The History Book Club discussion

January

1. by Dean Koontz

Date finished: January 1, 2013
Genre: Thriller
Rating: B-

Review:
This is not the type of book I usually read but picked it up on a whim at the library and it wasn't bad. A young man who owns his own small landscaping business becomes involved in a seemingly impossible situation......his beloved wife had been kidnapped and being ransomed for two million dollars. Of course, he cannot possibly find that kind of money and so the story begins as he is hell-bent on outwitting the kidnappers and attempts to determine why this is happening. A couple of surprises await the reader but basically this is one of those thrillers (if that is the correct genre) that you neither love nor hate.........just a quick read which will keep you interested enough to finish it, even though there are some plot holes toward the end that are never explained. A book for those reading times when you don't want to think too much!!

2. by Michael Capuzzo

Date finished: January 5, 2013
Genre: Biography, social/crime history
Rating: B+

Review:
I almost gave this book five stars but was put off by some of the over the top purple prose that was totally unnecessary in a book of this type (or in any book for that matter). The book is the biography of the Vidocq Society, an organization made up of the world's greatest crime experts.....psychologists, police, FBI, medical examiners, polygraph operators, lawyers, etc. Membership is by invitation only and this group of international sleuths study cold cases and offer their assistance and advice to the local authorities. The author pays particular attention to the founders of the group, William Fleisher from law enforcement and an expert interrogator; Frank Bender a sculptor who "saw dead people" and sculpted their faces; and Richard Walter, a forensic psychologist known as the "living Sherlock Holmes". They are quirky individuals who put their heart and soul into their work and who, along with the other Society members, solve 90% of the cases presented to them. Some of the cases may be familiar to the reader although the Vidocq Society may not be since they do not take credit for their work. A book worth reading.

3. by Richard Goldstein

Date finished: January 7, 2013
Genre: American social history, WWII
Rating: B

Review:
If you love NYC, the Big Apple, Baghdad on the Hudson, you will love her even more after a romp through this word picture of the city during WWII. NYC was buzzing with activity from the outfitting of ships in the navy yards to the Broadway plays dedicated to patriotic themes; air raid alerts which no New Yorker acknowledged (no one would have the nerve to bomb NYC); Mayor La Guardia grabbing headlines scampering about in his fireman's uniform; the thousands of soldiers and sailors who descended upon the city prior to shipping out to Europe; the nightclub scene and cafe society which continued to proliferate; the Stage Door Canteen: and the American Bund of Nazi sympathizers who met in Madison Square Garden.
It's a fascinating look at the world's most fascinating city.

4. by Danny Peary

Date finished: January 11, 2013
Genre: Film history
Rating: A

Review:
For the die-hard film fan,author Danny Peary gives the reader a tour through those good, bad, and ugly films that are termed "cult". This is the first of a trilogy that covers the entire genre and it is a delight. Being a film fanatic, especially the cult and "so bad they are good" movies, I was in heaven. His reviews which are priceless also contain some insider information that just adds to the fun. Absolutely a must read for the lover of all that is film.

5. by John van der Kiste

Date finished: January 12,13, 2013
Genre: British history
Rating: B-

Review:
This is a multi-biographical history of the nine children of Queen Victoria, a woman who really had no time or particular affection for children, even her own. It is surprising that the majority of them turned out as well as they did. We are most familiar with her two oldest, the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) and Vicky (Empress of Germany), so it is interesting to learn about the remaining seven, whose lives were directed by their mother and the ever present ghost of their father, Prince Albert. Their marriages and their lives were, for the most part, not particularly happy but like their mother, they provided offspring who represented the royalty of the ruling houses of all of Europe. A book that is full of information for the lover of British history but not the best I have ever read.

Jill wrote: "3. by Richard Goldstein

Date finished: January 7, 2013
Genre: American social history, WWII
Rating: B

Review:
If y..."


I like following what you are reading but damn I keep adding to my to-read list! Ah the endless pursuit of books . . .

