Book Notes Updated
This series of brief reviews brings the 'Book Notes' posts up to date, as it covers all but the most recent books I've read.
42. See No Evil - Robert Baer
Mike the Cook lent this to me, along with Baer's other book (Sleeping With The Devil) which I haven't gotten around to reading quite yet. Baer was a case officer in the CIA's Directorate of Operations for almost 30 years, spending much of that team in the Middle East and Central Asia. His book has two main themes running through out. One is his autobiographical account of his career in the CIA, from recruit to rookie case officer posted to India, to a veteran operative on the ground in Kurdistan. The second theme is the decay of the CIA in the aftermath of the Cold War, particularly in the field of recruiting and maintaining HUMINT i.e. covert agents who report on the other side's doings. Baer does not blame any political party for the erosion, rather he condemns the entire atmosphere of Washington D.C. for the Agency's decline. In the preface he writes:
Anyone interested in a ground soldier's view of the modern day Great Game won't go far wrong by reading this book.
43. You Shall Know Our Velocity! - Dave Eggers
In no way did this book make me regret that I previously not read any of Egger's work. Some have recommended A Heart Breaking Work of Staggering Genius to me; I shall take it under advisement though I'm in no hurry to work through another Egger tome.
44. The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors - James D. Hornfischer
With the above words to his crew Lt. Commander Robert W. Copeland took his destroyer escort U.S. S. Samuel B. Roberts into action against a fleet of massive capital ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, in the Pacific waters off of Samar. There are many struggles - the Battle of the Bulge; Iwo Jima; the Alamo - that are famed as instances where American fighting men displayed great courage against tremendous odds. Sadly, the battle off of Samar is not one of them. Roberts and the other ships and crews of Taffy 3 hurled themselves at a far superior force in order to protect Douglas MacArthur's vulnerable invasion fleet. The destroyer escorts and jeep carriers of Taffy 3 combined weighed less than the giant battleship Yamato, the largest ship in the IJN. Well-written and researched, Hornfischer's book is far superior to any of the last few books Ambrose published.
45. The World At Night - Alan Furst
Another historical espionage novel from Furst, and the last one for me to read before I finished up all of his published work. Set in Occupied France during WWII, it's not my favorite of the bunch but it's still a damned good read.
46. Iron Men and Saints - Harold Lamb
The first of two volumes Lamb penned on the Crusade, this book covers a period spanning the from the inception of the First Crusade to the death of the first Crusader lord of Jersusalem. While certain aspects of his scholarship may be dated (he attributes the origin of the Crusades almost entirely to Pope Urban) Lamb's essential facts and chronology are correct. As Lamb was also a pulp writer of the first order, his prose is fast-moving and designed to move the reader, as well as inform.
47. New Spring - Robert Jordan
Some ten years ago, while waiting for a bus in New York I picked up the first of what I thought were three volumes in Jordan's Wheel of Times series of fantasy epics. After finishing the third volume, I discovered that the series continued into an upcoming fourth volume. As I loved the first three, I eagerly awaited the fourth.
Flash forward to 2004. Jordan's opus has marched on, reaching ten (or eleven? I've lost count) volumes and literally thousands of pages. As the series has progressed the volumes have become larger, while somehow covering less plot-wise. I picked his latest in the Wheel of Time saga with some trepidation. I no longer enjoy these books - this has simply dissolved into a grudge match. Mr. Jordan seems to think he can force me to give up on this series by dragging it on and on and on - while I, having waded through thousands of pages, am determined to reach the end and find out what happens. I will not be deterred.
48. The King's Coat - Dewey Lambdin
A sea story in the tradition of O'Brian and Forrester. Except with more sex. Lambdin's books won't win awards for originality, but the idea of making his hero Alan Lewrie a rogue and a dissolute gentleman does make this series (yes, it's a series) stand out somewhat. A decent beach/vacation read, but I doubt I'll read any others.
49. Richard Bolitho, Midshipman - Alexander Kent
A sea story in the tradition of O'Brian and Forrester. And Lambdin too for that matter. (But no sex.) A through-and-through potboiler - if you must give a try, check it out from your local library.
50. Epitaph for a Spy - Eric Ambler
Alan Furst cites Eric Ambler as one of his major influences, so naturally I felt compelled to see what he was about. The main character, Josef Vadassy, is a teacher on holiday in the south of France when he is arrested for a crime of espionage he did not commit. The authorities release him, on the proviso that he assist them in tracking down the real spy. Not full of what many have to expect from spy novels i.e. assassinations, gadgets, beautiful exotic women,Vadassy's quest often takes on overtones of an English 'country house' mystery as he endeavors to determine which of the guests as the small hotel is the real enemy agent.
51. Championship No-Limit & Pot-Limit Hold 'Em - T.J. Cloutier & Tom McEvoy
Much more in depth than the Braid book on Texas Hold 'Em that I read earlier, Cloutier's and McEvoy's book assumes on the part of the reader a knowledge of the rules and basic tactics and strategy of the game. Definitely worth your while if you've been playing regularly for a while and seek to improve your game.
