The Year in Books III: 2005
Here are parts one and two; now, on with the countdown....
44. Majic Man - Max Allan Collins
I think that this was the last Nathan Heller mystery I read last year, the end of a fiction bender of sorts. The pleasure of the Heller mysteries is not the prose or the characterization - both of which are solid but not superlative - but Collins' clever way of mixing real history into his fast-moving plots. This volume of the series is set in 1949 and finds Heller working for Secretary of Defense James Forrestal and looking into strange doings at Roswell, New Mexico.
45. Five Days In London May 1940 - John Lukacs
John Lukacs' believes that the pivotal moment of WWII, THE turning point, came in the spring of 1940, when Winston Churchill was called to form a government as Prime Minister. England alone could not defeat Hitler's Germany, but by keeping England in the war - preventing Hitler from making a clean sweep in the west - Churchill denied Hitler the chance for victory.
Lukacs also believes that this turn of events was not, as popular myth would have it, inevitable - that Churchill's government could very easily have fallen or been forced into negotiations with Nazi Germany. In short, when Churchill assumed power he was on very shaky ground. Lukacs shows how over the course of those five days Churchill grabbed the reigns of power and steered his cabinet away from a negotiated peace.
46. Songbook - Nick Hornby
I like Nick Hornby's writing. I like pop music. So this book was pretty much inevitable. Songbook is a light and enjoyable read - the print equivalent of listening to Hornby himself talk about his many musical enthusiasms.
47. In The Moon of Red Ponies - James Lee Burke
By the way, and in case you didn't know, we're living in what amounts to a Golden Age of Crime Fiction. New work from Dennis Lehane, George Pelecanos, Michael Connelly, and James Crumley are all available at your local book store, along with this title from James Lee Burke. In the Moon of Red Ponies takes place in the Bitterroot Mountains features Billy Bob Holland, an ex-Texas Ranger turned attorney. Prior to reading this, the fourth of Burke's novels featuring Holland, I had never really taken a liking to the character, preferring Burke's earlier creation Dave Robicheaux. But in this book Holland intermingles with some very striking characters, including a psychotic rodeo clown who's found Jesus, characters that set In the Moon of Red Ponies above its predecessors.
48. Thunder Run - David Zucchino
Think Black Hawk Down in Baghdad. Zucchino was a reporter who accompanied the soldiers of the 2nd Brigade (Spartans) of the 3rd Infantry Division (Mech.) on their 'thunder runs' into Saddam's capital. Going against the conventional doctrine that armor shouldn't operate in urban areas, the Spartans seized and held ground in the middle of Baghdad. Zucchino, a Pulitzer winner, brings the battles to vivid life.
49. Oh, Play That Thing - Roddy Doyle
This is the second volume of a cycle Doyle dubs 'The Last Round Up.' I'm not sure if there is a third volume forthcoming. The first volume took the protagonist Henry Smart from childhood in the slums of Dublin, through the Easter Rising and the Tan War, to his departure from Ireland on the eve of civil war. Oh, Play That Thing picks with Henry's adventures in New York and points west, where he runs elbows with the likes of Louie Armstrong and Dutch Schultz. The introduction of these historical elements makes the books of The Last Roundup a big departure from Doyle's earlier work such as the The Commitments.
50. Karate-Do: My Way of Life - Gichin Funakoshi
A biography of the Okiniwan sensei who was largely responsible for exporting the art of karate to Japan, and modernizing the teaching of modern arts. This is not a book I'd recommend to the general reader; it's likely to be of interest only to someone practicing karate or another art.
51. Drama City - George Pelecanos
George Pelecanos should be declared the poet-laureate of Washington DC - he's that good. Now that we have that out of the way, let's admit Drama City is a solid 'B' effort - not quite up to the standards set by The Sweet Forever and Shame the Devil. Still, a 'B' from Pelecanos is better than an 'A' from most authors.
52. Lord of Samarcand - Robert E. Howard
The name 'Robert E. Howard' probaby draws a blank from most of you. Robert who? Now if I say 'Conan the Barbarian' - that's a different story. Conan, like Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, and James Bond, is a character who has lived on and crossed over into different media long after the author and creator of the character laid down his pen.
In a brief writing career, lasting barely a dozen years before his suicide at the age of thirty, Howard wrote hundreds of stories for the pulp magazines of the 20s and 30s. In addition to the sword and sorcery of the Conan stories, Howard also wrote horror, western, boxing, detective and adventure stories. Lord of Samarcand is a collection of historical adventure stories set against the back drop of the Crusades.
Howard is one of my favorite authors. One of these days I'll get around to the giant post(s) about this man and his work that's been percolating inside my head.
53. The Barbaric Triumph - Don Herron (ed.)
A collection of critical essays on the works of Robert E. Howard. There's not much to say about this one - either you know and love the man's works, and will therefore find these essays fascinating, or you've never heard of Howard or read any of his many stories.
