Book Thread number ?

[MattS]

Re: Book Thread number ?

I guess it is time for an update. I have not read as many books as usual because the stuff I have been reading and am currently reading is long. Anyway:

Ghostman by Roger Hobbs. Fiction book about a "ghostman" (I would call him a grifter) and his solving of a crime for a mafia boss. It was a interesting novel and I liked it. However it was a bit confusing as it kept jumping back in time at various points in the book and without seemingly any reason for it. It gets a little tedious with not enough action and too much description.



The Burning Shore: How Hitler's U-Boats brought World War II to America by Ed Offley. Non-fiction account of the U-Boat action off the eastern coast of America. It was an OK read with lots of facts and details. It reads more like a text book or ship's log than anything else. While some of the details are neat to know I found the overall telling of the times/battles/people to be dull and devoid of anything interesting. It was dry even for a non-fiction book. Read it if your are really interested in WWII or submarine warfare, otherwise skip it.




The Poeple of the Ruins by Edwards Shanks. A fictional book about a man who has a scientific accident and is suspended in hibernation for 150 years. He wakes up in a regressed society in England. The tale is about him trying to adjust in society and the warfare advances he brings back. Horrible book. Don't wast your time. RUN AWAY!!



Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti. This is the non-fictional account of being a youth in Nazi Germany. I thought it was going to be strictly about the Hitler Youth but it was more encompassing than that. It was a little disjointed and at times it was more about the Holocaust than the youth of Germany, but still a decent read. It's worth the time to learn about the systematic brainwashing that was done to the young people of Nazi Germany. A good one for people who enjoy WWII or Nazi history.

 

[Probert]

Re: Book Thread number ?

My Recent Reads

Kindness Goes Unpunished by Craig Johnson The 3rd Walt Longmire book finds him on his way to Philadelphia to visit his daughter. When she is attacked and put in a coma Walt starts to investigate with the help of Vic’s family of Philly cops the Moretti’s. When her boyfriend the chief suspect is thrown of a bridge Walt is considered the prime suspect. Good read

Merckx: Half Man, Half Bike by William Fotheringham An excellent biography of the Cannibal Eddy Merckx the greatest cyclist in history. It tells a little bit about his early childhood and how he became involved in cycling and then tells the story of his career and his desire to win all the races he entered. Dominating the sprints, classics and grand tours like no other before him it tells of his greatest victories and his rivals who realized how tough it was to defeat him.

Blood and Thunder: An Epic of the American West by Hampton Sides This was a pretty good book about the battle for the New Mexico Territory covering the battles US forces had with Mexican authorities and locals during the Mexican War, the Confederacy during the Civil War and the Indian tribes that populated the area primarily the Navajo. It tracks the career of Kit Carson who was involved in all of these along with the various Chiefs, Army commanders and Government officials.

The 50 Greatest Players in New York Yankees History by Robert W. Cohen An analysis of the 50 greatest Yankees of all time. Taking into account only their seasons with the Yankees he rates where they should rank. Obviously it is subjective, A-Roid at #12? Granted this was written before his recent suspension but above Red Ruffing and Lefty Gomez? Pretty good analysis of the Bronx Bombers.

Threat Warning by John Gilstrap The latest Jonathan Grave book finds him trying to rescue a former Delta Force comrades wife and son who have been captured by a group making terrorist attacks across America. Good read.

Eliot Ness: The Rise and Fall of an American Hero by Douglas Perry Interesting book on the true story of the Untouchable Elliot Ness. It tells correctly that the Untouchables did not bring down Capone but did harass his operations in Chicago while the IRS brought their tax case. It follows his distinguished career as Commissioner of Public Safety in Cleveland cleaning up this corrupt town. It also tells of his fall as his dies broke an alcoholic ironically.. Good read.

Never Trust a Liberal Over Three - Especially a Republican by Ann Coulter A collection of Ann’s columns with some new information. What you would expect from her.

