The Night Gardener
Some of the characters seemed shoe-horned in. Pretty good read overall.
Archive for the 'Books' Category
The Big Blowdown
Well written and very entertaining. Pelecanos hitting on all cylinders with this one
Hell To Pay
Pretty good. Moves along at a good clip.
Drama City
Good for an evening with nothing to do, but don’t ask for much more than that.
Stalin
First 1/3 was interesting. The rest was tedious.
Stalin: The First In-depth Biography Based on Explosive New Documents from Russia’s Secret Archives
The Overlook
Author and Bosch seem to be getting a bit tired in this reworked NYT serial.
The First Crusade
The first 60-80 pages are about papal politics and the overall situation in Europe, which I ended up skimming. Once the crusaders got under way, things started to get interesting. There is actually much more information about the siege of Antioch than Jerusalem. From cannibalism to siege engines to unremitting bloodshed, its hard to imagine how anyone survived.
The First Crusade: A New History: The Roots of Conflict between Christianity and Islam
Genghis Khan
I read this after seeing the movie Mongol which was a pretty good introduction. The scope of the Mongol conquest was awesome. Story lags a bit after Genghis’ death, but a good read overall.
Echo Park
This one stretches the willful suspension of disbelief but is good for a day off.
The Closers
Bosch is back from retirement and back in the mix.
City of Bones
Keeps you off balance throughout. One of the better in the Bosch series.
Napoleon
Penguin Lives series is somewhat like the cliff notes of biography. Some interesting theories on the birth of totalitarianism and secret police force that grew out of the French Revolution.
Angels Flight
Not his best effort. Bosch’s romantic problems seem bolted on.
Robert E Lee
About the shortest book I have ever read on the Civil War. Doesn’t go into much detail about the campaigns, which is fine. More focused on what made Lee tick.
Inside the Crosshairs
More of an overall history of weapons development and the creation of US sniper tactics. Not much on individual soldier actions. A bit dull for such an interesting topic.
The Lincoln Lawyer
The Lawyer by Lawyer genre has gotten a bit tired, so it was interesting to see it from a non-lawyer perspective. Read pretty quick for a thick paperback.
Dak To
No holds barred account of the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam. Generals in helicopters ordering ground troops to assault fortified NVA positions pretty much captures the overall tenor of the book. The descriptions of the battle for Hill 875 are not for the squeamish.
Dak To: America’s Sky Soldiers in South Vietnam’s Central Highlands
War Underground
History of British mining activity under the trenches during WWI. Doesn’t hold back. Graphic descriptions of the results of explosions, cave-ins and decomposition. Fizzles out at the end as all mining activity was stopped by both sides in 1917.
Bowfin
Underwhelming. I was wondering why the author tiptoed around Adm. Christie’s borderline criminal conduct regarding the Mark XIV torpedo. That is, until I re-read the intro and saw it was written by Christie! A classic tale of bureaucratic arrogance and incompetence taking precedence over the lives of front line combatants.
Bowfin: The True Story of a Fabled Fleet Submarine in World War II (Classics of War)
Panzer Commander
The last 1/3 of this book is the best and most revealing about the character of the author. I wish he had provided more stories about his relationship with Rommel. His descriptions of the Russian work camps and his post war re-acclimation are excellent. I am hoping that his lectures to various war colleges and the Normandy battle tours will someday be available to the public.
