study. Second the author has excellent academic credentials and what I could learn about his book was very good.
After reading the book I can say that it added to my knowledge and understanding of how the Constitution was written and added details that added to my understanding of how that summer was spent by the 55 delegates.
This book provides an excellent description of the process of writing the Constitution. The first item of business was to establish a committee to fashion rules for the convention. The most important contribution of the rules committee was the use of a parliamentary mechanism known as the committee of the whole. This committee was made up of all of the delegates present but allowed for a more informal debate and decision process. In the committee of the whole any matter could be brought up and reworked at any time without the formalities required if the delegates were sitting as the convention. The delegates spent much of their time sitting as the committee of the whole discussing the same issues over and over until there was an agreement.
Two other committees were used in writing the document. The first was the committee of detail, elected on July 24. It was composed of five delegates and was given the task of writing the Constitution. The members of the committee went through all of the resolutions which had been passed by the convention and using some supplementary materials delivered a draft of the Constitution to the convention on August 6.
On September 8, after additional debate and changes to the document, a committee of style was elected which included James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and Gouverneur Morris. This committee gave the final polish to the Constitution producing a very concise document. For example they wrote in seven articles the material that the committee of detail had written in twenty-three articles. In addition they rewrote the preamble substituting "We the people of the United States" for "We the people of...." followed by a list of the thirteen states. Gouverneur Morris in a letter written years after the convention claimed primary authorship of the finished product. Somehow this author helped me to understand this procedure more clearly than in other books with emphasis on the work done by the committees. It showed me how important a good plan is for a project like this.
The book describes a wider scope of events than what occurred in the meeting hall. There is a discussion of the social life of the delegates with particular attention paid to George Washington. He developed a strong friendship with Elizabeth Powell, the wife of a Philadelphia businessman. During the convention she regularly had elaborate dinner parties for some of the delegates in a fashion similar to a French salon. She was well educated and intelligent and her friendship with Washington lasted until his death. The author must have read Washington's diary because he also includes how many times Washington went to church that summer, four. Even the problems of the delegates paying their bills is addressed. Many of the states did not provide enough funds and some delegates had to borrow money to pay their boarding house bill when they left.
Some details described go beyond the scope of the average history book. There is a description of an elaborate privy referred to as "The Necessary" capable of occupancy by 16 persons. Benjamin Franklin could not walk because of gout and used a sedan chair described as a miniature carriage which was carried by four prisoners.
The discussion of the debates is also very thorough. The Virginia plan, the New Jersey plan and the Connecticut compromise are discussed in detail. While I have a working knowledge of these matters the author did provide additional details of the debates and how the final compromise on the question of representation was reached. The author emphasized the problems presented to the convention in working out the details of the chief executive position. The Articles of Confederation had no executive and having just overthrown a monarch there was a fear of a strong executive power. This issue was debated until September 4 before a final resolution was reached. This author more than some others wrote about the problems presented by the topic of slavery in several parts of the Constitution. The delegates avoided the use of the word slavery and adopted the three-fifths compromise i. e. counting slaves as three-fifths of a person for purposes of representation. I should point out that this compromise changed the results of a number of presidential elections.
The Committee of Style submitted their draft to the convention on September 12. There was a brief discussion of a Bill of Rights that day which the delegates quickly decided was not necessary. This quick decision may have been due to fatigue but the lack of a Bill of Rights presented problems during the ratification process. On September 17 the Constitution was ready for signing. Three of the delegates decide they would not sign all citing different reasons. There was one additional change proposed requiring a representative for each 30,000 people instead of 40,000 people. For the first time that summer Washington rose to speak and in favor of this change which was passed unanimously.
The book does continue through the ratification process which is not discussed in detail. I have left out many items which I found interesting. To date this is the best book I have read on this topic. Maybe now I am ready for Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787 Reported by James Madison. That is the only primary source and a must read for this topic.

