The History Book Club discussion
50 BOOKS READ IN 2020/21
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DAVID'S 50 BOOKS READ IN 2020
September14.
by
Kyle MillsFinish date: September 7, 2022
Genre: Fiction
Rating: B
Review: This book was interesting with a character that was very obviously based on Elon Musk. Also, with the party change of the new administration poses some interesting questions about what Mitch Rapp's future may hold. Based on the events in this book, it seems that he may no longer be favored by the administration as he once was. I am very interested in how this plays out in future books and hope that this Elon Musk character continues to be featured somehow in future stories. That said, this was a very entertaining and action packed book. I very much enjoyed this book.
My only gripe is that Mitch Rapp is becoming too much of a superman, who can do just about anything and is never in any real jeopardy. I also do miss Grisha Azarov and the conflict he brought with Mitch. With him in the story, you were always worried that he could turn on Mitch. He was a very real threat to Rapp if he wanted to be one again. I hope that members of Mitch's rogue team do reappear in later books.
15.
by R. Karl Largent (no photo)Finish date: September 22, 2022
Genre: Fiction
Rating: C
Review: This was an ok book about an attempted coup in Jakarta by communists backed by China. The opening was interesting involving a retired operative brought out of retirement to undertake a deep sea dive to locate documents proving China was backing the rebels. This was reminiscent of other Largent novels involving deep sea salvage. But the salvage plot was quickly dropped, which made the book less interesting going forward.
October16.
by
Bill O'Reilly &
Martin DugardFinish date: October 18, 2022
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: B+
Review: This was another good entry in "The Killing Series". That said, it wasn't my favorite. O'Reilly only covered a few SS War Criminals and most escaped the death penalty for decades which is very disappointing.
That said, the most interesting part of this book was the hunt for Adolf Eichmann. Another interesting part of this book was the knowledge that the Nazis contributed money to many international corporations in order to use them to protect members of the SS and provide future funding for their plans to reconstitute their Reich. I would have liked to learn more about this but this is off the top of the Hunt for these War Criminals.
November17.
by R. Karl Largent (no photo)Finish date: November 8, 2022
Genre: Fiction
Rating: C
Review:
This book provided an interesting mystery that could've fit into the Elliot Grant Wages series very nicely. I don't know why a new character was used, but he was very similar to Wages. The story involves having to dive to a sunken ship to solve the mystery.
The mystery was decent and provided some decent twists and turns. This book is a bit dated and doesn't hold that well, but was entertaining if you're a fan of the author or just want to read everything he's written.
Mod
December18.
by
Bruce CampbellFinish date: December 1, 2022
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: B+
Review:
This was a great follow-up to Campbell's first autobiography, If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor published in 2021. This book picks up where the previous book left off and brings the reader through Campbell's role in Ash vs. Evil Dead. I've heard in some interviews that this may be the last time Campbell returns to the role of Ash, but never say never!
While this book wasn't as fun as the first book, but it does give the reader a deeper insight into the life of Bruce Campbell and how he sees his career. Campbell is really an interesting person and seems like a good guy that would be fun to hang around
19.
by
Bill O'Reilly &
Martin DugardFinish date: December 24, 2022
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: B+
Review: This was a really good entry into the "Killing Series". While this book is called Killing Crazy Horse, it is really about the Indian Wars in which Crazy Horse doesn't appear until the very end. That said, it covers many of the famous war chiefs in history that we've always heard of.
A long history of broken promises and broken treaties by the United States Government created a lot of mistrust between the tribes and the US Government. Add to that the differences in culture led to many misunderstandings leading to bloodshed.
This was a great read and a great overall history of the Indian Wars in America.
20.
by
Richard MathesonFinish date: December 28, 2022
Genre: Fiction
Rating: B
Review: This book was a slow-burn that was a little hard to get into. But, once you've reached about a third of the way in, it picks up very quickly until the ending.
I've seen the movie adaptations, and knew that the ending of the book was different. I finally got around to reading this book to see what that ending actually is. I was pleasantly surprised by the true ending to this story. It makes me wonder why this ending hasn't been used in any movie adaptation since the ones used always disappoints.
