Book Recommendations

[dogcaller]

East of Eden by John Steinbeck. A great read. Also, Travels with Charley, by Steinbeck

[pangloss]

East of Eden by John Steinbeck. A great read. Also, Travels with Charley, by Steinbeck

East of Eden is my all time favorite. I think it is the pinnacle of English prose.

I am reading For Whom The Bell Tolls now. I've read lots of Steinbeck, but comparatively little Hemingway. Need to fix that. However, I greatly enjoyed Green Hills of Africa. It was on par with Ruark, who is my favorite in the Africana genre.

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[dogcaller]

This book is really entertaining on several levels. A truly inspiring story, about boys and a coach with real grit and determination--beating (most of) the odds. Also interesting as a snapshot into the early years of football. I listened on Audible, and the reader is good.

[dogcaller]

I don't often read political memoirs, as I typically prefer non-fiction, but I read this in anticipation of his presidential run.

I enjoyed the book, and learned a lot, but it seems about 25% too long. That's to take nothing away from Pompeo's experiences, and he is a very talented, able, and I believe a moral person. First in his class at West Point, successful small business owner, congressman, director of CIA and Secretary of State. He seems to have a clear-eyed view of Washington and the world. I was really disappointed when he decided not to run. He is likable, an excellent communicator, and a happy warrior that could have crossover appeal.

[Tabasco]

"Hitler's American Gamble" ISBN 978-1-5416-1910-4. Just started, it discusses the lead up to the global phase of WWII and postulates why Hitler declared war on the US on Dec. 11 1941. That decision seems foolish in hindsight, but at the time, maybe not. "History does not repeat, but it sure does rhyme".

[Pacioli]

I don't often read political memoirs, as I typically prefer non-fiction, but I read this in anticipation of his presidential run.

I enjoyed the book, and learned a lot, but it seems about 25% too long. That's to take nothing away from Pompeo's experiences, and he is a very talented, able, and I believe a moral person. First in his class at West Point, successful small business owner, congressman, director of CIA and Secretary of State. He seems to have a clear-eyed view of Washington and the world. I was really disappointed when he decided not to run. He is likable, an excellent communicator, and a happy warrior that could have crossover appeal.

I agree 100%.

I just finished it last Saturday. Not a light read but a very good one. It's not a tell-all or get-even book but he does speak frankly about Washington players. I admire his respect for the foundational principles of the nation and his willingness to be open about faith.

I was also disappointed that he decided not to run. My guess is he evaluated the poo flinging party that Trump and Desantis have going and decided there's no room for a calm, decent, moral man on the stage right now.

[Half Moon]

This Kind of War
T.R. Fehrenbach

A history of the Korean War oft quoted in non-fiction and fiction. I can see why. Throughout, but especially in the first half, there are enough aphoristic statements to fill a hundred sig lines. Most amount to axe grinding, not unreasonably, regarding the political and cultural dynamics leaving the US Army unprepared to fight a ground war just scant years past the victory of World War II.

It’s in that first half which the book shines. Shifting focus between the big picture and combat operations at the platoon and company level it’s rapt reading.

In the second half, much like the war it’s reporting on, it stalls out. This is fairly common though in books covering the entirety of the Korean War. The war of maneuver, at the start of the conflict, makes for fascinating reading. Once the war settles into line keeping and patrolling there is futile small-scale violence, hill to hill, but no sweeping totality to tell with grand gains or losses. The horrors and absurdities devolve into isolated fragments.

This second half also frequently tells just enough of a story, in any given part, to leave you wanting a whole book to see the full tale and not just the glancing look given any incident. This is most true of the UN POW Camp at Koje-Do, its mis-management, and ultimate reformation after coming under command of General Boatner.

The first half builds up an expectation the second doesn’t live up to but, overall, a good read both as a book and a reflection on frontier wars.

3 out 4

[Flamingo]

I saw an interesting book posted on Soldier System, MENTIONS IN DESPATCHES. I looked at the sample pages from the website and I think I am going to purchase it. The price looks a little expensive but the listed price is in Aussie funny money and from a basic conversion it looks like the total price will be about $100 shipping included.

[Darth_Uno]

Orconomics and the sequel Son of a Liche. In these books, D&D or Warcraft style raiding parties are legitimate businesses with investors, and parallels to the mortgage industry. These books poke fun at banking, Wall Street, politicians (there's an orange orc who claims "no one has made more deals with the elves than me"), fantasy tropes and pop culture - there's several video game and sci fi references, including a Weyland-Yutani Corp.

They're fairly light, but great fun.

[Coyotesfan97]

Orconomics and the sequel Son of a Liche. In these books, D&D or Warcraft style raiding parties are legitimate businesses with investors, and parallels to the mortgage industry. These books poke fun at banking, Wall Street, politicians (there's an orange orc who claims "no one has made more deals with the elves than me"), fantasy tropes and pop culture - there's several video game and sci fi references, including a Weyland-Yutani Corp.

They're fairly light, but great fun.

They’re free to read on Kindle Unlimited. Orconomics is on the TBR list.