Bill, you really should start tossing your reviews over to the review site. This one (above) was so complete that I don't even feel like I need to read the book.
Very well done sir. And once again, I must give you my thumbs up here. There is only one review on that site and yours far exceeds that one in information.
Again; a great review. I appreciate all the effort that you put into your reviews.
belva

"Again; a great review. I appreciate all the effort that you put into your reviews."

Belva said it so well that a little friendly theft is in order. You are a learned man, "wild" Bill.

#30 The Mind of the Master Class I'm finally done!
I enjoyed this book immensely. It greatly added to my knowledge and understanding of the ante-bellum South and why secession and the Civil War occurred. Reading this book was like reading one of the books about what I didn't learn about American history. It seems that most of the history I have read was written from a Northern point of view and showed little understanding of the Southern attitudes portrayed in this book. This book helped me to understand how fundamental and very real were the differences between North and South. In the book the authors state that the Southerners shared a government with the free North. Their book is a lengthy exposition on how true that was.
The volume of research cited in the book is imposing. The footnotes comprise one-third of the 718 pages of text. After the text are 80 pages of supplementary references on topics from Addison and Cato to Women and the Classics. Instead of a descriptive review I will provide a few examples of what I learned by reading the book.
The intellectual life in the South centered around the fact that is was a slaveholding, agrarian, republican society. I say republican to emphasize that Southerners did not believe in true democracy. In commenting on the French Revolution Southern writers saw a democracy leading to the tyranny of Napoleon.
Much of Southern intellectual life was an attempt to justify slavery and define how to administer their duties as slave masters in accordance with historical and Christian standards. There is a discussion of Abramic slavery, slavery as practiced by Abraham. The South saw itself as a different and better place and some Southern writers recommended slavery for the workers of the North.
The section on religion in Southern intellectual life is approximately one-third of the book. The South was a country of small towns and villages and the church was the primary social activity.
The Southerners made great use of the Bible to justify slavery. They often cited the fact that Jews and other peoples in the Bible owned slaves and there was no criticism of slavery in the Bible. Southerners tried to justify African slavery with the curse of Noah and referred to Africans as "The sons of Ham". Southern theologians strongly criticized the Northern Transcendentalists and Unitarians.
The chapter on John Brown's raid on the Harper's Ferry armory corroborated my understanding of how it contributed to sectional hatreds. John Brown had been financed by Northern abolitionists and took over Harper's Ferry armory to control the weapons there. While he publicly stated that he did not intend to start a slave uprising that was his plan. In the North John Brown became a hero and was compared to Jesus. The Southerners saw this incident as proof that Northern abolitionists intended to promote slave uprisings that would lead to the slaughter of white Southerners. I agree with the statement of the authors that for many Southerners Harper's Ferry or its aftermath either proved to be the last straw or put them in a frame of mind to reject Lincoln's election more firmly than they might have done. The North and the South during this time were two societies who didn't know each other and increasingly didn't like each other.
After secession and before the Civil War Abraham Lincoln and other Northerners thought that Union sentiment in the South would lead to reconciliation before any conflict. Reading this book helped me to understand why that was never a real possibility.

Bill;
You blow me away. Your understanding of the books you read and the way you relate that to us, the readers of your reviews, amazes me. I come away from your reviews always having learned something new and fresh. You make me want to "study".
Excellent review, my friend and as you didn't post it on the review site I will give you my thumbs up here. Very well done!~!
belva

Excellent, Bill. Sounds like an indispensable read for anyone who truly wants to understand that chapter of American history. And as it IS posted on the book page now, I gave it a countable thumbs up.

I went back and did as well.
Thanx again, Bill.

And now it's a Hot Review. We HAVE the power.

Thank you very much for your support. A Hot Review, oh my. Everyone likes recognition. I had been transferring the reviews to the book page and I will make sure I do it in a timely fashion.

