Book Notes in Brief II

More of the same. This should, for the time being, bring me up to date.

The Fall of Berlin - Anthony Beevor.
A reader looking for a 'popular' history of the Red Army's invasion of East Prussia and the subsequent fall of Berlin and end of the Third Reich won't go wrong in picking up this book. While it doesn't break any new ground in WWII historiography, it is a gripping read and a vivid portrait of the madness and evil of Naziism's death throes.

Beyond Valor - Patrick K. O'Donnell
The author interviewed WWII veterans of elite units such as the Rangers and Airborne, with an emphasis on their experiences in combat in the European Theater of Operations. A quick, but moving read. Interestingly enough, many of these accounts were collected via the internet through O'Donnell's website the Drop Zone Virtual Museum. He has since published a companion volume for veterans of the Pacific war, but I have yet to read it.

The Duel - John Lukacs
It is a truism to say that Hitler came very close to winning WWII. The Duel goes a long way towards illustrating that point. Lukacs covers the approximately 80 days period from May 10, 1940 (when Churchill became Prime Minister) until July 1940 (when Roosevelt began moving the U.S. towards a more active support of England). At the beginning of those 80 days Hitler seemed unbeatable and many in England wished to reach an 'accommodation' with him; by the end, and largely through Churchill's efforts, England was determined to remain in the war, hoping for direct intervention by the U.S. and U.S.S.R. Anyone who shares my fascination with Winston Churchill will take away a lot from this book.

Cut Time: An Education At The Fights - Carlo Rotella
An account of one man's fascination with watching boxing, especially live and ringside as opposed to the HBO experience most of us have of the fights. This book contains an interesting chapter on Larry Holmes, a fighter Rotella believes to have been vastly under-rated by history.

Fearless Jones - Walter Mosely
Mosley returns to the mystery genre that made him famous, with a new character.

Castles of Steel - Robert K. Massie
A very detailed (we're talking 800 pages) history of the Great War at Sea, with a heavy emphasis on actions between England's Grand Fleet and Germany's High Seas Fleet. For history geeks only - the prose is excellent but you really have to want to wade through 100 odd pages on the Battle of Jutland and it's aftermath.