6. Midsummer Malice by Nigel Fitzgerald (no cover or author photo available)

Date finished: January 19, 2013
Genre: British mystery
Rating: C

Review:
I could not place the time in which this story was set. It is post-war but which war?.....the characters speak like people from the 1920s, so I am guessing it is WWI. Not that it matters much but it sometimes is helpful in order to make sense of situations and character reactions. Regardless, there is a little too much going on here involving some overly eccentric people and the story is very fragmented as we keep switching gears as to why the murder of a well liked young woman is committed and "who dunnit". The detective, Inspector Duffy is almost incidental to the story. It is a pleasant read but certainly no classic.

7. by Dorothy Simpson

Date finished: January 23, 2013
Genre: British police procedural
Rating: B

Review:
This is the first book I've read in the Inspector Luke Thanet series and I enjoyed it. It reads like an "old school" mystery even though set in the 1990s.
Thanet works with his sergeant Mike Lineham to investigate the death of a vineyard owner who turns out to be not exactly what he appeared to be. It is a simple story and is an example of the police procedural......interrogating family members, neighbors, etc, looking for clues of which there are few, and rehashing all the facts to finally reach a solution. The relationship between and the characters of Thanet and Lineham is well developed and we get a peek at the family life of each man. The denouement is a bit over the top but still believable. I will read more of this author's works.

8. by Alex Kershaw

Date finished: January 25, 2013
Genre: WWII/British history
Rating: A

Review:
The title of this book really has a double meaning......first, the Few refers to the RAF in the Battle of Britain as mentioned in one of Churchill's most famous speeches; second, it also refers to the "few" Americans who came to England while the United States was still neutral, to fly and fight with their English brother airmen in the Battle of Britain. We seldom hear of those original seven Americans who risked their citizenship to join the fight against the Nazis by joining the RAF. And what a group they were, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in bob sledding; a 4'10" fellow who needed a pillow to reach the Spitfire instruments; the son of White Russian immigrants; and just plain Joes. (Only one of these pilots survived the war.) The author uses excerpts from logbooks, diaries, and letters to flesh out the characters of these men. He also provides the stories of the German Luftwaffe aces, especially Galland and Molder who ruled the skies over the Channel, at least for a while. It is a wonderful book which tells of the heroics of those men who felt that they must come to the aid of England in her darkest hour.
The final sentence in the book pretty much tells it all. In Sussex, on the gravestone of RAF Pilot Officer Billy Fiske, the first American to die in the Battle of Britain, the following words are inscribed for all to see.
AN AMERICAN CITIZEN WHO DIED THAT ENGLAND MIGHT LIVE.

9. Censored by Tom Dewe Mathews (no images available)

Date finished: January 27, 2013
Genre: Film history
Rating: C-

Review:
This is the story of film censorship in Britain from the beginning to the present time and I don't understand it at all. I don't mean I don't understand what it says, I just don't understand how or why they reached the guidelines that they established or how the censorship board (BBFC) operated. They were backed by the Office of the Home Secretary (or were they) and the members' names were kept from the public. They were inconsistent in their rulings and some of them were, frankly, ridiculous. Just one example is the final speech made by Peter Lorre in Fritz Lang's masterpiece M. It is considered one of the finest piece of acting in screen history and the British censors cut it because it might upset children! The whole film was about child murder so why were children attending in the first place and if they were, why was that scene so offensive?
I am a great film buff but this book was just too dry and pedantic for my taste. It did have some interesting sections but not enough to give it a higher rating.

Jill wrote: "9. Censored by Tom Dewe Mathews (no images available)

Date finished: January 27, 2012
Genre: Film history
Rating: C-

Review:
This is the story of film censorship in Britain from the beginning to ..."

Too bad! It could have been so interesting ...