January1.
by John P. Dyer (no photo)Finish date: January 12, 2023
Genre: Fiction
Rating: B
Review: This book is well-written and wasn't dry. I would have liked more maps of the operations described since the western battle lines were constantly shifting. In particular, the Battle of Chickamauga. I would also have liked more detail on the various Brigades and their commanders under Wheeler's command. The only subordinate we do get any background on is Nathan Bedford Forrest, and the conflicts between him and Wheeler. That said, it seems that the brigades under Wheeler's command were constantly shifting as the commands were continually reorganized. It was hard to know if the brigades mentioned were same brigades previously mentioned under a different commander or new brigades placed under Wheeler's command.
That said, this book was a good biography detailing Wheeler's life and career. I would have liked more personal details about Wheeler's life but I don't know if this information exists. Very few letters are referenced in this book.
February2.
by
Sean ParnellFinish date: February 1, 2023
Genre: Fiction
Rating: A
Review: This book was very good. I've read over 20 books from other thriller writers like Brad Thor and Vince Flynn/Kyle Mills.
So embarking on a new series had me worried. Would this be as good as those other writers? Would I enjoy these characters? Is the writing good? Luckily, the answer to all three is yes!
I've read Sean Parnell's autobiographical Outlaw Platoon where he had a co-writer so I knew the wring would probably be good. That just left the story, the characters and the action.
This book very quickly became a fast-paced action thriller that I didn't want to put down. I almost missed by bus stop twice on my commute to work because I was too engrossed in the book.
I am looking forward to the next few books in this series, which I've already purchased.
3.
by
Douglas Preston &
Lincoln ChildFinish date: February 27, 2023
Genre: Fiction
Rating: B+
Review: I was immediately interested in the mystery of the feet washing up onto the shore of an island in the Florida Keys. I truly did not know where this mystery would lead and was very surprised when I found out. I enjoyed how the mystery unfolded as the investigation took it's course. I enjoyed the return of Agent Coldmoon and his partnership with Agent Pendergast. While I hope to see the return of D'Agosta, Agent Coldmoon is a great addition to this universe.
As much as I enjoyed this book and find this and the book prior to this improving upon earlier entries, I wish some parts of the story were better utilized in this book. In particular, I would have liked a better resolution with the Roger Smithback element of the mystery. That part of the story seemed to have been wrapped up too quickly and neatly.
That said, I truly enjoy every entry given to us by these authors, including their solo novels. Even when I'm a little disappointed by some story points, each book is worth the read.
March4.
by R. Karl Largent (no photo)Finish date: March 5, 2023
Genre: Fiction
Rating: D
Review: This book started off pretty interesting in 1855 with a plague wiping out a logging camp. That was quite a surprising start. Then, we jump ahead to 1966 to a small town where we meet our main character, Deputy C. L. "Rusty" Bogner.
That said, as the mysterious plague starts to take lives in the town, it is up to Bogner and the town leaders to try to locate the source of this plague. This is where the mystery works and is very good.
But, I felt a big let down by the ending we are given. It's not clearly explained how the plague was spread by the true source.
5. The Notorious "Bull" Nelson: Murdered Civil War General by Donald A. Clark
by Donald A. Clark (no photo)Finish date: March 17, 2023
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: C
Review: I really wanted to read this book about the only Civil War General that was actually murdered during the Civil War. This should have been a really interesting story and it was interesting, but not as interesting as I was hoped it would be. Nelson was an interesting figure as someone who started in the Navy and became a Major General of infantry. There was no personal correspondence used in this book so we never get a personal look into the events. Most of the information comes from Official Records and media reports, the rest from others' writings.
I would have liked more letters to and from the General, but they likely don't exist or were lost to history, which is a shame.
There was one oddity in this book that made it more difficult to read and that was how the author referred to the various Regiments in the book. Normally, it would the 16th Indiana Volunteer Infantry or something shorter. But every unit is referred to as the 16th Regiment Indiana Volunteer Infantry instead. This broke the flow of the reading for me and seemed clunky to me.
