Book Review: The German War: A Nation Under Arms, 1939–-1945 by Nicholas Stargardt

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[FULL DISCLOSURE: I received my copy of this book free from the author and/or publisher. I was not paid for this review and the opinion expressed is purely my own] There have been thousands if not hundreds of thousands of books written about World War II and Germany since 1945. There have even been social histories written in the seemingly never ending attempts to fathom how a nation like Germany supported Hitler and his murderous regime. The German War: A Nation Under Arms, 1939–-1945 seeks to explain not the how, but the what. As in what was it like under the Nazis and what did the average German see and feel. … More after the Jump…

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

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What would you do if you were suddenly thrust back in time 200 years? Imagine life before indoor plumbing, automobiles, electricity and modern medicine. Claire Randall, a British Army Nurse during World War II, was on a second honeymoon with her husband, who she hasn’t seen in six years, when she discovers a portal through time hidden in a stone formation on a hill in the Scottish Highlands. She is thrust back in time to the year 1743, just a few short years before “the forty-five” will come to pass. Claire struggles to survive in this brutal new world, torn between the love she left behind and the new love … More after the Jump…

Book Review: Rome’s Revolution by Richard Alston

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The end of the Roman Republic and founding of the Empire is one of those events in history that has been recounted so often in histories and also in stage and theater that everyone thinks they know what, why, and how it happened. Rome’s Revolution by Richard Alston will show you that you don’t necessarily know what you think you know and that most accounts of the fall of the Roman Republic are simplistic accounts at best.  The author is a professor of Roman History and brings an expert’s perspective to the story that is missing from many popular accounts. The book itself is 337 pages of text with extensive notes, … More after the Jump…

Book Review: War Made New by Max Boot

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The hot topic in military history and military doctrine development circles since the early 1990’s has been the concept of the Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA).  An RMA is defined as a development, generally technology, which alters the conduct of war so thoroughly that warfare becomes unlike what it was before.  In science this is called a paradigm shift.  The most common examples of RMA’s that are bandied about are gunpowder, steam ships, breech loading rifles, tanks, aircraft carriers, the modern staff system, and information technology.  There are others but those are the most common.  As a military historian, I am skeptical of the whole notion though plenty of folks … More after the Jump…

Book Review: A Long Time Until Now by Michael Z Williamson

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I have read all of Michael Z Williamson’s previous books and found them to be excellent combat sci-fi with a little politics and social commentary thrown in.  A Long Time Until Now is not excellent.  In fact, it was a total disappointment.  I pre-ordered this book on Amazon in February and eagerly awaited its release in May given the dearth of my kind of sci-fi recently.  Unfortunately, with the release of this book my wait continues. Williamson’s Freehold books are nothing more than political commentary dressed up as sci-fi but if you can ignore the politics they are rollicking good adventures on their own. A Long Time Until Now is none of those … More after the Jump…

Book Review: How the West Won by Rodney Stark

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How the West Won: The Neglected Story of the Triumph of Modernity by Rodney Stark is a refreshing look at history. What I found most refreshing is that the book looks at the rise of Christianity as a good thing, even a necessary thing, instead of the calamity it is presented as in much historical writing. What I also found both new and intriguing is the idea that the disunity of the West has been one of the vital factors that contributed to the West achieving modernity where other cultural groups did not and that empires are in and of themselves bad things. Stark takes special care to demonstrate how the rise … More after the Jump…

Pompeii and Herculaneum

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I recently visited Pompeii and Herculaneum on a visit to Italy with my family.  This is my report of the visit. We went to Herculaneum first, mainly because I knew it was the smaller site and our hotel was in Pompeii itself so I wanted to get to the hotel quicker after a day of slogging around in the hot sun.  Herculaneum is also the more interesting site to me because it is better preserved.  In many of the buildings in Herculaneum you can still see the charred wood beams sticking out.  Unfortunately, neither Pompeii nor Herculaneum have anything remotely resembling a museum displaying artifacts found in the ruins, there … More after the Jump…

Book Review: Currency Wars by James Rickards

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Currency Wars: The Making of the Next Global Crisis by James Rickards  is an older book, written in 2012 but it maintains it’s relevance because not only does the book go far to explain current global economic conditions, it explains how we got to where we are today and the macroeconomic logic behind why nothing will likely change absent significant political will among the world’s economic cognoscenti in large private banks, central banks, and international financial organizations. The book itself is 258 pages of text divided into three topical parts with notes, selected sources, and an index. The first part describes what financial war is and how they start.  Interestingly, it … More after the Jump…

