Under the Andes by Rex Stout: a very short review
One star is generous.
Archive for February, 2010
Filed under Bookworm Alley Posted on February 28th 2010
Cooley Stadium!
My preferred name for Lansing’s ballyard would be The REO Diamond. But it’s not gonna happen.
Filed under Baseball CrankSpace Posted on February 22nd 2010
Inventing Wyatt Earp by Allen Barra: a review
Allen Barra examines the evidence, and concludes that the real Wyatt Earp resembled the mythical Wyatt Earp. This book is, in essence, an argument against Frank Waters and his “revisionist” successors (I really dislike that term; it distorts how real historians work). This unsurprising conclusion is well-told, but the book’s a little digressive and chatty. And, as noted in one of the other LT reviews, the copyediting leaves a lot to be desired, though I wouldn’t go so far as reporting errors in “every paragraph.” Perhaps the new publisher cleaned things up with this edition.
Filed under
Bookworm Alley
History Scrapbook
Posted on
February 21st 2010
The Admiral’s Daughter by Julian Stockwin: a short review
There are some absolutely delightful descriptions of life along the Cornish coast; especially interesting are contrasting views of the Polperro fishing village from the perspectives of Kydd and his man Toby Stirk.
Filed under Bookworm Alley Posted on February 14th 2010
Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway by John Leopard: a short review
Excellent picture book, with a fine narrative history of the Missabe Road, its predecessors, and their clients. I know this material fairly well, but Leopard managed to occasionally surprise me.
Filed under
Along the Rail Line
Bookworm Alley
Posted on
February 11th 2010
LeMay by Warren Kozak: a review
What the book does well is round out LeMay’s biography. Like most Vietnam vets, my memories of the man begin with his time on the Joint Chiefs and end with the 1968 Wallace campaign. There’s much more to this man than that, and the book is worth reading just for that.
Filed under
Bureaucratic Whimsy
Veteran Testimony
Posted on
February 4th 2010
Command by Julian Stockwin: a review
A fine addition to this series, despite the lack of major naval action, as both major characters face major collapses of morale (Renzi actually has two crises, despite not appearing in this story until mid-book). It’s starting to look like they’ll find a way to continue their relationship, despite their changes in fortune.
Filed under Bookworm Alley Posted on February 1st 2010