42. See No Evil - Robert Baer
Mike the Cook lent this to me, along with Baer's other book (Sleeping With The Devil) which I haven't gotten around to reading quite yet. Baer was a case officer in the CIA's Directorate of Operations for almost 30 years, spending much of that team in the Middle East and Central Asia. His book has two main themes running through out. One is his autobiographical account of his career in the CIA, from recruit to rookie case officer posted to India, to a veteran operative on the ground in Kurdistan. The second theme is the decay of the CIA in the aftermath of the Cold War, particularly in the field of recruiting and maintaining HUMINT i.e. covert agents who report on the other side's doings. Baer does not blame any political party for the erosion, rather he condemns the entire atmosphere of Washington D.C. for the Agency's decline. In the preface he writes:
The CIA was systematically destroyed by political correctness, by petty Beltway wars, by careerism, and much more. At a time when terrorist threats were compounding globally, the agency that should have been monitoring them was being scrubbed clean instead. Americans were making too much money to bother. Life was good. The White House and the National Security Council became cathedrals of commerce where the interests of big business outweighed the interests of protecting American citizens at home and abroad. Defanged and dispirited, the CIA went along for the ride. And then on September 11, 2001, the reckoning for such vast carelessness was presented for all the world to see.
Anyone interested in a ground soldier's view of the modern day Great Game won't go far wrong by reading this book.
43. You Shall Know Our Velocity! - Dave Eggers
In no way did this book make me regret that I previously not read any of Egger's work. Some have recommended A Heart Breaking Work of Staggering Genius to me; I shall take it under advisement though I'm in no hurry to work through another Egger tome.
44. The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors - James D. Hornfischer
"This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can."
With the above words to his crew Lt. Commander Robert W. Copeland took his destroyer escort U.S. S. Samuel B. Roberts into action against a fleet of massive capital ships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, in the Pacific waters off of Samar. There are many struggles - the Battle of the Bulge; Iwo Jima; the Alamo - that are famed as instances where American fighting men displayed great courage against tremendous odds. Sadly, the battle off of Samar is not one of them. Roberts and the other ships and crews of Taffy 3 hurled themselves at a far superior force in order to protect Douglas MacArthur's vulnerable invasion fleet. The destroyer escorts and jeep carriers of Taffy 3 combined weighed less than the giant battleship Yamato, the largest ship in the IJN. Well-written and researched, Hornfischer's book is far superior to any of the last few books Ambrose published.
45. The World At Night - Alan Furst
Another historical espionage novel from Furst, and the last one for me to read before I finished up all of his published work. Set in Occupied France during WWII, it's not my favorite of the bunch but it's still a damned good read.
46. Iron Men and Saints - Harold Lamb
The first of two volumes Lamb penned on the Crusade, this book covers a period spanning the from the inception of the First Crusade to the death of the first Crusader lord of Jersusalem. While certain aspects of his scholarship may be dated (he attributes the origin of the Crusades almost entirely to Pope Urban) Lamb's essential facts and chronology are correct. As Lamb was also a pulp writer of the first order, his prose is fast-moving and designed to move the reader, as well as inform.
47. New Spring - Robert Jordan
Some ten years ago, while waiting for a bus in New York I picked up the first of what I thought were three volumes in Jordan's Wheel of Times series of fantasy epics. After finishing the third volume, I discovered that the series continued into an upcoming fourth volume. As I loved the first three, I eagerly awaited the fourth.
Flash forward to 2004. Jordan's opus has marched on, reaching ten (or eleven? I've lost count) volumes and literally thousands of pages. As the series has progressed the volumes have become larger, while somehow covering less plot-wise. I picked his latest in the Wheel of Time saga with some trepidation. I no longer enjoy these books - this has simply dissolved into a grudge match. Mr. Jordan seems to think he can force me to give up on this series by dragging it on and on and on - while I, having waded through thousands of pages, am determined to reach the end and find out what happens. I will not be deterred.
48. The King's Coat - Dewey Lambdin
A sea story in the tradition of O'Brian and Forrester. Except with more sex. Lambdin's books won't win awards for originality, but the idea of making his hero Alan Lewrie a rogue and a dissolute gentleman does make this series (yes, it's a series) stand out somewhat. A decent beach/vacation read, but I doubt I'll read any others.
49. Richard Bolitho, Midshipman - Alexander Kent
A sea story in the tradition of O'Brian and Forrester. And Lambdin too for that matter. (But no sex.) A through-and-through potboiler - if you must give a try, check it out from your local library.
50. Epitaph for a Spy - Eric Ambler
Alan Furst cites Eric Ambler as one of his major influences, so naturally I felt compelled to see what he was about. The main character, Josef Vadassy, is a teacher on holiday in the south of France when he is arrested for a crime of espionage he did not commit. The authorities release him, on the proviso that he assist them in tracking down the real spy. Not full of what many have to expect from spy novels i.e. assassinations, gadgets, beautiful exotic women,Vadassy's quest often takes on overtones of an English 'country house' mystery as he endeavors to determine which of the guests as the small hotel is the real enemy agent.
51. Championship No-Limit & Pot-Limit Hold 'Em - T.J. Cloutier & Tom McEvoy
Much more in depth than the Braid book on Texas Hold 'Em that I read earlier, Cloutier's and McEvoy's book assumes on the part of the reader a knowledge of the rules and basic tactics and strategy of the game. Definitely worth your while if you've been playing regularly for a while and seek to improve your game.
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