Damage Control by John Gilstrap Another excellent Jonathan Grave book from Gilstrap. This one finds them rescuing a busload of Christian missionary’s in Mexico. Right at the start it all goes sideways as the police show up and all but one of the hostages are killed. Jonathan and Boxers find they are set up and a ruthless Mexican drug lord is on the hunt for them with some assistance from informers in Washington. As the gang in the US tries to clear them and find who set them up the team with a young hostage in tow must try to escape Mexico while being hunted by drug cartels, the police and the military. Excellent read.

Field of Prey by John Sandford This Davenport novel finds him on the trail of a serial killer after two teenagers out parking find a body dump with over 20 bodies. Teaming with a female sheriff investigator after the lead BCI investigator is murdered presumably by the killer Davenport faces one of his most difficult challenges. Good read.

Nothing But Money: How the Mob Infiltrated Wall Street by Greg B. Smith This book tells of the Mob infiltration and manipulation of Wall Street boiler rooms. It was okay at best, it seemed disjointed with the author going back and forth from telling about the various brokers involved in the scams to the wiseguys running it. It was kind of all over the place without a consistent storyline.

The Butcher: Anatomy of a Mafia Psychopath by Philip Carlo An interesting tale of Mafia Capo and hitman Tommy Karate Pitera. It tells the story of his rise to fame in the Bonnano family as a feared hitman and drug dealer and the DEA agents who finally managed to crack his empire and send him to jail.

 

[burd]

Re: Book Thread number ?

A while back, Wisconsin Wildcard recommended Mistakes Were Made (but not by me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts, by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson. Good read.

 

[Probert]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Recent Reads

The Last Founding Father: James Monroe and a Nation's Call to Greatness by Harlow Giles Unger An excellent biography of our nation’s 5th President the last of the Founding Fathers. It covers his career from his service as an aide to General Washington during the revolution. His service as a diplomat to France, Spain and England during both Washington and Jefferson’s terms where he helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase, exceeding his authority as he was only to buy New Orleans and West Florida. His wife helped free the Marquis De Lafayette’s wife from prison during the terror and they helped her and her family escape France. The after returning to the United States he served as Minister of War and Secretary of State to Madison and helped defend Washington DC during the War of 1812. It lastly covers his Presidency which included him issuing the famous doctrine which bears his name.

The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer by Philip Carlo I had seen the HBO specials about noted Mafia Hitman Richard Kulinski but this book tells the story of this hitman serial killer’s life. I’ll be honest some of the claims seem remarkable according to the book he must have killed 12 people for ****ing him off while driving. I know many of the kills he claims has been documented but he admits to killing over 200 people. It was okay but the story was kind of kill, kill do something normal kill again some interaction with mafia guys, kill again.

Unlucky 13 by James Patterson The latest Women’s Murder Club follows the typical Patterson formula, way too many plot lines in a relatively short book, for me. Yuki and Brady get married on their honeymoon cruise the ship is hijacked, storyline 1. Someone is planting “belly bombs” at a popular area restaurant causing patrons to explode once they ingest them and the bomber is holding the restaurant for ransom storyline 2. Last but not least Mackie Morales the villain from the last book is stalking Lindsey but murder club member Cindy Thomas is attempting to track her down to get an exclusive story. Trying to cram all 3 of these storylines into a 416 pages which in the way Patterson books are written is more like 200-250 pages, detracts from all the storylines. I used to enjoy this series but the last 3-4 have not been that good, luckily I can read them in a day.

Naked Heat by Richard Castle The second of the Nikki Heat books based on the Castle TV series finds them investigating the death of NYC most notorious rumor mongering gossip columnist. About what you would expect if you watch the TV series. An okay crime story.

Ghost Ship by Clive Cussler, Graham Brown This Kurt Austin book starts with Austin trying to rescue an old flame and being hurt in the process while her and her family are killed. Afterwards he is haunted by her memory and feels that she is alive. He starts of on a chase to find if she really was alive and abducted. Going across several continents he struggles to uncover a global conspiracy rife with danger. OK read.

Act of War by Brad Thor Another good Harvath thriller from Thor finds him involved in the middle of a Chinese plot to undermine and possibly invade the United States using Muslim extremists as proxies. Harvath along with a Seal team that has invaded North Korea must get to the bottom of the plot before it is unleashed on the US. Good read could have been a little bit longer as at the end everything comes together really quickly.

