Just finished Rescue Warriors, a celebratory take on the Coast Guard. Presently a third of the way through Murder at Fenway Park, a 1912 moider mystery that has lotsa baseball.
^^ The retro Boston setting sounds appealing, although the baseball element does not. Was that actually written in 1912, or is it just set in 1912? I used to read a lot of King back in the 80s and 90s, but not recently. I generally prefer his short fiction to his novels (although I loved a few of his novels). "The Mist" is probably my favorite of his stories.
Only set in 1912; the book was published in 1994. The author has done other baseball mysteries, and they're all (from what I've seen) set before the 1930s, in various cities.For my money, Hanging Curve had a more interesting plot, set in the context of St. Louis race riots. I read it right after Ferguson erupted, something of a coincidence. Excellent! What sort of work did you do? The amount of mission diversity the author covers was most impressive. (I was rescued from floodwaters by some military service as a kid, so I've always had a strong affection for the Coast Guard and other agencies that do search and rescue operations.)
Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution by Nathaniel Philbrick
Very interesting. I just did a bit of research on Amazon (there seems to be a fantasy element involved, too) and these seem quite well researched. I might check them out. Looks like the same baseball-playing detective is in each one.
Yep, Mickey Rawlings -- awful luck, always running into dead bodies. Probably like that Jack Ripper fellow..
Had this book on my shelf for 20 years, never got around to reading it until I read: "Guns, Germs and Steel" so now am reading it, hefty, pretentious tome that it is: "Civilizations" by Felipe-Fernandez Armesto. And yes, it's as pretentious as it sounds. You're better off with the former book that actually won a Pulitzer. Shorter and says the same shit.
I worked for the aircraft section, buying parts and services for the HH65 helicopter and the C130 and C130J aircrafts. Nothing glamorous, but necessary to keep 'em flying.
Yep, my dad did similar work -- he was in the Air Force during Vietnam, but he didn't fly so much as repair jet engines for the guys who had to do the flying. I was amazed to learn in college how many support personnel there are for every guy-with-a-rifle-in-the-field.
my current read is somewhat war-raleted, too: Doctor Who and the Doomsday Weapon. I'm only at chapter 3, so I can't say much about the book. At any rate it's nicely written and thrilling.
I read Guns, Germs, and Steel ages ago, when it first came out. It's an excellent book. Never read Civilizations, though. I don't think I ever heard of it.
Just finished a second hand book about assassinations that was ok, now reading Disclaimer which I have to say isn't seizing my attention so far, hopefully it's just a slow burn.
I'm still reading My Life by President William J. Clinton. It's around 900 pages, and I keep breaking into it to read other books. I finished On the Beach by Nevile Shute last night.
Not surprising, I don't know anyone else who has read it....but I am a history/paleontology nut, so I have some bizarre reading materials. It was probably required reading 25 years ago in paleontology at university (wouldn't know, I only have a high school diploma and went to college for law and got bored and so never graduated) Honestly, you're not missing much. That Jared guy who wrote Guns, Germs and Steel took the basic premise of Fernandez-Armesto's work, grabbed the important bits, expanded on it and frankly, wrote a better book. But, his book arguably could not have existed without Armesto's work.
Underground Airlines by Ben H. Winters. Interesting Alt-History look at what could have happened if the American Civil War never happened. Not terribly far into it just yet, but it's very well written and has the feel of a classic.
Well, it wouldn't be the first time somebody built on a prior work or made it more accessible. No problem with that.
Just started reading Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Its pretty good so far, and the play/script format doesn't actually hurt the story.