What are you reading - Part III.

[Whofan]

2 hours ago, Andy H said:

 

I always thought still waters ran deep with George. Good practice to get different points of view on a given subject. 👍

Oh, it's an understatement to say still waters run deep with George.

 

you're right, and it's partly why I bought both books;  while I was pretty confident they wouldn't be hugely different - after all, there is only one George Harrison, it's the tiny detail, or the not reported elements of his life that are so interesting.

 

And as I said, both authors have different emphases on different parts of his story, but both do, in my opinion, give a pretty good picture of a man who lived his life in ways we might find somewhat disturbing ( his meanness and indifference to many) to revelations about his talent, musicality and spirituality.

 

as I said, if you are a fan of the Beatles or George in particular, either or both are a good read.

[stevehnz]

"Where do Underpants come from", by Joe Bennett, an expat Brit living for some decades in New Zealand, he went from being a teacher to author & journalist & has written numerous books as well as a syndicated weekly column. The book looked at the Chinese manufacturing phenomenonin the early years of this century & would be as applicable to the UK or US market as our local one. Published about 17 years ago, China & the world have changed a bit but the lessons contained within are still relevant I think. That was a quick 2 day read.

I'm now into "Battle for Antwerp" by J L Moulton who I understand is a retired general. Fairly dry but overall a well assembled collection of info from a range of sources describing a particularly unhappy time for British & Canadian Forces in North West Europe in late 1944 early 1945 with Montgomery not at his finest hour taking a central role.

Steve.

[scautomoton]

Just finished "Challenger" by Adam Higginbotham. An extremely well written and well researched account of the Challenger disaster in 1986. Starting with the Apollo 1 fire it charts the lessons NASA learned and then became institutionally unable to adhere to in spirit. It follows the lives of the astronauts and key players involved and goes through the repeated missed opportunities and poor engineering decisions that ultimately led to the mission failure. A riveting read, well recommended.

[Farmer matt]

Just finished this

 

 

Although I did not really get on with the author's style, it was a fascinating read which left me wondering if man or marque deserve anything like the veneration afforded them.

The original text both starts and ends with the death of Enzo Ferrari, a 2019 postscript briefly covers the 30 years after that event. Concentrating on the race cars, which were central to the man's life, the narrative covers the intrigues and tragedies that accompanied that effort, along with some observations of his personal life and habits.

However, an irritation throughout is the amount of needless repetition, and I would suggest a thorough edit could halve the page count without losing any content.

Still worth a read though.

 

Matt

 

[Pete in Lincs]

 The Battle of the Atlantic by Jonathan Dimbleby 

I'm about 2/3rds through this. What a read and very enlightening. 

After PQ17 (and what a debacle that was) it seems that convoys to Russia were pretty much off the table, much to the chagrin of Stalin. 

Britain was desperate for supplies but tonnage sunk by U boats was reaching huge numbers and was greater than the number of new ships built.

At the same time, they only had 120 Squadron with B-24's which could cover the Atlantic gap to deter and perhaps sink said U boats.

But despite the Royal Navy asking for more, Harris refused to increase Coastal Commands long range Aircraft numbers. Preferring to bomb German cities.

He apparently had the backing of Churchill in this.And he ignored instructions from Portal, his boss!

So they had the tankers bringing fuel to the RAF being sunk due to lack of air coverage in the Atlantic!

That and large numbers of cargo ships also being lost meant less food,material supplies and Aircraft to support Britains fight. 

On top of that, there was still a strong lobby in America that preferred to use the supplies themselves in the Pacific despite Roosevelt's instructions.

And all this in 1943 when you'd have thought it would all have been sorted out at least a year earlier.

I watched the Cruel Sea at the weekend. After reading this book I watched it in a new light. What a terrible waste of men and materials due to high level stupidity.

[Whofan]

6 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

What a terrible waste of men and materials due to high level stupidity.

Pete,

 

I could make the point using  Covid, which was a terrible waste of people due to high level stupidity, but it’s probably better said that nothing changes at high level.