Hell's Gate by Stephen W. Frey An okay book by Frey which takes us away from Wall Street his typical genre. Lawyer Hunter Lee has just won a big case in Montana when troubles with his marriage convince him to move from NYC to Montana. Once there he gets involved with his brother and the son of a senator to try to figure out if someone is deliberately setting forest fires to make themselves wealthy. OK read.

Wheelmen: Lance Armstrong, the Tour de France, and the Greatest Sports Conspiracy Ever by Reed Albergotti, Vanessa O'Connell An excellent book by a couple of Wall St Journal reports on the Lance Armstrong scandal. An in depth look into the doping ring run by Armstrong and his team for years and how Armstrong co-opted his charity, sponsors and teammates to keep the lie going, dispels some of the myths that popped up during Armstrong’s record 7 Tour De France wins. There are some points the authors don’t make especially in the introduction they seem to indicate that many cyclists rode clean when probably the majority of the top tier racers during this time doped Armstrong just did it better and more efficiently than the rest. Good read

Paul Revere's Ride by David Hackett Fischer An excellent book by Fischer where he helps dispel the myths of Paul Revere’s ride that have been made into myth by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Despite breaking the myth Fischer highlights the many unknown contributions that Revere made to the Revolution and the American fight for Independence. He also highlights the positives and negative of General Thomas Gage Britain’s head military man in America at the start of the Revolutionary War.

High Treason by John Gilstrap This Jonathan Grave book finds them called in to investigate the kidnapping of the First Lady which the White House wants to keep quite at all possible. As Scorpion and the Big Guy investigate they start to discover secrets which could unravel the administration. Can they rescue her before it is too late. Good read.

Mr. Adams's Last Crusade: The Extraordinary Post-presidential Life of John Quincy Adams
by Joseph Wheelan An excellent short book focusing on the 6th Presidents 8 terms in the House of Representatives following his defeat by Andrew Jackson. The book only briefly describes Adam’s diplomatic career, his tenure as Secretary of State for James Monroe and his one term as President. It focuses on his tenure in the House and his fight against Southern Senators over the right of Petition, Southern Rep’s wanted to gag the House from bringing up petitions to abolish slavery. It also highlights his fight against the annexation of Texas because he did not wish it to enter the US as a slave state. It tells how he helped argue before the Supreme Court for the freedom of the Amistad’s slaves. It highlights how a very unpopular President became hugely popular post presidency, especially in the North and earned the respect of his foes. Excellent Read

 

[MattS]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Reads since my last post....

Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory by Ben Macintyre. A very interesting account of a secret operation by the British during WWII to fool the Germans on the wherabouts of the soon to be invasion of Europe from Africa. Overall I enjoyed the tale. The author does occasionally go off on side tangents that do not really contribute to the main story but are interesting none the less.


Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill. A urban fantasy book. It's mediocre at best. A poor replication of Kim Harrison books.


NYPD Red 2 by James Patterson. Second book in the NYPD Red series. This one about a series of murders that starts out with "nobodies" but soon esclates to celebrities and thus involves the Red squad. A good easy-reading detective novel. It's nothing spectacular but fun to read.


The Other Normals by Ned Vizzini. I did not know this was a YA novel when I download it from the library. Even so, I wanted to like the book and I tried to. The overall story was acceptable but the writing was horrible. The author tied to be funny and witty but it comes off flat and below juvenile. The editor of this book should be fired for letting it go to print.


Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney and Patrick Arrasmith. Typical fantasy novel dealing with witches and ghosts. It was mediocre at best. Tedious writing.


Inferno: The World at War. 1939-1945 by Max Hastings. This was an extremely long (752 pages), comprehensive account of WWII. It is a bit rambling at times and has some details that are of no consequence. However, overall it is excellent! The overarching details that are presented are impressive. I can't imagine the amount of time that was put into research for this book. My only complaint is that the author offers his opinions of people (Generals, Admirals, PM, Presidents, Dictators, etc.) too many times and tries to pass them off as facts. A must read for WWII fanatics.