44. Majic Man - Max Allan Collins
I think that this was the last Nathan Heller mystery I read last year, the end of a fiction bender of sorts. The pleasure of the Heller mysteries is not the prose or the characterization - both of which are solid but not superlative - but Collins' clever way of mixing real history into his fast-moving plots. This volume of the series is set in 1949 and finds Heller working for Secretary of Defense James Forrestal and looking into strange doings at Roswell, New Mexico.
45. Five Days In London May 1940 - John Lukacs
John Lukacs' believes that the pivotal moment of WWII, THE turning point, came in the spring of 1940, when Winston Churchill was called to form a government as Prime Minister. England alone could not defeat Hitler's Germany, but by keeping England in the war - preventing Hitler from making a clean sweep in the west - Churchill denied Hitler the chance for victory.
Lukacs also believes that this turn of events was not, as popular myth would have it, inevitable - that Churchill's government could very easily have fallen or been forced into negotiations with Nazi Germany. In short, when Churchill assumed power he was on very shaky ground. Lukacs shows how over the course of those five days Churchill grabbed the reigns of power and steered his cabinet away from a negotiated peace.
46. Songbook - Nick Hornby
I like Nick Hornby's writing. I like pop music. So this book was pretty much inevitable. Songbook is a light and enjoyable read - the print equivalent of listening to Hornby himself talk about his many musical enthusiasms.
47. In The Moon of Red Ponies - James Lee Burke
By the way, and in case you didn't know, we're living in what amounts to a Golden Age of Crime Fiction. New work from Dennis Lehane, George Pelecanos, Michael Connelly, and James Crumley are all available at your local book store, along with this title from James Lee Burke. In the Moon of Red Ponies takes place in the Bitterroot Mountains features Billy Bob Holland, an ex-Texas Ranger turned attorney. Prior to reading this, the fourth of Burke's novels featuring Holland, I had never really taken a liking to the character, preferring Burke's earlier creation Dave Robicheaux. But in this book Holland intermingles with some very striking characters, including a psychotic rodeo clown who's found Jesus, characters that set In the Moon of Red Ponies above its predecessors.
48. Thunder Run - David Zucchino
Think Black Hawk Down in Baghdad. Zucchino was a reporter who accompanied the soldiers of the 2nd Brigade (Spartans) of the 3rd Infantry Division (Mech.) on their 'thunder runs' into Saddam's capital. Going against the conventional doctrine that armor shouldn't operate in urban areas, the Spartans seized and held ground in the middle of Baghdad. Zucchino, a Pulitzer winner, brings the battles to vivid life.
49. Oh, Play That Thing - Roddy Doyle
This is the second volume of a cycle Doyle dubs 'The Last Round Up.' I'm not sure if there is a third volume forthcoming. The first volume took the protagonist Henry Smart from childhood in the slums of Dublin, through the Easter Rising and the Tan War, to his departure from Ireland on the eve of civil war. Oh, Play That Thing picks with Henry's adventures in New York and points west, where he runs elbows with the likes of Louie Armstrong and Dutch Schultz. The introduction of these historical elements makes the books of The Last Roundup a big departure from Doyle's earlier work such as the The Commitments.
50. Karate-Do: My Way of Life - Gichin Funakoshi
A biography of the Okiniwan sensei who was largely responsible for exporting the art of karate to Japan, and modernizing the teaching of modern arts. This is not a book I'd recommend to the general reader; it's likely to be of interest only to someone practicing karate or another art.
51. Drama City - George Pelecanos
George Pelecanos should be declared the poet-laureate of Washington DC - he's that good. Now that we have that out of the way, let's admit Drama City is a solid 'B' effort - not quite up to the standards set by The Sweet Forever and Shame the Devil. Still, a 'B' from Pelecanos is better than an 'A' from most authors.
52. Lord of Samarcand - Robert E. Howard
The name 'Robert E. Howard' probaby draws a blank from most of you. Robert who? Now if I say 'Conan the Barbarian' - that's a different story. Conan, like Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, and James Bond, is a character who has lived on and crossed over into different media long after the author and creator of the character laid down his pen.
In a brief writing career, lasting barely a dozen years before his suicide at the age of thirty, Howard wrote hundreds of stories for the pulp magazines of the 20s and 30s. In addition to the sword and sorcery of the Conan stories, Howard also wrote horror, western, boxing, detective and adventure stories. Lord of Samarcand is a collection of historical adventure stories set against the back drop of the Crusades.
Howard is one of my favorite authors. One of these days I'll get around to the giant post(s) about this man and his work that's been percolating inside my head.
53. The Barbaric Triumph - Don Herron (ed.)
A collection of critical essays on the works of Robert E. Howard. There's not much to say about this one - either you know and love the man's works, and will therefore find these essays fascinating, or you've never heard of Howard or read any of his many stories.
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