February

10. by Eleanor Sullivan

Date finished: February 3, 2013
Genre: Mystery Anthology
Rating: B+

Review:
This book is an anthology of short mystery stories from the classic Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. I don't usually read short stories but can't resist mysteries and this did not disappoint. There are many of the best authors represented; John Dickson Carr, Ngaio Marsh, Ruth Rendell, Donald Westlake, et al. It cover the eras of the 1940s through the 1980s and includes both British and American writers. It is a mystery buffs delight at over 600 pages and I read it in-between those non-fiction books that are my other weakness. Recommended

11. by Jon Meacham

Date finished; February 6, 2013
Genre: American history, biography
Rating: B

Review:
I don't usually read Presidential biographies but this one had a little different approach which made it worthwhile.. Rather than probing Jefferson's personal life in-depth, the author provided us a word picture on those aspects of his personality and style which gave him the ability to help shape and govern the new and rather amorphous place called the United States of America. I also found his "supporting cast" in the government quite fascinating. Meacham shows us that Jefferson was rather an enigma and not always a paragon of idealism. Overall, it was an interesting approach to the man and his time.

12. by T.J. English

Date finished: February 8, 2013
Genre: American Crime History
Rating: B+

Review:
The sons of Erin depicted in this history of the Irish mob are some pretty nasty boyos. Immigrants flocked to the US to escape the horrible conditions in Ireland brought on by the potato famine and crowded into Boston, New Orleans, and NYC. Those with ambition had three options: politics, police, or crime, all of which were tied together by the close bond of Irish brotherhood.The author traces the careers of some of the most famous and dangerous of these gangsters who controlled the cities, state governments and eventually influenced national politics. It is a bloody and violent history where the wrong look or word usually resulted in a bullet through the head. The rise of the Italian Mafia began to erode the power of the Irish rule and finally brought about its demise. It is a riveting story which reveals the true place the Irish held in American criminal history.

13. by Isabel Leighton

Date finished: February 16, 2013
Genre: American Social History
Rating: B

Review:
This book is comprised of 22 essays by famous and not so famous authors/journalists, touching on social and historic events that occurred between 1919-1941. It covers such diverse topics as the death of President Warren Harding; the Jack Dempsey/Gene Tunney prize fights; Charles Lindbergh; the Dionne Quintuplets, the Ku Klux Klan, etc. Some are quite humorous while others are serious and thought provoking; others show the obvious bias of the writer. The book was written in 1949 and some of the essays are rather ironic when read in the present day. It is an enjoyable look at the inter-war years in America and the variety of the topics adds interest for any reader of American history

14. by Edward B. Hanna

Date finished: February 18, 2013
Genre: British mystery
Rating: B

Review:
I always swear I will never read a pastiche where the main character is iconic....but I broke that resolution with this Sherlock Holmes book......and am glad I did. My only complaint is that Watson is not the narrator and the story in written in the third person. Regardless, that was not enough to spoil my enjoyment of this tale in which Holmes is engaged by his brilliant and extremely well connected brother, Mycroft, to track down the infamous Jack the Ripper. The reason for Mycroft's involvement soon becomes obvious.
The author weaves Holmes' other adventures into the story which keeps the dates and missing sections consistent with the time frame of the Ripper murders. Many of the "usual suspects" whose names have appeared for years as the possible Ripper, and the members of the police force who worked on the case are here. The identity of the most famous serial killer in history is never revealed.......but, if one reads between the lines, he is identified (or at least, I thought so) and it is clear in my opinion why he is never named.
But this is only my interpretation of the solution. Read it and decide for yourself.

Good start Jill - very impressive.

15. by Danny Peary

Date finished: February 27, 2013
Genre: Film history
Rating: B

Review:
After I read Peary's first book of his trilogy on cult films (see review #4 above), I couldn't resist the second. He dissects another 50 films that he (and most film buffs) consider "cult". Not all are considered bad films....they may be indies, little-known, real stinkers, or ones that you know which have had a devoted following arise around them. I did not like this book quite as well as the first since he touched on all my favorites in his first volume. But, it still makes for great reading and quite a few laughs.......a book that makes the cult film fan very happy!!