April6.
by
Bill O'Reilly and
Martin DugardFinish date: April 4, 2023
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: B+
Review: This book was very interesting. All I know of the Mob is from Mob films, so most of the names were familiar to me. This book began with the Gangsters which became the Mafia. Pretty Boy Floyd, Baby-Faced Nelson, Machine-Gun Kelly, etc. were all covered. The gangsters of the 30s evolved into the Crime Families that we know even through today.
O'Reilly clearly laid out the history of the famous "Five Families" of New York as they expanded their influence to Chicago, Las Vegas, California and Florida. A great starter if you're interested in the history of the Mafia.
7.
by Edward G. Longacre (no photo)Finish date: April 16, 2023
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: B+
Review: This was a great biography detailing Pickett's life and Civil War career. He is most famous for that final charge on day three of the Battle of Gettysburg. Before that he was best known for his heroism in the Battle of Chapultepec.
I really enjoyed this book and have enjoyed other books written by Edward G. Longacre. It was a well-done engaging biography. Reading this book now, I find it very creepy that Pickett's second wife was twenty-three years his junior when he married her. As Longacre states, this was even peculiar in Pickett's time.
I had few disappointments with this book, the first were with the maps. They were very hard to read and too few were included. I would have liked a few maps of the Petersburg campaign. Secondly, there was no epilogue about what happened to Pickett's wife and two sons, including the abandoned child of his first wife in the Oregon territory prior to the Civil War. There was also no discussion of Pickett's legacy.
8.
by
Daniel H. WilsonFinish date: April 27, 2023
Genre: Fiction
Rating: C+
Review: This story was very intriguing but I think it became a little too over the top in the end. That said, it was a fast-paced and interesting read with a lot of interesting concepts. I am interested in reading Robopocalypse also by this author now.
May9.
by Millard Kessler Bushong & Dean M. Bushong, Millard K.; Bushong (no photos)Finish date: May 22, 2023
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: C+
Review: This was a good biography about a General I knew little about. Rosser's military career was entirely with the Army of Northern Virginia.
Rosser largely had no major scandals in his military career which meant there were little surprises in this biography. That is not to say that this was a bad biography. It was a well-written and not overly dry which is common in military biographies. My main complaint with many biographies is also found here. That is the maps. The maps were few but were easy to read. More maps of the theaters and engagements would have helped, particularly with the Battle of Tom's Brook which was a pivotal point in Rosser's career.
I only know of one other biography for Rosser, and without reading the other, I will say this is a good one to pick up.
10.
by
William ShatnerFinish date: May 31, 2023
Genre: Fiction
Rating: C+
Review: I'm a fan of William Shatner so I decided to pick up his pre-Star Trek novels that he writes now. This is the third in the series of the Quest for Tomorrow.
This book wasn't as fun as the second entry, but certainly took a huge story turn at the end of this book. I'm still digesting if I like this turn of events, but it was an interesting and unexpected ending for this book. It also does make you think about some important ideas about what is life and how we define it.
These concepts are certainly prescient now that we are in the midst of AGI (Artificial General Intelligence). Is an AI alive?
That said, I'm interested in seeing where Shatner this story over the next two novels in this series. At this point his possibilities are endless.
June11.
by Spencer C. Tucker (no photo)Finish date: June 22, 2023
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: B+
Review: This book was an enjoyable read. It takes awhile to reach Foote's Civil War service but that is because Foote served in every rank and every theater of the American Navy. He traveled the world through his service. He was on the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Indian Ocean. He visited the Sandwich Islands (now Hawaii), Europe, Africa, South America, China, Japan, and more in his long career.
Foote's career began with the fledgling and insignificant American Navy that had more officers than ships to the Globe-spanning and premiere Navy of the World! Through his efforts, he put in place policies that are taken for granted today. Reading this book, you truly see how great a man he was.
