Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, & technology book reviews, plus social, political, & economic commentary
Remembering DD-431 – #bookreview #USNavy #history Maine writer James Sullivan grew up in Quincy, Massachusetts, hearing World War II stories from his great-uncle, Frank Gallagher, an Army veteran. One memorable tale included the time Gallagher, a medic, managed to sneak away from his camp and climb aboard a U.S. Navy destroyer anchored off Italy to … Continue reading The Ship That Refused to Die
Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose Joe Biden Flatiron Books If you are leaning toward Joe Biden and wondering if you will want to back him in the 2020 presidential election, Biden’s 2017 book, Promise Me, Dad, can give you some good insights into his character, values, and long record of … Continue reading Joe Biden’s ‘Promise Me, Dad’ #bookreview #2020Election
Betrayal at Iga A Hiro Hattori Novel Susan Spann Seventh Street Books, paperback In this fifth novel in Susan Spann’s Hiro Hattori series, danger starts on page one and doesn’t let up until almost the very end. Set in 16th-century Japan, the series focuses on Hiro Hattori, a master ninja from the Iga province who … Continue reading Want some enlightening escapism? Try this ninja detective thriller set in 16th-century Japan
Wrath of the Furies A Novel of the Ancient World Steven Saylor Minotaur Books – hardback, Kindle As a young student, I deliberately avoided the ancient world—all of those armless and headless statues, magnificent carved-stone structures collapsed into rubble, “wonders of the world,” and gods and goddesses who allegedly had both magical powers and … Continue reading WRATH OF THE FURIES: Roman detective Gordianus the Finder tries to go undercover amid angry Greeks bearing arms – #bookreview
Journey to the Wilderness War, Memory, and a Southern Family’s Civil War Letters Frye Gaillard New South Books – paperback, Kindle The Civil War ended 150 years ago. Yet, it remains alive in many aspects of American culture and politics. For those of us who grew up in the South in the 1940s and 1950s, … Continue reading Journey to the Wilderness: A family’s Civil War letters about hope, honor, love, sacrifice, and the despair of death and defeat – #bookreview
A Home for Wayward Boys The Early History of the Alabama Boys’ Industrial School Jerry C. Armor NewSouth Books – paperback, Kindle Early in the 20th century, male juvenile offenders in Alabama sometimes were sent to the Alabama Boys’ Industrial School (ABIS), near Birmingham, rather than put into prison with adults. Their crimes ranged … Continue reading A Home for Wayward Boys: Keeping juvenile offenders in line…with God, rifles and a marching band – #bookreview
Tinsley Harrison, M.D.: Teacher of Medicine James A. Pittman Jr., M.D. (NewSouth Books – hardback, Kindle) Dr. Tinsley Randolph Harrison is an important figure in 20th-century American medicine, and both his legacy and his influence live on in 21st-century health care. Before his death in 1978, Dr. Harrison taught medicine for 54 years and was fond … Continue reading Tinsley Harrison, M.D., Teacher of Medicine: An inspiring biography of a dedicated physician – #bookreview
Twelve American Wars: Nine of Them Avoidable Eugene G. Windchy (iUniverse – paperback, Kindle) You may not agree with every opinion, conclusion or finding expressed in this book, but it is a remarkable work that definitely should be read and given thoughtful consideration. Twelve American Wars: Nine of Them Avoidable offers eye-opening looks at how the … Continue reading Twelve American Wars: Nine of Them Avoidable – Eugene G. Windchy’s new book is a true “must read” – #bookreview
The Sun is God Adrian McKinty Seventh Street Books – Kindle, paperback Take a weird but true exotic setting. Throw in some real people and real murders. Add to the mix a fictional investigator: Will Prior, an ex-military police lieutenant who deliberately got himself cashiered from the British army during the Boer War following … Continue reading The Sun is God – Adrian McKinty takes readers well off the beaten path with this new historical mystery – #bookreview
The Mob and the City The Hidden History of How the Mafia Captured New York C. Alexander Hortis (Prometheus Books, Kindle, hardcover) Forget The Godfather, its sequels and numerous other, famous “Mafia” movies. This excellent book cuts straight through the hype, fictions, and glamorizations to tell “the hidden history of how the street … Continue reading The Mob and the City: The Hidden History of How the Mafia Captured New York – #bookreview
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