16. by Douglas C. Jones

Date finished: February 28, 2013
Genre: Alternative American history
Rating: A-

Review:
He was called the Boy General, Yellow Hair, and the Golden Cavalier and has either been reviled or adored by historians since the massacre at the Little Bighorn in 1876. This book is a "what if" alternative history.....General George Custer is the only survivor of that battle and is brought before the Army for court martial on charges of insubordination and negligence. He is accused of seeing an opportunity to seize all the glory for himself and his 7th Cavalry and ignoring orders, throws his troops against the Cheyenne and Sioux who outnumbered them 100-fold. Of course, the results were disastrous.
The author deftly mixes the facts of the massacre with fiction and weaves a fascinating story of the politics and personalities of the court martial. Custer is portrayed as a vain publicity seeker with his eye on political office, possibly even the Presidency. History tells us that at least part of that description is correct and that this court martial may well have happened if Custer had survived. It is an engrossing read and the ending may take the reader by surprise.

Jill wrote: "15. by Danny Peary

Date finished: February 27, 2013
Genre: Film history
Rating: B

Review:
After I read Peary's first book of his trilogy on cult films (see review..."

Thanks for the tip, Jill. I'm going to try to find these. Sadly, they are out of print. I do have Peary's Alternate Oscars book, though. The book factors lesser-known films into the Oscar equation. It also now seems to be OOP.



by Danny Peary

March

17. by Randy Horn

Date finished: March 1, 2013
Genre: Humor
Rating: I'm not sure it can be rated since it falls into that category of either disgusting or hilarious.

Review:
You have heard of Hobson's choice which is no choice at all between two questions or situations. This little book is comprised of 404 odious questions which are to be used at parties, alone, or with friends that share your sense of (twisted) humor. Two questions are posed and you must choose one, and some of them are truly disgusting while others are hilarious and you can actually justify your answer. Many can't be quoted in this post since they are fairly raw but one less wild is "Have heinous breath and good teeth" or "gross teeth and regular breath". One must have a somewhat skewed sense of humor to enjoy this book......so it doesn't say much for me that I laughed out loud several times. I would have sworn that I would never have read a book like this but I found it in a used book bin for 50 cents and couldn't resist.It is not for everyone......and don't read it while eating lunch!!

18. by Randall Gabrielan

Date finished: March 2, 2012
Genre; American history; photography
Rating: A

Review:
This little 128 page book is part of the Postcard History Series and it is a snapshot of the great places and people of the past in NYC. Everything from skyscrapers to theaters to restaurants/delis to the Follies to the burlesque houses to famous people of the times. All are reproductions of actual post cards that a visitor would have sent home while on a trip to the Big City. Narrative accompanies each picture. Absolutely fascinating pictures of places that no longer exist and some that still stand in one of the world's greatest cities. Even if you are not a fan of NYC, this book is worth reading.

19. by Patricia Moyes

Date finished: March 3, 2013
Genre: British mystery
Rating: B

Review:
Patricia Moyes writes nice little cozies featuring main character Inspector Henry Tibbett of Scotland Yard. He often is helped in his deliberations of "who dunnit" by his wife Emmy but not so in this tale. There is a murder at Style magazine which is the last word in high fashion and where, coincidentally, Tibbett's niece is a model who, like Emmy, gets involved in the chase for the murderer. There are a lot of characters, all of whom are suspects for one reason or another and many are hiding some pretty big secrets. The story moves right along as Tibbett can't seem to get a break but then, suddenly................it all becomes clear to him, although not quite as clear to the reader. The summation of the why and how of the crime is just a bit too hard to believe but it is still a good entry in this series.

Great and impressive start Jill.

