Category Archives: Bookworm Alley

I majored in History. Of course I read. A lot. Sometimes I write about reading.

Most of these reviews are duplicates of notes I’ve posted on LibraryThing.

The Nature of Photographs by Stephen Shore: a short review

This is an excellent, very short, illustrated essay about how photographers see things, what defines what they see, and why it all works. Just what I was looking for. Continue reading

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The Ins and Outs of Inside Baseball by Warren Wilbur Mooch: a review

Not sure who the intended audience was for this book. It would seem to be for an advanced (young) ballplayer or a high school coach, but I have some difficulty thinking either group would find much of it new, though virtually anyone would likely find something they didn’t already know.

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Lewis Cass by Andrew McLaughlin: a review

Gave up after about 60 pages.

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Shadow of Victory by David Weber: a review

That said, there’s an actual main-thread story here that’s of some interest, though it’s both confusing and technically unresolved at the end. And there’s a perfectly typical David Weber space battle, presented mostly from the command post of the losing side. Moreover, if you actually want all this backstory–well, here it is. But there’s not much here that anyone really needed.

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Bean Blossom by Thomas A. Adler: a review

But the best parts are the author’s explorations and explications of the temporary, recurring communities that are annually (re)built at bluegrass festivals. He captures the culture well.

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Alexander Cartwright by Monica Nucciarone: a short review

A pretty much straightforward biography, very well done, with the bulk of the baseball content in what amounts to an appendix. The overall general conclusion is that Cartwright was an important early American settler in Hawaii; the baseball conclusion is that he was indeed a pioneer, though not exactly the pioneer we’ve been led to believe.

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Invitations by CJ Cherryh: a very short comment

Bren’s first day mostly goes well. Continue reading

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The Art of Detection by Laurie R King: a review

But gosh this one’s fun, if a bit odd. I’m gonna miss Kate Martinelli and her friends.

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Visitor by CJ Cherryh: a short review

I particularly like the stretches were Bren goes linguist on us. Watching him (and his author) tackle piecing together an alien language is absolutely delightful.

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The American Fur Trade in the Far West: a short review

An interesting book in ways I didn’t expect. In many ways this is a business history, but it’s a business history populated by unusually interesting characters.

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