I consider myself fairly knowledgeable on the Civil War, but periodically I am surprised by an event that I have not read about. This is the case with Timothy Smith’s The Real Horse Soldiers. The book is a great narrative and analysis of the Union raid led by Colonel Benjamin Grierson. Smith describes the strategic… Continue reading
I will admit to being a fickle reader these days. My life has been rather crazy at the last four months or so, more anon on that perhaps, and so my mood seems to change regularly. Sometimes I am reading serious nonfiction, sometimes literary fiction but at other times what I really need is something… Continue reading
A fantastical novella about a young girl’s journey into a dark netherworld to find her missing best friend. But is it a “dazzlingly imaginative adventure story and moving exploration of the power of friendship and the terror of loss” as the publisher claims?
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A middle-grade bedtime storybook written and illustrated in the tradition of classics. While adventures teach boys and girls importance of family and friendship in their lives, adults will love the good lessons about not making the wrong decisions when life offers challenges.”
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My favorite Civil War author, Eric J. Wittenberg, has recently written a book on the Union mounted force’s delaying action on September 18, 1863 at Chickamauga in Holding the Line on the River of Death. Wittenberg is my favorite author because he details the actions of individual units, but also gives a great overview of… Continue reading
It turned out to be the fast paced thriller I was looking for but I was left cold by the ending.
Everything went barreling toward a climax and then it just kind of ended.
Unlike many books on explaining the exploits of fighting men, Lengel goes beyond the battlefield when looking at the men. He compassionately describes the struggles and trials of the men as they deal with the horrors they experienced in war.
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The Sorrows of Work is a short book that explains why so many of us are miserable at work. The book’s conclusions are a little depressing, but ring true.
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All in all, it served its purpose in that it kept me entertained while not requiring much deep thought on my part. But I have to say it didn’t make me want to run out and buy The Martian.
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