One of the highlights of his career in the Pre-Civil War period was his service with the African Squadron where he made great efforts in stopping the Slave Trade on American ships. Throughout his life, Foote was a devout Christian and felt his first duty was to God, his second was to his Nation.
July12.
by
Sean ParnellFinish date: July 10, 2023
Genre: Fiction
Rating: B+
Review: This novel is another fast-paced action thriller. The story is interesting, even though it follows the usual formula, but that is not a bad thing as most authors follow a formula for their stories. There were some things that were implausible or were a bit too easy for the characters to achieve in this story, but that is expected. These characters often become supermen, like Mitch Rapp and Scot Harvath who are able to do the impossible time and time again.
I did enjoy this book and the action involved. The story was very interesting and not out of the realm of possibility. This book was a good follow-up to the first book with a story that did involve themes that are currently being dealt with in real life. Looking forward to see where this goes next, particularly after that dramatic moment in this book which will affect Steele going forward.
Mod
13.
by Langdon Sully (no photo)Finish date: July 19, 2023
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: C
Review: This book was an interesting read about a lesser known Civil War general who saw varied service, but it has many slow dry periods that will interest few depending on where their interest lies. Whether it be the California/Northwest, the Indian Wars, or the Civil War, it does touch on many areas of US history. I enjoyed this book for what it was, but it's not one I'll likely revisit.
August14.
by
&
Finish date: August 14, 2023
Genre: Fiction
Rating: B+
Review: This was a an interesting story with an interesting mystery. It took many turns that i wasn't expecting. Beginning with the story of D.B. Cooper! I had no idea how this story would be used in the case Pendergast and Coldmoon was investigating. It was an interesting use of this famous unsolved mystery.
This did have a very strange turn of events that I enjoyed, but it was way out of the realm of possibility. And this turn opened up an even greater mystery and questions. It will be interesting to see what happens next and what rules the next story abides by (no spoilers).
15.
by William Woods Hassler (no photo)Finish date: August 24, 2023
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: C+
Review: Pelham's story is an interesting one. This very young man with a genius for engineering applied it perfectly to his artillery unit. As the war went on, he was given more artillery and more responsibility and quickly rose to the task and then excelled. Had he lived, he would have quickly risen through the ranks to high command in the Confederate Army.
This book was an interesting read about the short life of John Pelham of Alabama. This book did not contain a lot of letters that I like to see in biographies, but as is often the case, they may not exist. The most important thing missing here, which is usually always present in biographies, is a bibliography. I would have liked to know where this information for this book came from for possible further reading.
September16.
by Thomas Barthel (no photo)Finish date: September 29, 2023
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: B+
Review: Coming into this book, I knew that Abner Doubleday was a General in the First Corps of the Army of the Potomac and invented the modern version of Baseball that we know today. Turns out only one of those things were true.
This was an interesting biography of a Civil War General. It covered all the usual bases, pun intended, of his life and career.
This book also brought up an interesting aspect of Army politics within the Army of the Potomac that was entirely new to me.
The final chapter exposes the truth behind the story that Doubleday invented the game of Baseball which was very interesting. A great addition to the Civil War discussion.
October17.
by Dick Couch (no photo) and
George GaldorisiFinish date: October 7, 2023
Genre: Fiction
Rating: B+
Review: I'd seen the movie years ago when it came out, and happened to pick up this book at a book sale a few years ago where it sat on my shelf. I was looking for a quick read and finally picked it off of my shelf. This was a great, fast paced, action-packed novel. I've read many thrillers involving Seals, etc. and this is very similar to those. This is not as good as some of those, but this was an entertaining read and still very much relevant given our current situation. A worthwhile read.
18.
by
Sean ParnellFinish date: October 31, 2023
Genre: Fiction
Rating: B+
Review: This novel was better than the previous book. I found it very interesting to get a more detailed look at the other alphas as they are targeted. It is also great to get more characters from Cutlass Main, particularly the tech support team.