[stevehnz]

@Pete in Lincs's entry reminded me that before my undies I read Heavy Cruisers of the Admiral Hipper Class: Warships of the Kriegsmarine
by GERHARD KOOP

A far more readable book than I imagined it was going to be, ok, the very detailed tech bits lack  bit of narrative but are there to refer back to, the rest was enormously interesting & actions like the Battle of the Barents Sea, the Bismark escapade & the Channel Dash told from another view point all made for a good read I felt.

Steve.

[Pete in Lincs]

Eject! Eject! John Nichol (2003)  The story of the Ejection seat. Going way back to the early days, it's a fascinating history with plenty of statistics and tales of what happened to the Aircrew who used them to save their lives. I'm about halfway through now. I'll put it up for sale when I finish it.

[Whofan]

Currently reading The Deceiver by Frederick Forsyth. This so far is exactly in the style of his previous books, and the 40 or 50 pages I’ve read so far seem to have enjoyably zipped by.

 

The book I read before this one was “Whatever happened to Slade”, again a read that seemed to take no time at all.

 

It was quite a fascinating read, and I learnt a lot about one of the best bands of the ‘70’s.

 

Oh, definitely. If you couldn’t sing along to any of their myriad hits then I’d suspect you were a bit of a grumpy old so and so!

 

Unlike most bands they don’t seem to have been ripped off by their management, but their manager - Chad Chandler, if The Animals and Jimi Hendrix fame did them no favours by taking them to the States for two years in order to “break” the States, which was his obsession for them.

 

It didn’t work, and when they came back to the UK instead of major venues they were reduced to playing cabaret clubs and Universities.

 

However, it seemed they didn’t care where they played, and in 1980 they enjoyed a bit of a resurgence after they wowed the Reading Festival as a late replacement for Ozzie.

 

There was obviously some tension between Noddy Holder and Dave Hill, which was not explored in this book, but all in all, an enjoyable book and gave me lots of new info on the band.

 

Not quite up to the standard of Bright Lights and Dark Shadows, the “bio” of Abba, or “ Long strange trip”, the “bio” of Grateful Dead, the best bios of bands I’ve read, but it’s worth a read.

Edited December 22, 2024 by Whofan

[stevehnz]

Barbarossa by Jonathon Dimbleby. I spotted it while looking up his Battle of the Atlantic that @Pete in Lincs mentioned about & after my blitz on Stalingrad books recently, thought I needed to understand more about the lead up to that, hence Barbarossa, from the local library. Early days yet but very impressed at the content & style. I'm currently getting a primer on the whole preamble to WW2 & the Soviet/German non aggression pact. Skulduggery at its worst.

Steve.

[Billy54]

After finishing Ellery Queen's first novel "The Roman Hat Mystery" written in 1929, I have now started ""Whose Body?", the first novel by Dorothy L Sayers written in 1923. Needless to say I do enjoy "whodunit" mysteries and I am enjoying both books although it must be said that some of the conclusions and opinions in these books would not sit well in todays world.

 

As you may know Ellery Queen is not only a pseudonym of two authors who wrote the book he is also the name of the main character (himself a mystery author) who assists his father a New York city police inspector in solving crimes.

 

Lord Peter Wimsey ably assisted by his man Bunter are the main characters in this and other novels by Dorothy L Sayers. 

 

If you are lookiing for reading light fiction mysteries I can recommend either book. It should be said that Ellery Queen is a much more low keyed figure than the flamboyant Lord Peter.

 

 

[psdavidson]

57 minutes ago, Billy54 said:

""Whose Body?", the first novel by Dorothy L Sayers written in 1923

I started reading this when I was in school, many, many moons ago. Didn't get very far.

I picked it up again a couple of years ago, and really enjoyed it. Though, like Christie, Conan-Doyle and others, it is very much of it's time, in language and opinions

[Neil.C]

18 hours ago, Billy54 said:

After finishing Ellery Queen's first novel "The Roman Hat Mystery" written in 1929, I have now started ""Whose Body?", the first novel by Dorothy L Sayers written in 1923. Needless to say I do enjoy "whodunit" mysteries and I am enjoying both books although it must be said that some of the conclusions and opinions in these books would not sit well in todays world.