Colony by Ben Bova. A waste of time futuristic novel that tries to be SciFi but is really a commentary on society. Terrible book.


First Evidence by Ken Goddard. Good book about a forensic scientist and the weird happenings during an investigation in a remote part of Oregon. It was a decent mystery with a touch of SciFi thrown in.

 

[The Rube]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Currently about 3/4 through "Hollywood Censored" by Gregory D. Black.

About the pre-Code/Legion Of Decency era of movies, well before the MPAA. Fascinating read, although a bit heavy/almost textbook-like.

And God bless Mae West.

 

[Kepler]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Currently reading a collection of ghost stories by M. R. James. He's wonderful and I highly recommend him. His 10-page story "Casting the Runes" was turned into the outstanding 1957 movie "Night of the Demon."

 

[St. Clown]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Trying to read The Princess Bride on my Kindle. The story is simple enough, and Morgenstern hasn't really tried to make things difficult thus far, but it turns out that the version available on Amazon's Kindle Unlimited is the 30th Anniversary version, with about 200 pages of introduction to the story. Then the guy who wrote the screenplay has edited the actual story so as to remove some portions of the original book because they "ruin" the narrative, all the while he seems oblivious that adding in little bits about he, his wife, and kid as they relate to the book isn't really helping the matter either. I'm only to the point where Prince Humperdinck and Buttercup get engaged and the book has become tedious. Also, I find the movie versions of a number of characters more entertaining thus far, which doesn't happen often for me.

 

[jen]

Re: Book Thread number ?

I started to read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/You-Must-Set-Forth-Dawn/dp/0375755144">You Must Set Forth At Dawn</a> by Wole Soyinka, but it started out too dry and I gave up 60 pages in. The beginning was mostly the political history of Nigeria and very little memoir.

 

[jen]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Finished <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Thousand-Splendid-Suns-Khaled-Hosseini/dp/159448385X">A Thousand Splendid Suns</a> by Khaled Hosseini - really enjoyed it. Haven't read Kite Runner yet, but it's on my list.

 

[The Rube]

Re: Book Thread number ?

On a recommendation by our very own GLM, just started "Up, Up, And Away" by Jonah Keri. It's about the Montreal Expos franchise. Hopefully it's a good read.

 

[Probert]

Re: Book Thread number ?

My Recent reads

The Successor by Stephen W. Frey This book finds Christian Gillette tasked by the President to evaluate a Cuban rebel group trying to take power after Fidel Castro’s death. Hunted by members of the US Government who want to stop Gillette and bring the President down. Okay book but the end came about a little too quick.

Days of Rage by Brad Taylor The latest Pike Logan thriller finds him hunting the hunters as Task Force members are being eliminated by an unseen foe. Does this have something to do with a flash drive that they are fighting the Russians and the Israeli’s over. As more Taskforce members get into trouble Logan and Jennifer are forced to team up with the Israeli’s to stop a terrorist plot. Good read.

The Smoke at Dawn by Jeff Shaara The continuation of Shaara's Civil War in the West series follow the aftermath of the Confederate victory at Chickamauga. As the Confederate's lay siege to the Union in Chattanooga, the book covers the infighting in the Confederate camp as the Generals rebel against Braxton Bragg. It covers the shake up in the Union Forces as US Grant arrives to take charge and General Rosecrans is replaced by General Thomas. Ultimately it covers the break out of Chattanooga by the Union in the Battle above the Clouds. Another good effort from Shaara.

The Keeper by John Lescroart The latest Dismas Hardy book finds him investigating and defending the husband of one of his wives clients who is accused of her murder. When his friend retired police investigator Abe Glitsky starts to look into it he begins to uncover a conspiracy at the jail where he works. Could this be responsible for her murder. Okay book but not on a par with Lescroarts usual works.