BOOK REVIEW – THE FALL OF THE OTTOMANS: THE GREAT WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST

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BOOK REVIEW: THE FALL OF THE OTTOMANS: THE GREAT WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST By Eugene Rogan Basic Books, 485 pages   Review by J.C. Tejeda Jr.   Anyone desiring to understand the forces shaping the Middle East would find Eugene Rogan’s book, The Fall of the Ottomans, a good starting point. Although the book is about the final years of the Ottoman Empire, it does help the reader gain a special insight into the events that led to the current situation one see today. Rogan’s book is an easy to follow time line of events that reaches from the founding of the Young Turks Movement to the First World … More after the Jump…

The Battle of the River Plate

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The Battle of the River Plate was the first naval battle of World War II and the only battle of World War II to take place in South America or its waters.  The Graf Spee was one of three Deutschland Class “pocket battleships” built by the Germans in the interwar period to get around treaty restrictions imposed after World War I.  The three ships were the Deutschland, Admiral Scheer, and Admiral Graf Spee.  All three ships were to be destroyed during the course of the war. The ship was designate to act as a commerce raider and was at sea when the war began.  After getting new orders she began … More after the Jump…

Book Review: The Martian by Andy Weir

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One of the best books I have read in a long time. Weir’s “The Martian” is classic hard science fiction and that makes it that much better. Everything in the book is realistic and could be happening within a few years if NASA were given the resources. The best thing I can compare this book to are the early Allen Steele such as “Orbital Decay” and “Rude Astronauts” Essentially the book is the story of an astronaut whop gets stranded on Mars due to an accident when his initial mission gets aborted due to Martian weather.  It is that simple but the wealth of detail provided in the book about … More after the Jump…

The Ugly Duckling by Iris Johansen

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The Ugly Duckling by Iris Johannsen Nell Calder’s life was forever changed the night she and her family were attacked by a madman. Plain looking and overweight, nobody really noticed Nell and she blended into the background, but no more. After an attack left her family dead and face broken and unrecognizable, a world renowned plastic surgeon takes on the challenge of transforming the ugly duckling into a beautiful swan. And she is pissed. Her attacker is determined to finish what he started, but he doesn’t know what Nell looks like. Hell-bent on taking him down, Nell trains hard and transforms from a shy weakling into a trained assassin. She won’t stop until … More after the Jump…

Book Review: Future Crimes by Marc Goodman

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Future Crimes: Everything Is Connected, Everyone Is Vulnerable and What We Can Do About It by Marc Goodman is one of those non-fiction books that is both scary and reassuring at the same time. I picked this up mainly because I have a slight IT background and I try to stay abreast of what is going in the world of digital insecurity; only an idiot thinks that something online is secure. I knew the connected world was unsecure and full of risk, I did not fully appreciate just how unsecure and full of risk it was until reading this book. The book itself is 392 pages of text divided into … More after the Jump…

Book Review: Tin God by Stacy Green

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I should have know when I saw the spelling of the main character’s first name that this wasn’t going to be a great book. Who spells a name Jaymee? I’ve always been a fan of the traditional spelling of a name, not this “my kid is special and so is the spelling of their name” crap that has been going on for the last decade. But, I digress. The story wasn’t horrible, just fairly predictable. Jaymee is broke and living in a trailer park while working at a diner. She’s saving up so she can afford a lawyer to get back the daughter she was coerced into giving up for adoption … More after the Jump…

Book Review: 7 Deadly Scenarios: A Military Futurist Explores the Changing Face of War in the 21st Century by Andrew F. Krepinevich

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In line with my present interest in current affairs because I find world events so interesting right now what with ISIS in Syria and Libya, Russians in Ukraine, Afghanistan continuing to be a failed war, Nigeria falling apart, America’s seeming inability to restrain spending, and the Eurozone falling into infighting about sovereign debt and austerity, I picked up this book because I thought it might have some interesting insights. In that, 7 Deadly Scenarios: A Military Futurist Explores the Changing Face of War in the 21st Century by Andrew F. Krepinevich does not disappoint. The book does not presume to predict the future but it does examine seven possible and … More after the Jump…

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