I enjoyed this book more than the previous as the assassin gets closer to Steele and the threat builds. This assassin was a really good villain as she was able to change her appearance and approach to target each alpha's weak spot. We also get more of the back story of Eric's father's story, which distracted a bit from the main story. It seems this might have been better as it's own book. I'm looking forward to the resolution of this story, maybe in the next book.
November19.
by
Bill O'Reilly &
Martin DugardFinish date: November 13, 2023
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: A
Review: This was a great review of the many terror operations carried out over multiple administrations since 9/11/2001. Some of these I knew about and read about, but many of these I was only vaguely aware of. I've read "The Operator" about the Bin Laden Raid and other books by retired Seals and other Special Operators. This book was very interesting, frustrating, and maddening. It seems that every threat taken out only breeds two more threats to replace it.
December20.
by Howard Pervear Nash (no photo)Finish date: December 14, 2023
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: B+
Review: This book provides a great full length biography of Benjamin F. Butler from his birth to death. The author does disclose his bias at the beginning that he does like General Butler. So, it's not surprising to see him defend much of the criticism and alleged corruption aimed at Butler. The defenses, backed by sources, does make the reader question how much was actual corruption and how much was from Butler's many enemies trying to tear him down. I do believe that Butler was a corrupt politician and did use the War to enrich himself and his family. That being said, he was a patriot and a strong supporter of the Union. He also was a member of multiple political parties during his post-Civil War Political Campaigns. Learning more about Benjamin Butler does give some respect form him. Butler is an interesting character and certainly made a large impact on Massachusetts and the United States.
Of all of the Butler books I looked at this seemed to have the best reviews and least biased book about General Butler. This combined with Hearn's book does provide a good review of his life and career. A worthwile read for those that are interested.
21.
by
Paulo CoelhoFinish date: December 19, 2023
Genre: Fiction
Rating: F
Review: I read this because my wife is from Brazil and this was a famous best seller from a famous Brazilian author. It started off fine with an interesting life journey of simple sheepherder looking for something better in life. But, It took a turn late in the book that took this story entirely out of the realm of possibility. I was already getting bored with the constant repetition about seeking your Personal Legend, but this was the final straw. I would not recommend this.
22.
by
William ShatnerFinish date: December 20, 2023
Genre: Fiction
Rating: C
Review: Book three of this series went into a direction where I did not know how this series could be continued and be interesting. But, this book did take the story into a new direction by rewriting the past and taking Jim Endicott into an entirely new direction which turned out very interesting. I wasn't on board for the first third, but then the story got more interesting. Shatner does have good writing skill, and this is not the best series he's written. I have one book left of this series that I can find as it appears Book 6 was never published.
Mod
23.
by Gar Wilson (no photo)Finish date: December 26, 2023
Genre: Fiction
Rating: C
Review: Entertaining entry in the Phoenix Force Series from my youth. Another book read purely for nostalgia. This book deals with the debate on the safety of Nuclear Energy and their susceptibility as a terrorist target.
24.
by Gar Wilson (no photo)Finish date: December 31, 2023
Genre: Fiction
Rating: C
Review: Another book read purely for nostalgia, again. This one deals with the IRA stealing Nukes. Similar to the prior book, but slightly more outlandish. This resolution was a bit quick, but these resolutions are usually quick.
Mod
January1.
by Sean Parnell (no photo)Finish date: January 26, 2024
Genre: Fiction
Rating: B+
Review: This book was slightly better than the third book and was very topical dealing with a lab in China working on a weaponizing new variation of the COVID strain, which we know is happening today. It's interesting that this was published in 2021 when we were still being told that Covid-19 was not man-made and came from a bat eaten at a wet market. Now, even the Government has admitted that it was released, either accidentally or intentionally, from a Chinese bio lab.
This book finally closes Eric Steele's long running search for his father, which was great. I really enjoyed the rebuilding of the Program, recruiting new members and bringing in more characters into the story. The first book largely only dealt with Steele and his handler, Demo. Now we get more character development on other Alphas and Support personnel which made the later books more interesting.