#31 The Chinese Nail Murders. This is a change of pace, a reread of a book I first read over 30 years ago. The Judge Dee series centers around a Chinese magistrate who lived from 630 to 700 c.e., in the Tang dynasty. The magistrate was the all purpose ruler of an area similar to a county in the United States. The regular characters in the series include Sergeant Hoong who took care of Dee since childhood, Ma Joong, Chiao Tai and Tao Gan all criminals who were won over by Judge Dee's strong character and became his lieutenants.
The series each contain three mysteries, a customary format in Chinese detective stories. The first mystery in this book concerns the headless corpse of a woman. Her brothers accused her husband of the murder but he quickly proved his innocence. The second mystery involves the murder by poisoning of a famous boxing master. The third murder is that of a local merchant in a case five months old.
Judge Dee has a confrontation with formidable opponent in Mrs. Loo the widow of the murdered merchant. She is as clever as she is evil. Judge Dee exhumes the body of her husband but is unable to prove the man was murdered. This is a serious error for a magistrate and Judge Dee wrote his resignation and prepared to face the death penalty. There is another Judge Dee book after this one so obviously Judge Dee was able to avoid the death penalty. The confrontation between Judge Dee and Mrs. Loo provides a fine example of the Confucian system in operation. What seem to be fair and humane laws produce a harsh result.
Without giving away the ending I can only say that there is another character with a hidden evil side which when discovered provides the answer to one of the mysteries. In solving the murder of the merchant another crime no one suspected is solved leading to another tragedy.
The Judge Dee mysteries are very good historical fiction. The mysteries are well written with surprise endings and characters who often are not who they seem to be. Details in the stories provide examples of what day to day life was like in Imperial China. The workings of the Imperial system and the application of Confucian principles are vividly illustrated as the mysteries are solved and justice meted out.

#32 Rain Gods
The book opens with Pete Flores making a 911 call that brings Hackberry Holland to an old, torn up Spanish style church in South Texas. Hackberry goes behind the church where digs up the bodies of nine young girls from Thailand. They had been murdered by Jack Collins a/k/a Preacher with a .45 caliber Thompson submachine gun that carried a 50 round pan magazine. Hugo Cistranos then used a bulldozer to pile dirt over their bodies leaving the area graded smoothly.
Hack is a man in his seventies, a county Sheriff in South Texas. He retired there after the death of his second wife to escape the memories of their life together. He is also haunted by memories from Camp Five in No Name Valley where he was a prisoner in the Korean War. Preacher is a contract killer who corrects other people's grammar. His story is told through the book in bits and pieces revealing a truly evil man who lives by his own rules. Hugo Cistranos is at the top of the food chain of a number of thugs and killers.
This book is a story of violence and killing full of action and surprises. It is also the story of three couples and their relationships as they take a long walk through hell in gasoline shorts. The couples have three very strong female characters. Vikkie Gaddis is Pete Flores girlfriend. She is a beautiful young woman who plays a Gibson J-200 guitar that she inherited from her father and sings songs from the Carter family. Pam Tibbs is Hack's Chief Deputy. She is a tough cop and Hack's refusal to acknowledge the feelings between them causes her constant pain. Esther Dolan is the wife of Nick Dolan. He runs a strip club and a restaurant and owns 40% of some escort services. Esther shows remarkable courage in defense of her family as Nick becomes a target of killers for his involvement in the murder of the Thai girls.
The book is populated with numerous young male predators described here in one of the many masterpieces of the writer's craft that fill the book.
" At the same moment, one hundred miles away, three bikers were headed down a two-lane highway, full bore........ The crystal coursed in their veins, the dirty thunder of their exhaust flattening against the asphalt, the blowtorch velocity of the wind on their skin, the surge of the engines' power into their genitalia, blended together in a paean to their lives."
I consider this the best book I have read by James Lee Burke to date. I listened to it on audio and then bought the print edition and read that. It is an excellent fast moving murder thriller that is Burke's stock in trade. The stories of the relationships of three couples take this book out of the usual for Burke. The characters in the book from Hack and Preacher to the bit players are well crafted with a gritty realism that shows Burke at his best.