The Finish: The Killing of Osama Bin Laden by Mark Bowden The account of the hunt and raid that killed Osama Bin Laden as told by Mark Bowden. It details the information that tracked down where Bin Laden was in hiding the planning of the raid, the political issues swirling around and the execution of the raid and the killing of Bin Laden. Good read

The Immortalists by Kyle Mills This book by Mills follows the saga of a scientist who has been trying to save his child who suffers from Progeria. When he is given some information from another scientist's husband who was murdered he finds that everyone who researches this ends up dead or bought off. Teaming up with a billionaire who is looking for eternal youth can he stay alive and save his daughter. OK read

WORM: The First Digital World War. By Mark Bowden An OK book about various computer security experts who come together to try and solve and stop the computer worm Conficker. It infected millions of computers worldwide and this describes the battle to try and stop it’s spread find out who unleashed it and what it was supposed to do. OK

Another Man’s Moccasins by Craig Johnson The 4th of the Walt Longmire series finds him investigating the death of a young Vietnamese girl who is found holding a picture of him from Vietnam. As Walt investigates he has flashbacks to his experiences in Vietnam. Good read

Seward: Lincoln's Indispensable Man by Walter Stahr An excellent biography of Lincoln’s Secretary of State. It tells of his rise in NY politics to become Senator and Governor, his role as a founder in the Republican Party and how he lost the Presidential nomination to Lincoln in 1860, Seward was considered the front runner. It tells of the friendship that Lincoln and Seward formed and how Seward became Lincoln’s most trusted advisor and how the Radical Republican’s tried to remove Seward from the cabinet. It describes the assassination attempt on Seward the same night that they killed President Lincoln, his recovery and how he continue to serve Andrew Johnson. It tells the story of what he is most famous for Seward’s Folly the purchase of Alaska and his effort to get Congress to approve the purchase. Good read.

Kill Bin Laden: A Delta Force Commander's Account of the Hunt for the World's Most Wanted Man
by Dalton Fury This book is written by one of the delta Force commanders on how the Battle for Tora Bora took place on the ground. The negotiating that took place between the Afghan warlords whose troops were supposed to wipe out Al Queda. The actual fighting that took place by them, the actions of the special forces troops of the US and UK on the ground trying to keep Bin Laden and others from escaping into Pakistan. OK read.

 

[owslachief]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Found this book in the shopping-cart / 50¢ bin at the library:
"Contact" by late/great Carl Sagan. Never read anything before this that imagined a more plausible compromise between science and belief in an intelligent Creator.
Tough to put down until last page was turned.

 

[MattS]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Reads since last post:

South Pacific Destroyer: The Battle for the Solomons from Savo Island to the Vella Gulf by Russell Sydnor Crenshaw Jr. An excellent account (some first hand by the author) of the Battle for the Solomons in WWII. The author provided excellent details of the battles. I especially like the author's detailing the shorcomings of the US Navy and their torpedoes during this time.


With Wings Like Eagles by Michael Korda. A highly detailed account of the Battle of Britain during WWII. It focuses more on the commanders (Dowding and Goring) than the actual pilots.


Red Raider Diary by Merrill Thomas Dewan. This is a book that takes excerpts from the diary of a WWII air crewman during his time in the South Pacific. It's not the best book written but it is about a friend's father so I read it.


Crusade by Taylor Anderson. A poor second book in the Destroyermen series. This book continues the adventures of a WWII US Navy destroyer that is transported into an alternate Earth where humans do not exist and the intelligent species are based upon lemers and lizards. The first book was good. This one was horrible.


Hunting Evil: The Nazi War Criminals Who Escaped and the Quest to bring Them to Justice by Guy Walters. I like the details and the information that the author provided in this book. The title is a bit misleading as "quest" part is not what I expected. However, the author does not provide a coherent book. The book jumps between people, places, and time periods at random. It made it tough to read.

 

[Kepler]

Re: Book Thread number ?

How to Live: A Life of Montaigne

I've just started this and it's excellent if you are interested in Montaigne's essays and/or his life.