 

As you may know Ellery Queen is not only a pseudonym of two authors who wrote the book he is also the name of the main character (himself a mystery author) who assists his father a New York city police inspector in solving crimes.

 

 Lord Peter Wimsey ably assisted by his man Bunter are the main characters in this and other novels by Dorothy L Sayers. 

 

 

If you are lookiing for reading light fiction mysteries I can recommend either book. It should be said that Ellery Queen is a much more low keyed figure than the flamboyant Lord Peter.

 

 

 

The Wimsey stories were made some time ago on BBC radio with Ian Carmichael as Wimsy and Peter Jones as Bunter. Absolutely superb and probably still available.

[593jones]

2 hours ago, Neil.C said:

 

The Wimsey stories were made some time ago on BBC radio with Ian Carmichael as Wimsy and Peter Jones as Bunter. Absolutely superb and probably still available.

 

They were also produced on TV many years ago, still available on DVD and very good they were (and are).  I read most of the Wimsey series over the years, my favourite was 'The Nine Tailors', although the TV version did give away too much of the plot in the first episode.  But that's a detail.  There were further versions of some of the stories made later, with Edward Petherbridge as Wimsey.  Although he was more suited to the character as written by Sayers, I preferred Ian Carmichael's portrayal.

[Billy54]

YouTube is a nice place to find audio books and film/tv/radio shows from many different authors by many different posters.

 

I have seen the Lord Peter BBC shows and agree that Ian Carmichael best defines Wimsey.

[Whofan]

Having finished the Deceiver by Frederick Forsyth, I read the Last Reich by Brian Klein, the second in a trilogy - and I did read the first, called the Counterfeit Candidate.

 

the premise of the books is the grandson of Adolf Hitler - hmmm, yes!! -   is a candidate for President of the US, gets exposed, and seeks revenge on the police who expose him, as well as complete his grandfather’s work.

 

I don’t know if I would get the third book in this trilogy.

 

 

[stevehnz]

Took Barbarossa back to the library today. Quite the wade, wonderfully written, but hells teeth, some really awful, shocking, depressing stuff in there, I just had to walk away from it the odd time & it's not that it was stuff that I didn't know about, but put in front of one in the way Dimbleby did, it is quite challenging.

Steve.

[Farmer matt]

 

 

Johnson's lively and revealing account of his time as London Mayor, Foreign Secretary and of course PM. 

I will admit to being firmly in the pro-Boris camp which probably added to the enjoyment, but this is extremely readable. If you have never thought to compare the world's leaders to characters in an Enid Blyton story, you can now. Indeed, one of the strengths of this,and his Churchill book, is Johnson's ability to vividly describe people in just a few telling words.

Leaves you wondering why anyone would even half think of entering politics though, especially the kind of cynical back stabbing that ultimately brought his demise.

 

 

 

This is a thoughtful and well written book which looks at how man has impacted upon the natural world since our earliest ancestors, and how we have now almost completely lost touch with our surroundings. The author looks for hope,though,rather than adopting the doom approach.

The pros and cons of various forms of rewilding and conservation efforts are examined, along with the way in which such efforts are often hampered by misguided assumptions and narrow targets. It is suggested that we need to be far more willing to take chances that a solution might work, rather than doing nothing because it might not.

A powerful subject dealt with quietly and reasonably.

 

Matt

 

 

[stevehnz]

I'm on my second book since Barbarossa. The first is one that her indoors gave me for Christmas, "The Happiest Man Alive" by Eddie Jaku.  I found it an interesting read on several levels. Jaku was a holocaust survivor who immigrated to Australia with his wife in 1946 & after a rich & varied life passed away at age 101 the year after his story was published. The part that deals with his early life & time in Dachau, Auschwitz & Buchenwald is certainly chilling though interesting  & the way he dealt with his life in the aftermath of those traumas is a story of optimism in the face of adversity & courage. A quick read but a worthy one.

