Review:It's a tragedy that Halberstam died just prior to the publication of this book, and maybe he had a better book in him, but I kind of doubt it: this is truly magisterial in its description of battles and more importantly the men fighting them. No, it's not a complete account of the Korean War, but what it tells, it tells with great depth, nuance, and feeling. One of the greatest war books you'll ever read. A truly moving tribute to these forgotten warriors. Read more

Review:I ordered this book hoping to gain an insight into the Japanese mindset. It did this admirably. Obviously, an island culture is insular, and around 800 AD CE they lapsed into a culture that glorified the warrior, and not the scholar. This background is still apparent in Japanese culture. If you are interested in Bushido, and the attendant culture that goes with it, I recommend. Read more

Review:This book concerns the year Dalrymple spends in Delhi, attempting to uncover the secrets and hidden past of this once-great city. Dalrymple skillfully weaves the accounts of his daily life with the history of Delhi. One moment, you are reading about a harrowing taxi-cab ride, and the next page, an account of Shah Jehan's life begins. Few writers can change the pace so suddenly and get away with it, but Dalrymple is able to segue into and out of topics effortlessly.

The pacing and tone of ... Read more

Review:A great first hand look from the front lines before the media was "embedded" by the militaries of the world. Read this after it was recommended in the Junior Officers Read Club and it was was a pleasant recommendation. A real look into the Heart of Darkness that was the Vietnam war. Read more

Review:A well written book with facts and opinions explained in context of situation. This book made me re-think of a lot of ideas I earlier has about Gandhi. Though, I do not agree with many of his experiments, he does make one believe that his motive after every one of them was finding the truth of things. The universality of compassion towards all beings is infectious. Read more

Review:Well written and comprehensive account of the events leading up to September 11, starting with the Soviet invasion in 1979. Required reading for ant student of modern American history. Coll weaves a compelling and intricate account of the governments, factions within governments and players. Read more

Review:Lots of really interesting content, but doesn't really draw it together into anything conclusive. Seemed like it was setting up for a central critique on Russia's modern propaganda but then pulls its punches at the end. Maybe it's meant for you to come to your own conclusions...but the way the book was going, it seemed like there would be one last hard-hitting chapter that summed up how all these different sub-stories were part of the larger Kremlin strategy.

I was still sucked in to the ... Read more

No reviews yet

Review:Well done, Anne. This book captures the real Russia that is often not described in the news media. Anne made a wise choice to get well off the beaten path in Russia to research her story subject and characters. My takeaway: Russians are not all that different from Americans. They want improvements in their lives as we do but their existence has been shaped by their unstable and corrupt politics. Anne describes it with personal experience, emotion, and expertise.
If you like historical and po... Read more

Review:Ed Stafford's journey was an amazing one. Spending two years walking the length of the Amazon River is a testament to his will and determination. I started the book with great interest and enjoyed the story of the journey. However, Stafford is not a writer. It is not that he isn't a talented writer, he is not and he all but acknowledges that fact. Stafford's ability to write is equivalent to a high school freshman. His grammar is so bad that at times I was unable to figure out what the sentence ... Read more