>#114:
laytonwoman3rd:
"I am woman, hear me roar
In numbers too big to ignore"
Do you remember that one?
I AM WOMAN!~!~!
And our votes count. Whoo Hoo!~! We do have the power!
And we couldn't be using it for a better review on that book.
Excellent job Bill.
belva

#33 A Fiery Peace in a Cold War
This is a book that I received through the Early Reviewer program. The author Neil Sheehan won a Pulitzer Prize for his book A Bright Shining Lie. In that book he used the biography of John Paul Vann to tell the story of American involvement in Vietnam. In this book he tells the story of the American development of the ICBM through the biography of Bernard Schriever, the Air Force officer who was "The Boss" of the program that developed that weapon system.
The final product of the ICBM program was the Minuteman III, an intercontinental ballistic missile that will fly 8,083 miles and carry a warhead that has three MIRVS. Each of the MIRVs carry the explosive power of thirty Hiroshima bombs. I would recommend Hiroshima for a memorable portrayal of the destructive power of the original atomic bomb. The technology that was developed in the ICBM program is the same technology that put a man on the moon and GPS systems in our cars. The test flights for the first ICBM's were started just 50 years after the Wright Brothers return to Kitty Hawk in 1908.
The first portion of the book covers the early biography of Bernard Schriever and the events after WWII that were the beginning of the cold war. The Berlin airlift, the explosion by Russia of their atomic bomb and the Korean War all heightened the tensions between the U.S. and Russia. The leaders of America felt they were dealing with a monolithic communist conspiracy that was bent on taking over the world.
In March of 1953 Bernard Schriever was three months short of his first star in the Air Force. He met an Hungarian scientist, Johann von Neumann, who convinced him that atomic bombs could be reduced in size to the point that they could be delivered by a missile. The German V-2's had shown what a missile could do and with an atomic bomb on their nose they would be the super weapon. Schriever decided to begin his quest to build the ICBM.
The author focuses on the nuts and bolts of the engineering problems that had to be overcome in developing and deploying the ICBM. He also details the bureaucratic battles that Schriever fought regularly to keep his project moving. The launching of Sputnik in 1957 was a great boost to providing political support for funding the project. Sheehan takes for granted that the men working on the project were motivated by patriotism and does not make any value judgments on the awesome power of the ICBM.
There is no doubt that the development of the ICBM was a great feat of science and engineering. Sheehan never loses sight of the fact that the success of the project was a triumph of human effort. The author's short sketches of the people involved are what I enjoyed most about the book. The depth of the author's research provides a narration that is full of personal details.
Bernard Schiever is portrayed as an old fashioned American hero. An immigrant who grew up in San Antonio and then became a pilot in the Army Air Force. Schriever's creation is on par with the Panama Canal as an engineering achievement. The author notes that today the verification of a gas pump credit card is done via satellite because it is cheaper than using a land line. The unintended peaceful uses for everyone are Scriever's real legacy.
The book closes with a very touching scene of Schriever's funeral in 2005. The notes indicate that Sheehan attended the funeral and it appears that he developed a friendship with Schriever during the writing of the book.
The book is written very well. It is full of technical information but reads like fiction. I will remember Bennie Schriever and his crew and be glad that the weapon they created has not been used in anger.

#34 A Call for the Dead
This is the first novel in the George Smiley series. It provides a good introduction to Smiley and a few of the repeating characters in an interesting, well written novella.
The book opens with Lady Ann having left Smiley after two years of marriage. The suicide of a Foreign Service Officer that Smiley recently interviewed after an anonymous letter was received naming Samuel Fennan as a communist sympathizer begins the plot. Smiley meets Elsa Fennan and at the Fennan residence he picks up an 8:30 wake up service call meant for Samuel Fennan. This begins a trail of things that are not what they seem with Smiley in the middle.
One of the more interesting characters in the story is Dieter Frey. He was a student of Smiley's who Smiley passed over as a candidate for the English Intelligence service. Dieter is a forceful personality with a handicap that forces him to walk with a pronounced limp. He appears in the book as an agent for the East German Secret Service. The climax of the story is a confrontation between Smiley and Dieter.
I have read many of the George Smiley books and enjoyed them all. This one is very short but sets the tone for Smiley as the product of England of the 30's who becomes an unlikely hero in the Cold War.