 

[Kepler]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Trying to read The Princess Bride on my Kindle. The story is simple enough, and Morgenstern hasn't really tried to make things difficult thus far, but it turns out that the version available on Amazon's Kindle Unlimited is the 30th Anniversary version, with about 200 pages of introduction to the story. Then the guy who wrote the screenplay has edited the actual story so as to remove some portions of the original book because they "ruin" the narrative, all the while he seems oblivious that adding in little bits about he, his wife, and kid as they relate to the book isn't really helping the matter either. I'm only to the point where Prince Humperdinck and Buttercup get engaged and the book has become tedious. Also, I find the movie versions of a number of characters more entertaining thus far, which doesn't happen often for me.

It's the "good parts" version.

Wait till you get to Buttercup's Baby.

 

[WeAreNDHockey]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Hiroshima Nagasaki - The Real Story of the Atomic Bombings and their Aftermath, by Paul Ham. I refuse to succumb to confirmation bias syndrome so I make a point to occasionally read books with an advertised message that is directly opposed to my own. The author is an avowed believer that the atomic attacks at the end of WW2 were unnecessary and seeks to make his case through his research and writing. I don't share this viewpoint at all but I refuse to be afraid of ideas that might change my thinking should they be persuasive enough. I encourage everyone here to actively seek out -- at least once in a while -- books and authors who disagree with you. None of us (especially me) even know all of the right questions, let alone the correct answers.

 

[The Rube]

Re: Book Thread number ?

I mentioned this in the Drinking Thread a while ago, but bought "1001 Beers You Must Taste Before You Die" by Adrian Teirney-Jones.

Excellent coffee-table book. bbdl first bought a copy, and after perusing it multiple times, I finally bought my own (and yes, we are marking off ones we've had). Very in-depth about each beer that they have selected, and an interesting thing is, these are not necessarily the TOP 1001 beers, they are just the 1001 that you must taste. They have Budweiser and PBR in there, for example, because of how big they are.

 

[jen]

Re: Book Thread number ?

Finished <a href="http://www.amazon.com/New-England-White-Stephen-Carter/dp/B005UWF3A0">New England White</a> by Stephen Carter (he wrote Emperor of Ocean Park, which I thoroughly enjoyed). Another good one - about 50 pages in, I was hooked and couldn't wait to find out what happened. I think I enjoyed Ocean Park a little more, but this one was still very good. The library had a couple other books of his (one about politics, one about spies), but I'm not sure the subjects interest me.

The library didn't have The Kite Runner (!!), so I picked up the newer one from Hosseini - <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mountains-Echoed-Khaled-Hosseini/dp/1594632383/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1410439061&sr=1-1&keywords=khaled+hosseini">And the Mountains Echoed</a>. About halfway through, enjoying it a lot.

 

[Probert]

Re: Book Thread number ?

My recent reads


The Most Dangerous Man in America: The Making of Douglas MacArthur by Mark Perry This book tells the story of Macarthur’s life as Chief of Staff of the Army just prior to WWII and the battles to try and keep the military prepared against the members of FDR and the isolationists in the US who want to cut military spending to the bone. It shows how FDR outmaneuvered MacArthur in replacing him as chief of staff and sending him to the Philippines and how Macarthur handled the battles on the Philippines when the Japanese invaded. His flight to Australia and then his direction of the war in the Pacific, battles with Naval Commanders and politicians over getting the troops and resources to fight against the Japanese. Lastly it covers his relationships with his subordinates as he assembles the team to win the war in the Pacific. Good read.

Wild Storm by Richard Castle This is on of the Richard Castle books that follow secret agent Derrick Storm trying to save the world. When an airplane that he is flying on is targeted by terrorists and only saved by his timely intervention he is tasked to find the culprits. Traveling to several continents to try and get the answer he comes across an interesting assortment of deadly characters. OK read.

American Spring: Lexington, Concord, and the Road to Revolution by Walter R. Borneman I greatly enjoyed Borneman’s book on James Polk but didn’t think this one was on a par with that . Telling of the early days of the Revolution, Boston Tea Party, Continental Congress and Bunker Hill it doesn’t match up with recent books I have read on the same subject Nathaniel Pilbrick’s Bunker Hill and David Hackett Fisher’s Paul Revere’s ride. His argument that Margaret Gage was not a rebel spy is interesting a fact many other author’s take as fact. It’s an okay read

The Heist by Daniel Silva This book finds Gabriel Allon restoring a painting in Venice while awaiting the birth of his twins. When his friend Julian Isherwood finds the body of a notorious art thief Gabriel is asked to look into the murder and perhaps find a missing Caravaggio. In typical Silva fashion it becomes much more complicated as Allon finds the art theft and murder is linked a murderous regime in the Middle East. In perhaps his last go around as a field agent before he becomes head of the Mossad, will Allon survive. Excellent read.