Sadly, with no new book on the horizon since 2021 which is peculiar, this book leaves us with a massive cliffhanger leaving the survival of our hero in doubt. A really shocking and surprising ending. I hope Parnell will release a new book, but since it's been years now, it's not looking good.
February2.
by
Dee BrownFinish date: February 13, 2024
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: B+
Review: This book covers the little known "Galvanized Yankees" who were Confederate prisoners recruited from Northern Prisons for service on the Western frontier. These men, who effectively switch sides during the War, had various reasons for doing so. This book details the service of the 6,000 men recruited in six regiments to replace regular units in the West.
Dee Brown follows the events of each westward trail and the forts occupied by various units of the US Volunteers who manned those forts to protect wagon trains, the telegraph wire and the stagecoach lines. In this way he covers all six regiments in an organized manner that is easy to follow as the units are moved across the West from fort to fort.
The writing in this book is very good and Dee keeps the story moving at a good pace keeping the reader very interested without overloading the reader with details. While some stories are more interesting than others, the stories are very interesting. It is good to know that these men left behind enough writings to tell this often overlooked part of history.
3.
by Harold Coyle (no photo)Finish date: February 28, 2024
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: C
Review: I'm a fan of Harold Coyle. I've read all of his books from "Team Yankee", his first, through his last, "No Warriors, No Glory", published in 2009.
The story of a young Jew hiding his true nature in as Nazi Germany moves towards the Final Solution was interesting. When the main character, a male child had a surgery to change his outward appearance to a female, my interest in this book faded. I found this fictional aspect of the story to be unnecessary and very implausible in 1930s Germany when the basis for this story was interesting enough. Despite this issue, the writing and the story is well done as usual for Coyle.
March4. Captain John Ericsson Father of the Monitor (no image) by Constance Buel Burnett (no photo)
Finish date: March 12, 2024
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: B+
Review: This was an interesting biography of a long-forgotten inventor-engineer. The man who is most known for creating the first Ironclad warship, which showed the World that the day of the wooden warship was over.
After reading this book, I learned that Ericsson was a true genius inventing many things that were before their time and weren't adopted because of ingrained biases. Eventually, many of his ideas were adopted and helped to modernize our World.
This book was very well written and not dry as most biographies tend to be. The highlight is certainly at the end at the book with the designing and building of the USS Monitor. This brief battle of iron ships ended the age of the wooden ship. You can certainly see how Submarines were heavily influenced by Ericsson's ideas. Particularly, the screw propeller and the Monitor, with it's rotating turret.
My only criticism with this book is the complete lack of sketches, drawings, diagrams, or pictures of some of the Ericsson's famous inventions. This would have a welcome addition to the author's descriptions. A few of these are found on Wikipedia. I was really surprised that not even one picture of The USS Monitor was included inside the book.
Mod
When you come across a book that doesn’t have an image, the citation should look like so:
Captain John Ericsson Father of the Monitor (no image) by Constance Buel Burnett (no photo)
Thank you.
Lorna wrote: "Good progress, David. When you come across a book that doesn’t have an image, the citation should look like so:
Captain John Ericsson Father of the Monitor (no image) by [author:C..."
Thanks!
April5.
by
Charles M. Robinson IIIFinish date: April 13, 2024
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: B+
Review: I bought this book because of Mackenzie's service in the Civil War. Only about 30 pages covers his Civil War service from 1862 to 1865. The rest of the book covers Mackenzie's long and successful career fighting American Indians on the frontier. Most of Mackenzie's service ended up being as a troubleshooter. He spent most of his service in Texas, but was also sent to Arizona, New Mexico, Kansas and Colorado when fires flared up.
This was a great book for a history of the post-Civil War Frontier. Mackenzie's hard service severely impacted his physical and mental health as is detailed in the final chapters. This was also very interesting given what we know about PTSD today.
6.
by
Finish date: April 22, 2024
Genre: Fiction
Rating: C+
Review: I vaguely recall seeing this movie, but remember little about it. I picked up this book recently among other old novels based on movies or novelizations of movies. This book, based on the screenplay, was written by great Isaac Asimov. Some of the story elements outside of the mission was dated which isn't surprising since this book was written in 1966. Once the mission began, the book got very interesting as the adventure progressed. The mystery here was pretty good as you can suspect every member of the team as being the possible saboteur until the very end.