Good reviews Bill!~!
Gave you a thumbs up for the 1st of the 2. You are doing a really good job with them. Don't you ever get tired of reading "good" books? ha ha
catch ya later dude.
belva

#35 The Great Terror: A Reassessment
After WWI many countries in Europe turned to some form of totalitarian government. The government leaders all used some form of state terror to maintain their power. After listening to this book I believe that Josef Stalin imprisoned, tortured and killed even more people than Adolf Hitler. This book is a thorough description of Stalin's terror campaign in the 30's highlighting the show trials, the purges and the labor camps. The book was written in 1960 and then revised in 1991 after more sources became available.
During his rule Stalin seemingly turned back the clock of history and ruled like a sadistic, medieval Tsar. At one point in the book he disparages criticism of Ivan the Terrible. His program of terror was greater than anything done by Nicholas II, the last Tsar. He destroyed all of his rivals and made sure that the orders of the government were followed without any questions.
The most public form of the terror was the show trials. They started in the early 30's after the murder of Kirov who was the Party leader in Leningrad. Others in the leadership were arrested and tortured until they were ready to confess to any and all of the crimes charged against them. Once someone was arrested by the NKVD it was only a matter of time. Western journalists were invited to the trials and they dutifully gave legitimacy to a proceeding straight out of Alice in Wonderland. The show trials eliminated and discredited all of the Old Bolsheviks, insuring that they could not challenge Stalin for power.
The purges were massive murder campaigns that wiped out the leadership throughout the country. Generals, scientists and engineers all read their confessions and were lead away to be shot. The labor camps were used to keep the common people in line. An unsuspecting person would be denounced by his neighbor and arrested for owning a book that had the wrong version of history. Then he was sent to Siberia to dig canals or cut down forests with little chance he would live out his sentence. His wife would be arrested and his children sent to an NKVD orphanage, no one was spared.
The author is very thorough in his description of the mechanisms of terror. There is a graphic description of the assassination of Trotsky. The only part that is not described is the torture. The author simply talks about people beaten beyond recognition. There is a lengthy description of the different diets in the labor camps. I learned how executions were done in Lubyanka prison, NKVD headquarters in Moscow. The author provides details of the Russian criminal code that made legal the crimes of the terror. There are quotes from NKVD memorandums sent throughout the country with quotas for arrests.
The worst part is that the terror was effective. The confessions at the show trials explained why there was nothing to eat. The fear of the knock on the door made sure no one complained. There was never any shortage of prison guards or prosecutors. Stalin, who was 5"3", ruled Russia from about 1927 until he died in his sleep in 1953. This book is a testament to Stalin's millions of victims. As horrible as it was it needs to be studied so that their suffering is not forgotten.

Bill;
Another dandy review. You are on a roll.
Pretty horrible what people do to one another over and over again through the years, isn't it?



belva

>#102:
Bill;
regarding this post and the Oxford History of the United States (I think that is what you were speaking of), I wanted to get this link to you.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_History_of_the_United_States

belva

Hey, Bill,
I have just finally caught up with your thread after all the travelling I did this summer and I want to say that I have enjoyed your reviews. I am pretty interested in the Plain, Honest Men book. I have some of the LOA titles on the constitution and have been wanting to read those as well.

I am also interested in A Call for the Dead. I had thought that The Spy Who Came in from the Cold was the first George Smiley book. It was the first Cold War spy book that I ever read and it had me hooked.