20. by James B. Stewart

Date finished: March 9, 2013
Genre: True crime
Rating: B+

Review:
Author and Pulitzer Prize winner James B. Stewart puts together the story of Dr. Michael Swango, an attractive, pleasant and intelligent physician, who in reality is a serial killer. Swango practically bluffed his way through medical school; not because he wasn't qualified but because strange things happened to his patients when he was present....too many people with non-life threatening conditions were suddenly dying. This trend followed him into his residency and the medical schools involved turned a blind eye to what was happening. Testimony from nurses and patients was ignored as reputation and potential liability were put before patient safety. Swango moved to Zimbabwe (Africa) to escape investigation and the murders continued. He was finally brought back to the US to stand trial on lesser charges. The book ends here (it was written in 1999) but history tells us that the doctor was later charged with multiple murders and is new serving life without parole. It has been estimated his victim count is 35 but could possibly reach 60. A very chilling tale.

That sounds like a good one.

Very disturbing and well written.

21. by Katharine Hepburn

Date finished; March 16, 2013
Genre: Biography/film history
Rating: A

Review:
How could you go wrong with Bogie, Katherine Hepburn, John Houston, and one of the classic films of all time gathered together in these pages. Hepburn, who writes as charmingly as she acts, kept a diary of the making of The African Queen and it is delightful. Eccentric, funny, and full of pictures that I have never seen before, it puts you in the middle of the heat, the insects, and the free-flowing liquor of the location shooting. A great trip for the movie buff.

by C.S. Forester

Jill wrote: "21. by Katharine Hepburn

Date fin..."

Another one for my TBR list!

Curses, now I have to read this! I lost control of my TBR list a long time ago, what's one more?

Hi, I'm Bryan, and I'm a readaholic, lol.

Maybe we should have a readaholic thread (just kidding - we wouldn't all be here if we weren't, right?). There are many times when I just won't answer the phone, regardless, if I am in the middle of reading.

G wrote: "Maybe we should have a readaholic thread (just kidding - we wouldn't all be here if we weren't, right?). There are many times when I just won't answer the phone, regardless, if I am in the middle o..."

When I was a kid, my mom used to say that you could set off a bomb near me while I was reading and I wouldn't notice.

I believe that I am going to set up a readathon thread soon and we will set the date and folks can post what they are reading for that hour and what they finished for that date.

22. by Robert Graves

Date finished: March 19, 2013
Genre: British inter-war social history
Rating: B+

Review:
One of the classic social/political histories of the inter-war period in Britain and the Empire. It begins with the "peace" in 1918 and ends as WWII began (for England) on September 3, 1939. The author, Robert Graves, whose autobiography Goodbye to All That also stands as a classic of the disillusionment that WWI brought to his generation. approaches this history seriously but still keeps tongue in cheek in some sections. He covers just about everything that was going on during those years......the fads, theater, film, style, government, sport, and the monarchy.......in other words, all encompassing. You will need to be familiar with British history of the time to relate to some of the allusions in the narrative. But even if you are not, this book will open up the world of those days where the world was changing rapidly and society/government was trying to ignore that another war was inevitable. Highly recommended.

by Robert Graves

23. by David Stacton

Date finished: March 24, 2013
Genre: History
Rating: B

Review:
I would have given this book one more star except for the author's style of chronology. He jumps around in time which can be rather confusing when there are so many character involved and many with the same name. Otherwise, I have no complaints.
This is the story of the Bonaparte family from the indomitable Madam Mere (Napoleon I's mother) to the present day descendants of one of the most recognizable names in history; unfortunately the name has disappeared since the Bonapartes had a proclivity for producing female off-spring. But the author provides a family tree from which the reader can trace the family from the American branch to the current reigning family of Sweden (house of Bernadotte). The Bonapartes did better than we sometimes believe as they produced in later generations the US Secretary of the Navy and Attorney General under Theodore Roosevelt; generals; men of letters; and famed ornithologists. But just as many were eccentric failures who lived under the shadow of their great ancestor. This is a good supplemental book for the Napoleon I reader as it provides some little known facts about the family, which for the most part was not very likeable.