Now reading "Legacy, Overland Trekkers Blackpool to Durban 1947" by Irene Topping, based on her mothers diaries of the trip. Irene was a 3 year old at the time & it is the story of a mixed group taking two mil surplus Ford CMP radio vans down through the Sahara, & across Africa to their destinations. I've long enjoyed a good overlanding story, if I had my time again it is what I'd like to have done more of. For me, an interesting aspect to it is the presence in the party of a young, 22ish, Desmond Bagley, before he rose to fame as a thriller writer. I read a lot of Bagley as a young man & enjoyed his accuracy in matters technical & natural. Even as a 22 year old he was trying his hand at writing & shared some of this with other members of the party. His first novel, the Golden Keel, was published 15 years later.

Steve.

[Neil.C]

Working my way through Berlin - The downfall by Antony Beevor from the charity shop.

 

Quite hard going and depressing but I'll get through it as I don't know the ending. 😉

 

When finished I'll donate it back to the shop as usual.

 

 

 

[593jones]

16 hours ago, stevehnz said:

I'm on my second book since Barbarossa. The first is one that her indoors gave me for Christmas, "The Happiest Man Alive" by Eddie Jaku.  I found it an interesting read on several levels. Jaku was a holocaust survivor who immigrated to Australia with his wife in 1946 & after a rich & varied life passed away at age 101 the year after his story was published. The part that deals with his early life & time in Dachau, Auschwitz & Buchenwald is certainly chilling though interesting  & the way he dealt with his life in the aftermath of those traumas is a story of optimism in the face of adversity & courage. A quick read but a worthy one.

Now reading "Legacy, Overland Trekkers Blackpool to Durban 1947" by Irene Topping, based on her mothers diaries of the trip. Irene was a 3 year old at the time & it is the story of a mixed group taking two mil surplus Ford CPM radio vans down through the Sahara, & across Africa to their destinations. I've long enjoyed a good overlanding story, if I had my time again it is what I'd like to have done more of. For me, an interesting aspect to it is the presence in the party of a young, 22ish, Desmond Bagley, before he rose to fame as a thriller writer. I read a lot of Bagley as a young man & enjoyed his accuracy in matters technical & natural. Even as a 22 year old he was trying his hand at writing & shared some of this with other members of the party. His first novel, the Golden Keel, was published 15 years later.

Steve.

 

That's interesting about Desmond Bagley, I was something of a fan back in my youth, High Citadel was my favourite, with The Vivero Letter a close second.

[cmatthewbacon]

17 minutes ago, 593jones said:

That's interesting about Desmond Bagley, I was something of a fan back in my youth, High Citadel was my favourite, with The Vivero Letter a close second.

Me, too. Desmond Bagley, Hammond Innes, Gavin Lyall, and of course Alistair Maclean were the next steps on from Biggles, and our local second-hand bookshops had plenty to choose from...

best,

M.

[cmatthewbacon]

Just finished Ben Macintyre’s “The Siege”, which was a truly excellent piece of well researched narrative history, and a cracking non fiction thriller to boot. Now moved on to A Conventional Boy, the latest File from Charlie Stross’s Laundry, and have the new Robert Crais Cole and Pike book cued up to follow that…

best,

M.

[Pete in Lincs]

James Holland, Hellfire. WW2 1942 in the Desert. There is a quote from the Suday Telegraph on the cover, Sharpe for the Blitz years.

And that is pretty much how it reads. The main character, Jack Tanner, in Cairo and in the desert coming up to El Alamein.

The Author certainly knows his WW2 history and has skillfully weaved this story around it.

[Farmer matt]

Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy was recommended to me by a friend. I rarely read fiction, and it is probably forty years since I read fantasy, but I thought I would try it and see.

 

Having just finished the first volume, I was sufficiently immersed in the tale to purchase the second which I hope to crack on with later.

Set in a medieval kingdom, the illegitamate son of the heir to the throne grows up caught in the crossfire of the rivalries and ambitions of those around him.

Eventually schooled as an assassin, he is as likely to be disposed of himself by any number of parties.

The story is vividly told, and the only fantasy element in the first book is telepathy in two forms. The Wit which enables him to attune to animals, and the Skill which is a human form.

This trilogy is itself the first in a series, I am hoping that by the end of the second book I will be able to judge if it is worth continuing or if the point is being pushed.

 

Matt