Have a great day and thanks for all the reviews!
--BJ

>#125:
BJ,
I have read several books on the writing of the Constitution and Plain, Honest Men was one of the best. The book has clear and detailed narration of the Convention and excellent background on what the delegates were doing outside the convention hall. I am sure you would find it very interesting and informative.
Call for the Dead is in an edition with three Smiley novels which includes another book that was written before The Spy Who Came in From the Cold titled A Murder of Quality. I plan to read that soon.

Thanks for the info on Plain, Honest Men. I added it to my wishlist because it sounds like a good one. I read a truly wonderful biography of George Washington this year by Ellis which kind of got me interested in the constitution.

Thanks, too, for the info on the Smiley novels. I am trying to remember if I have read A Murder of Quality or not. I have heard of it. I will have to read it and see if I remember it. Not that long ago I saw the movie from The Spy Who Came in From the Cold. I was so happy the day the Berlin wall fell.
--BJ

Bill;
As I have not begun John Le Carre' "Smiley" series, I am thrilled to find this information before I start them. I am very happy to add Call for the Dead to my TBR listing. Thank you very much. What a timely rec.
hugs,
belva

Regarding #122, I got a small taste of Stalin's regime in the novel Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith. Even fictionally the book chilled me to the bones and, if you're interested, it's in paperback and probably available at your used bookstore.

>#129 Good to hear from you BF. I've always found the nonfiction more chilling because real people did really awful things to other real people. One book I have never finished is The Nazi Doctors. As an example of what's inside it has a whole chapter on Dr. Mengele.

#36 A Morning for Flamingos
This is the fourth book in the Dave Robicheaux series. It is a straight forward detective mystery with with Burke's patented suspenseful ending. The ending also has an interesting surprise that I will not spoil for anyone.
The book begins with Robicheaux and Lester Benoit, detectives with the New Iberia Sheriff's Department, transporting two prisoners, Jimmie Lee Boggs and Tee Beau Latiolas, to Angola. There is a breakout and Robicheaux is shot and only survives through the actions of one of the prisoners. After three months in the hospital Robicheaux is recruited to work undercover for the DEA. Jimmie Lee Boggs is a hit man who becomes part of the story until the end. Tee Beau was convicted of the murder of Hipolyte Broussard. Both had been sentenced to death in the electric chair before their escape. Tee Beau becomes a major character and his story sheds some interesting insight on race relations in Louisiana.
Burke must have worked overtime coming up with the great collection of names in this book, besides Tee Beau there is his Tante Lemon, Gros Mama Goula and Robicheaux's DEA contact who is an agent named Minos Dautrieve.
Tony Cardo is the target of the undercover operation. While trying to bust him Robicheaux gets pretty close to Tony "C". They were both in Vietnam and both have addiction problems. Cardo has a lot of layers to his character which include taking excellent care of a physically challenged son and reading Harper's magazine. Working undercover Robicheaux ends up living at Cardo's house and they also spend some time in jail together.
While Robicheaux is playing dope dealer and trying to set up a score he gets a note from Bootsie, his girlfriend from 1957. She is now Bootsie Giacano the widow of a mobster in the vending machine business with New Orleans gangsters. If you have read later Robicheaux novels you know what happens.
Cletus Purcel is in the story as the owner of a bar and during the shooting Robicheaux is very glad that Cletus is around.
Doing undercover work and the aftermath of his shooting bring Robicheaux a lot of bad dreams and are the topics of his internal monologue that is familiar to readers of this series. The end of the book is fast paced action with just a little pinch of they all lived happily ever after.
The Tin Roof Blowdown is still my favorite book in the Robicheaux series. This book is well written, fast paced and entertaining but does not have as much depth in the characters as Burke's later novels in the series. An excellent writer Burke has improved with practice.

Hey Bill!
I added The Tin Roof Blowdown to my wishlist on LT. I think I will need to check out this series. I will look for the first one first though. It kind of reminds me of an Alec Baldwin movie that I saw once. But I can't recall the title of that. Thanks for the review!
--BJ

The Alec Baldwin movie you saw was based on Burke's 2nd Robicheaux novel, Heaven's Prisoners, BJ.