This book is interesting because we are so far removed from the time in which this was written and medical technology has progressed so far. After finishing the book, I watched the movie, but the effects really do hurt the movie.
May7.
by
Lincoln ChildFinish date: May 7, 2024
Genre: Fiction
Rating: B
Review: This was an interesting book that touches on a lot of technology that are currently accessible to the general public, like immersive VR, Digital Assistants, AI and Implanted Medical Devices. This technology gives us both hope and fear for the future.
This story is about what is possible if someone takes control of one or more of these technologies in order to carry out their own agenda. The story was interesting at the outset given the interesting location, and became a fast-paced thriller. I did enjoy this book a lot and it was great to see Jeremy in action again.
My one criticism is that the ending did feel a bit rushed and there was a hint of something that wasn't pursued. Additionally, In past novels there was a love interest element to Jeremy's story, which could have very been helpful to caring more about characters in this story.
Mod
June8. That Man Haupt;: A Biography of Herman Haupt (no image) by James Arthur Ward (no photo)
Finish date: June 11, 2024
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: C
Review: This book was well-written book that engaged the reader making it an interesting read.
My primary criticism with this book, as with others I've read, is the lack of maps. Haupt did a lot of work with the Railroads, so it would have been helpful to have overall maps of the Railroads and regions being discussed to better visualize where these roads were. There is also a discussion of an early photograph of Haupt, but the picture is not included, which seems like a major oversight.
This book would really interest those who want to know more about engineering and the development of the railroads. There isn't much here to make it a worthwhile read for the Civil War buff.
9.
by Gar Wilson (no photo)Finish date: June 13, 2024
Genre: Fiction
Rating: C
Review: Another decent adventure in the frozen wasteland of Alaska. Good setting for this entry in the story. Again, the team is dealing with the same Irish terrorists they dealt with in the prior book.
10.
by
Kyle MillsFinish date: June 28, 2024
Genre: Fiction
Rating: B+
Review: This entry really does pose an interesting scenario. What if the enemy of America is sitting in the White House? How does someone sworn to follow the President's orders react when he is ordered to do something that is against America's interests?
This entry in the Mitch Rapp franchise was about as good if not better than the prior entry. Again we have Nicholas Ward as the first Billionaire in the world assisting Rapp. This book starts off with a shocking turn of events that has consequences for Rapp's team. I did not see that coming.
July11.
by
William ShatnerFinish date: July 19, 2024
Genre: Fiction
Rating: C+
Review: This book takes the story into space as Jim seeks the source of the drug, Heat. We get some great space action until we finally reach the planet.
This book provides a decent adventure as Jim deals with the problems of leadership and solving the mystery of Heat that will have galactic consequences. I enjoyed the mystery here and the new races we meet in this story.
I was curious how this series would end, but it appears that the sixth entry doesn't exist. We do get a decent wrap-up and ending if this is the last book in this series as it appears to be.
The History Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Red Ice (other topics)Scratch One (other topics)
Zero Cool (other topics)
Binary (other topics)
The Price of Valor: The Life of Audie Murphy, America's Most Decorated Hero of World War II (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
R.L. Crossland (other topics)John Lange (other topics)
John Lange (other topics)
John Lange (other topics)
David A. Smith (other topics)
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Finish date: August 23, 2022
Genre: Fiction
Rating: B+
Review: While these books are becoming predictable, this entry was better than the previous entry, which was better than the one prior to that. So, they are on an upward trend. I enjoyed the settings of Norway and the North Pole in this book. This book started to pick up steam relatively fast and didn't slow down, which is what I like about these books. I'm still interested where Thor will take Harvath in the future. I look forward to more dramatic changes in this series. I really would like to see a recurring threat to Harvath and his team rather than a threat that is wrapped up by the end of the book.