24. by Theodore Dreiser

Date finished: March 31, 2013
Genre: Classic American fiction
Rating: B+

Review:
I put off reading this book for years but finally got around to it and am happy that I did. As with any book written at the turn of the 20th century the style takes some getting used to.......lots of description, musings by the characters, and the avoidance of any sexual references even though the heroine lives with two different men to whom she is not married.
Carrie is an interesting character as she is naive, sometimes very shallow, and interested in material belongings and a life style that is much higher than her place in society. She has no particular skills until she discovers that she has a talent for acting. If successful, that career may lead to the acquisition of the things she desires. She leaves the man who introduced her to the stage and by talent and a little luck, becomes a famous actress. But will it bring her happiness. That is the questions that the author leaves us with.......what is important? Classic American literature at its best

April

25. by Vincent Bugliosi

Date finished: April 7, 2012
Genre: True American Crime
Rating: B

Review:
Vincent Bugliosi made his fame as the LA prosecutor during the Charles Manson trial and went on to write the best seller Helter Skelter about those heinous murders. In this book, again he is prosecuting a murder...in fact a double murder.....and from the beginning, it doesn't appear that the State has a very strong case. It is all circumstantial and some of the witnesses for the prosecution don't appear to be very dependable. A man is shot several time in the head and his home is set on fire. Sixteen months later a young woman is also shot through the head while exiting her car. These murders appear unrelated but shreds of evidence begin to come together which prove that there may be a conspiracy afoot.
I particularly liked the second part of the book which concentrated on the trial itself and the author explains for the layman, the more complex rules of evidence and that trials never reflect the on-the-stand "I did it" confession of the Perry Mason series. Well written and intriguing.


by Vincent Bugliosi

Jill wrote: "April

25. by Vincent Bugliosi

Date finished: April 7, 2012
Genre: True American Crime
Rating: B

Syno..."

That's one of my favorite true crime books, Jill. I've read it a couple of times. Bugliosi also did a book on the O.J. Simpson case which I thought was a huge let down.

by Vincent Bugliosi

by Vincent Bugliosi

Probably won't read the OJ one, Bea. But of course I read Helter Skelter and another of his true crime books And The Sea Will Tell which was pretty good but it was so long ago I don't remember a lot about it except that I liked it.

& by Vincent Bugliosi

I see you also read Till Death Do Us Part, which I also liked.

Have you read The Executioner's Song? I loved that one and liked Oswald's Tale.

by Vincent Bugliosi

by Norman Mailer

Oswald's Tale: An American Mystery (no cover photo found) by Norman Mailer

26. by Nicci French

Date finished: April 10, 2013
Genre: Psychological thriller
Rating: B-

Review:
Something a little different for me but I liked French's Secret Smile, so I gave this one a try. It is not as well done as the latter but still holds the reader's interest. A young woman finds herself gagged, hooded, chained to a wall, and bound hand and foot.....she has no memory of how she got in this situation, where she is, or how long she has been there. She is being tormented into madness by a man who visits her prison periodically and although she escapes, she cannot get anyone, including the police, to believe her. Nor can she remember the immediate past or the people she met. The story leads us on her search for the answer as she lives in unremitting terror that the torturer will reappear. Since she never saw his face, she trusts no one and must try to retrace her life during this missing time. A psychological thriller that is true to type; a little unbelievable but enough to give you the chills.
Note that the author is a husband and wife team who write as Nicci French



by Nicci French

Stuff like that freaks me out. But I still read them sometimes.

It was creepy so I don't read that genre very often either but this author's work is pretty well done. It is like your worst nightmare.