Check it out here

That's right! Now I remember. I think that I would like those books.
--BJ

#37 Crimea This is the only book I have read about the Crimean War except for The Reason Why, which was about the Charge of the Light Brigade. It seems strange to describe a war this way but the Crimean War was a little eccentric, except for the wounding, killing and dying. Even the dying was out of the usual since more men died of disease than battlefield wounds. One of the causes of the war was a dispute between France and Russia over who would control the key to the main door of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. It is not normal that people would kill each other about such a dispute. The Ottoman's had decided to take the key from the Greek Orthodox monks and give it to French Roman Catholic monks. The Russians were the guardians of the Orthodox faith and took umbrage at the change. Russia also wanted some Turkish territory and access to the Mediterranean Sea. Britain became involved in defense of the Ottoman Empire and to keep the Russians in their place. Napoleon III, the French Emperor, wanted to reassert the power of France in Europe. Unfortunately this ambition led to a little war with Prussia in 1870-71 that ousted him from his throne. The Ottoman Empire was slowly disintegrating and the Russians had invaded the Danubian principalities (territory where the Danube River enters the Black Sea, now parts of Romania and Bulgaria) and that started the war.
The French, British, Ottoman Turks and later the Sardinians were all allied against the Russians. The Austrians were not on the side of the Russians but they were not actively fighting. The French supplied the majority of the troops and the British the majority of the naval forces. The soldiers of the Ottoman army fought hard at times but their leadership was inept and corrupt. The majority of the war was the allied siege of Sevastopol in the Crimean peninsula. There was also a naval campaign in the Baltic Sea involving the fortress islands that guarded St. Petersburg and fighting in the eastern part of Turkey bordering the Caucasus mountains.
The technology of war saw advances on both sides. The siege of Sevastopol saw the first large scale use of trench warfare on both sides, a prelude to the Western Front in WWI. The French and British made extensive use of the Minie rifle which was developed into the Springfield rifle used in the U.S. Civil War. The Russians made large scale use of mines in their sea defenses. Other technological advances included the electric telegraph, steam powered battleships and the use of trains for moving troops and supplies.
The armies numbered almost 1,000,000 on the allied side and 700,000 on the Russian side. The health and sanitation problems were massive. The Crimean Peninsula had an unsanitary water supply and frequent epidemics of cholera. Extensive reporting in British newspapers of health conditions for the soldiers and care for the wounded was the impetus for the efforts of Florence Nightingale and a general upgrade of diet, sanitation and clean clothes for the British soldiers.
There are extensive quotations from letters and dispatches written by the military and political leaders. These chronicled the disagreements and infighting among the leadership and provided some insight into the differing agendas of the allies. At least one-half of the book covers the political and diplomatic background to the military campaigns. The author is English and there is a marked emphasis on the British sources and point of view.
After the capture of Sevastopol the parties seemed to get tired of the war. There had been many casualties and the Russian war machine was breaking down. The French began withdrawing troops and Austria came forward with proposals for peace. The treaty of Paris ended the war in a rather inconclusive fashion. Russia had to give up some territory and lost standing as a military power, which was the goal of Britain. France regained some of their big power status lost at the end of the Napoleonic wars. The Ottoman Empire continued to decline as "the sick man of Europe" until its fall after WWI.
The book is a good single volume history that gives the reader a thorough and detailed narration of the events of the war. It is a little dry and reads at times like a history textbook. I felt the author was more concerned with being thorough and accurate than providing an experience for the reader that was interesting and entertaining. A greater emphasis on analysis of the how and why of the events would have produced a better book.
The Crimean War was a significant event in European history and there is a short concluding chapter that sets forth the futures of the countries involved and how they were affected by the events of the war. I read this book as an amateur historian plugging a gap in my knowledge of European history. It was well suited for that purpose. The most interesting sections were the quotations from letters that give some insight into the thoughts of the different parties and what life was like during that time. Unless the reader has an interest in history or this topic I would have to recommend you pass to the next book on the list.