William Henry Harrison by Gail Collins, Sean Wilentz This is from the American Presidents series and a short biography of William Henry Harrison the President to serve the shortest term and the first President to die in office. It tells of his military career during the wars against Tecumseh and the War of 1812 and his political career as military governor, representative and Senator before getting the nomination and defeating Martin Van Buren for President. Not much to cover about his Presidency. Ok read.

The Skin Collector by Jeffrey Deaver This Lincoln Rhyme novel by Deaver follows the team as they hunt for a serial killer who is tattooing his victims with poison and leaving them to die horribly. The team finds out he is using a book about them to avoid leaving evidence in an effort to avoid being caught. As they learn more about his plan they find out he had more sinister motives in mind. Pretty good read.

Richard Stark's Parker: The Hunter by Darwyn Cooke, Richard Stark I meant to get the actual book and ended up with the graphic novel version. This was an OK read of Parker a thief who was wronged and left for dead and out to get vengeance.

The Inside Ring by Mike Lawson This book details the investigation by Congressional troubleshooter Joe DeMarco into an attempted assassination of the President. The Director of Homeland Security believes there is more to the case than the man who committed suicide and confessed several days after the attempt. As DeMarco looks into it he finds that a conspiracy may be within the President’s inner circle to cover up. Good read.

The Peasant Prince: and the Age of Revolution by Alex Storozynski An excellent biography of the Revolutionary War engineer Thaddeus Kosciusko. It detail his early life in Poland and how he came to America to fight in the revolution. It details his service in the Revolution and his 2 major accomplishments the picking of the ground for the Battle of Saratoga and the design and construction of the fortress on the Hudson West Point, along with his service with Nathaniel Greene in the Southern Campaign. It then describes his return to Poland and his fight for their independence from Russia. After being release from prison he returned to the United States before returning to Europe and spending his remaining years in exile hoping for Polish Independence. Excellent read.

National Security by Marc Cameron This book details a top secret team put together by the Director of National Intelligence to stop Muslim extremists from unleashing a pandemic upon US soil. Operating under the radar, Jericho Quinn has to stop the carriers of the disease before they infect Americans. OK read.

John Tyler: The Accidental President by Edward P. Crapol A fairly bland biography of the first vice president to be elevated to the Presidency and the first traitor President as Tyler became a member of the Confederate Congress just before his death. The book follows Tyler’s life especially his take on the slavery issue and his involvement in the battle between the Southern and Northern States. It follows his ascension to the Presidency and his battle while President against the Whig Party, along with some of his foreign gambles, opening up China and the annexation of Texas. OK read

Triptych by Karin Slaughter This book follows the investigation of a serial killer who is cutting women’s tongue’s out. The 3 investigators Will Trent, Michael Ormewood and Angie Polaski have a tangled and complicated history. Throw into this an ex-con who believes that someone is using his identity to set him up for the killings. OK read they reveal the killer part way thru the book so it’s a bit anti climatic.

The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History
by Robert M. Edsel The story of how a small band of dedicated figures in the art world and your average joe’s fought to find and return the art looted by the Nazi’s. The book tends to hop around a lot between the various Monument Men who are attempting to find a save the various Nazi caches of loot hidden in Germany and Austria including one of Hitler’s main depositories which a band of dedicated Austrians managed to stop and deceive the local Nazi commander from destroying. Good read.

Personal by Lee Child The latest Jack Reacher book finds him recruited again to track down a sniper he put in prison more than 15 years ago. Now out they believe that the sniper is targeting the G-8 conference outside London. Once Reacher starts investigating he realizes that the sniper may be targeting more than the G-8 but him and he has been left out as bait to draw the shooter in the open. Good read