27. by Barbara Sloan Hendershott

Date finished: April 9, 2013
Genre: Special Interest Travel
Rating: B+

Review:
You can't have more fun than closing your eyes and imagining those spots in London where your favorite British sleuths engaged their talents against the crooks!!! This is part of a series which also covers other cities but London is my bailiwick for mystery so this hit the spot. There are guided group mystery walking tours in London but it is more interesting to follow the directions in this book and just soak up the atmosphere on your own. My next trip to London will be spent in these back streets, mews, and squares where Holmes and his brethren kept the city safe from the bad guys. What a fun read!!

Note; This book probably should have been posted before #26 since it was finished a day earlier.

28. by Catharine Arnold

Date finished: April 19, 2013
Genre: Social history
Rating: B

Review:
With such a titillating title, the reader might want to use a book cover when reading it in public! However, this is a serious look at the sex trade in London from the time that it was called Londinium and the Romans brought their camp followers to Britain until modern times and the use of the internet for advertising.
London had more prostitutes than any city in the 17th-19th centuries. Poverty was rampant and girls had to "go on the game" to survive. Of course, there were the high class ladies who had a wealthy protector who supported them and who retired with property and riches. But the majority of the working girls were pathetic, dirty and disease ridden and seldom lived past age 35. There were periods when the authorities cracked down on the profession and there were times when it was basically ignored as the government had economic issues which took precedence. Other sexual practices are touched upon...pederasts,flagellation,and homosexuality. In fact, at one time the penalty for homosexuality was death, but the majority of the narrative deals with prostitution. The hypocrisy of the Victorians, fueled by the myth of "white slavery", was spectacular; those who availed themselves of the services of the prostitutes were also the ones who were heading up committees to stamp it out.
This is an interesting social study of the "victimless" crime where the only victims were the girls who were forced into the street to avoid dying of starvation.

They will want to read it too, Mike! A friend of mine said "what the h**l are you reading" when she saw the cover. It is a pretty good social history of the world's oldest profession.

29. by Peter Fleming

Date finished: April 22, 2013
Genre: Military/German/British WWII History
Rating: A

Review
The invasion of Britain by Nazi Germany which never happened......Operation Sea Lion. The author, brother of Ian Fleming, was involved with the government in planning for the expected invasion and provides an insiders look at the year 1940 when things were looking bleak for Great Britain. But Hitler made mistake after mistake when trying to bring England to her knees; the first being that he missed his chance immediately after Dunkirk when England was at her weakest. Hitler did not understand the British and certainly could not relate to Churchill and the determination of the English people. He thought he could talk them into withdrawing from the war or accept concessions from Germany to stop fighting. Churchill's words....." Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war"........kept morale up and even the Home Guard, often ridiculed, played an important part in the preparations. Hitler also didn't understand the dangerous waters of the English Channel and the difficulty he would face crossing, with the Home Fleet and the RAF in front of him and the weather against him.. He underestimated the RAF and that the destruction of the Group Sector Stations was his chance through attrition which might have led to Britain's defeat in the air. He postponed Operation Sea Lion several times and finally abandoned it when he turned his eyes toward Russia. And the rest is history. This is a must read for the WWII buff.

30. by Georges Simenon

Date finished: April 24, 2013
Genre: French mystery
Rating: B+


Review:
Another Maigret tale from the world's most prolific mystery writer. These book are so enjoyable because the plots are extremely simple, you often know who the killer is early on, and there is no violence. The joy of reading of Maigret's investigations is the beauty of Simenon's narrative skills. He paints a picture of his characters very skillfully and many times the murderer is a victim of circumstance for whom you feel empathy. In this short book, a philandering and wealthy wine merchant who is a very unlikable person is shot to death outside of a brothel he often visits. No one is very upset about his death but his killer must be brought to justice and Maigret and his team are on the case. The Simenon books should not be read in groups but rather as a quick read between other more complicated books; the action is slow and there is not much mystery involved but just damn good writing

Jill wrote: "30. by Georges Simenon

Date finished: April 24, 2013
Genre: French mystery
Rating: B+

Synopsis

Another Maigret tale ..."

I've been meaning to try Simenon. He sounds right up my alley.