Another good review Bill.
We don't hear much discussion regarding the Crimean War. So it was strange to come across quite a little bit of it in The Eyre Affair as the main character was involved in the conflict and also lost her brother there. And then to come to your thread and read your review just kind of gave me goose pimples.
Even given your last sentence (although I do have an interest in history---not to the extent that you and some others do but...) I think I need to give this one a try.
Thanx for another good one.
belva

The Flashman books are good historical fiction. Flashman at the Charge has some good points on general incompetence of the British generals and the personal disagreements that led to the Charge of the Light Brigade.

#38 Member of the Wedding
This is a coming of age story about Frankie Adams, a twelve year old girl who lives in a small Southern town with her widowed father. Frankie spends most of her time with Berenice Sadie Brown who is the black cook for the family and her six year old cousin John Henry West. They are usually in the kitchen talking about whatever comes to mind.
Frankie is at that age where she is not sure who she is, she changes her name to F. Jasmine during the story, or where she is going. Early in the story her brother Jarvis decides to marry his fiancee Janice and invites Frankie to the wedding. Frankie decides that she will become part of their family and live with them after the wedding. She only tells a few people and Jarvis and Janice are not included.
The rest of the plot is how her plan for a happily ever after threesome works out. Using this story as a backdrop the author does an excellent job of following the meanderings of a twelve year old girl in a small town. Frankie has some very interesting conversations with Berenice about Berenice's three husbands. Berenice tries to impart some adult wisdom to Frankie but more often than not the child in Frankie rejects it. When dealing with John Henry it is Frankie who tries to appear the adult and is often outdone by John Henry's childish wisdom. All of the dialogue between these three is excellent and it gave me the feeling that I spent some time sitting in that kitchen.
There is an incident where a sailor tries to treat Frankie like an adult and ends up with a big bump on the head.
In the end reality is imposed on Frankie and she learns that she has to accept it. She turns thirteen and moves on a little older and wiser. This is not the type of story I would expect to enjoy but the author's writing skill helped me get to know and like Frankie and her friends. It stirred some of my memories from being young and living in a small town in the South. More than anything the author portrays the gamut of emotions and the silliness and pain of the bumpy road of growing up.

138: you make the book sound so sweeeet :)

Yes, it does sound really good! I enjoyed The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by the same author a few years ago so I'll definitely be adding this one to the TBR.

I have the Library of America edition which has the complete novels of Carson McCullers. So far I have read The Heart is a Lonely Hunter and also Clock without Hands. I enjoyed them both and still have two novels to go. She was a very good writer. The Library of America and LibraryThing have both introduced me to some good books that otherwise I probably would not have read.

# 39 The Neon Rain
This is the first book in the Dave Robicheaux series. Robicheaux is single, working as a Detective for the New Orleans PD and living on a houseboat on Lake Pontchartrain. The book opens with a hit man awaiting execution telling Dave there is a contract out on him. Robicheaux had found the body of a young prostitute and his attempts to investigate her murder made him very unpopular with a wide cast of characters including a local Sheriff, New Orleans mobsters and the New Orleans Police.
Building on this premise Burke writes a fast moving story full of violence. Robicheaux becomes the target of some ex-government agents left over from the days of the contras and is framed for murder. He goes back on the bottle and becomes involved with a part-time cello player named Annie Ballard.
The story lacks some of the style that Burke developed over the life of the series but does provide good entertainment. The dialogue and the characters have a hard edged realism that is present in all of the Robicheaux books. While I enjoyed the story I probably will not read it again. It is a good cop story but lacks the depth of the later books in the series.

Nevertheless, you finally got around to the first one!

The Neon Rain is very close to the top of my list of next-to-read. I'm going to go through the entire series again, in order, except that I started with Heaven's Prisoners.

I have started a thread at Club Read here:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/75054

I want to change my format and do more of a reading journal than just reviewing books as I read them.

So, we should look to see you here NO MORE, as Marley said?