Monthly Archives: February 2010

Under the Andes by Rex Stout: a very short review

One star is generous.

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Cooley Stadium!

My preferred name for Lansing’s ballyard would be The REO Diamond. But it’s not gonna happen.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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