Sgt Big G's 75 for '09 - Part 2

The original thread, which is here, got up to around 200 posts so it's time for a new one.

61. American Creation by Joseph Ellis. Written in the style of Ellis' Founding Brothers but not quite as good. He discusses the Revolution, the debate over the Constitution, and the Louisiana Purchase amongst other things.

Overall a good book but I disagreed with one major point. Ellis claims the Republicans/Anti-Federalists only challenged the Federalist plans in order to protect slavery and not out of any philosopical differences. He doesn't really offer any evidence to back this claim up.

I have both American Creation and Founding Brothers on my TBR for next year. Now I think I will read them in that order. I like to save the best for last. :-)

Got you starred again, Mike!

I break out in a cold sweat every time someone moves thread... metaphorically. Posting so I definitely won't lose you!

62. The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism by Andrew Bacevich. A very interesting book, I can't say I enjoyed it because it's not an enjoyable book. But I do recommend it.

For some reason I'm having a difficult time describing the book so I'm just going to borrow from Publisher's Weekly.

"In this caustic critique of the growing American penchant for empire and sense of entitlement, Bacevich (The New American Militarism) examines the citizenry's complicity in the current economic, political, and military crisis. A retired army colonel, the author efficiently pillories the recent performance of the armed forces, decrying it as an expression of domestic dysfunction, with leaders and misguided strategies ushering the nation into a global war of no exits and no deadlines. Arguing that the tendency to blame solely the military or the Bush administration is as illogical as blaming Herbert Hoover for the Great Depression, Bacevich demonstrates how the civilian population is ultimately culpable; in citizens' appetite for unfettered access to resources, they have tacitly condoned the change of military service from a civic function into an economic enterprise. Crisp prose, sweeping historical analysis and searing observations on the roots of American decadence elevate this book from mere scolding to an urgent call for rational thinking and measured action, for citizens to wise up and put their house in order."

#6: Thanks for the info on that one, Mike. I will look for it.

I went to the library book sale on Friday. Here's my haul.

History of the Second World War B.H. Liddell-Hart
Grant and Sherman: The Friendship that Won the Civil War Charles Flood
An Honorable defeat: The Last Days of the Confederate Government William Davis
The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century Thomas Friedman
The Antietam Campaign John Cannan
The Last Full Measure: The Life and Death of the First Minnesota Volunteers Richard Moe
Years of upheaval Henry Kissinger
The Rising Sun: The Decline and Fall of the japanese Empire, 1936-1945 Vol. 2 John Toland
The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington Jennet Conant

Grand total $9.00.

I also got a few books for the wife and kids.

What a great haul! There isn't a book on there I wouldn't want! I'm copying the list to my wish list in my reading journal.

Many years ago when I was a young mother and reading time was scarce I was being serviced by a bookmobile. One time I saw The Rising Sun by John Toland and thought I might like it and at about 400 pages it seemed doable since I would have it for 6 weeks. When I went to check out she looked at the book and said, "Don't you want Volume 2, also?" I took both volumes and really enjoyed the book. I wish now that I could have had the chance to buy it--but money for books in those first years of marriage was really tight. If you haven't already read it I hope you can find volume one and enjoy the whole experience.

Wonderful haul, Mike!

WOW!!! Lots of good stuff there!

#9 - You actually recommended The Rising Sun a while back, which is why I got it.

LOL

When I posted that I was wondering if you were the one I had mentioned it to--we were discussing WWII books. You can tell that is one of my favorites! :-)

I recently joined th' grand World War II readin' challenge at War Through the Generations. Ye ortin' ta sign up too an' then go read a damnable book (about WW II), ya lily livered scallywag!. I be goin' t' read at least ten WW II books durin' 2009. That be somewhat lame since I be havin' already read eight but sometimes that be how 't goes. If ye plan on readin' some WW II books durin' th' remainder o' 2009 go sign up. Arrr!

Thanks for the information. I will check out this group for ideas, but I can't possibly read 10 WWII books in 2009 now--October I'm doing the Halloween reads--trying to learn to tolerate "horror" stories-- and finishing up my 999 challenge. Right now I'm reading Civil War books--but I'd like to get some suggestions for WWII to read maybe next year. I've read all the WWII books I currently own.

I don't speak "pirate" because I'm the Lady who is the hostage and confined to the Captain's quarters while he has to find somewhere else to bed down. :-) (That's my lady-like gracious smile.)

63. War and Society in Revolutionary Europe 1770-1870 by Geoffrey Best. Does a good job of explaining the changes in European society during and after the French revolution and the effects these changes had on the military. The author does assume the reader has a passing knowledge of European history during the time period. If you don't you might need to look up a few names and events that are mentioned but not explained.

64. Rebel by Bernard Cornwell. Cornwell has left Sharpe and the events of the Napoleonic wars and crossed the Atlantic to Virginia for the surrender of Ft Sumter and the Battle of First Manassas. Cornwell is one of my favorite authors but I can't say I really liked this book. The main character is relatively unlikeable and although he is the almost exact opposite of Sharpe there were too many similarities between the stories. This is the first book of three in the Starbuck series, on his website Cornwell wrote, "And the trouble was that the Sharpe books are just a bit too much like the Starbuck books and I did not want to be writing two of those a year".

However I didn't hate it and will probably read at least one more.

65. An Artist in Treason: The Extraordinary Double Life of General James Wilkinson by Andro Linklater. Wilkinson was Commander in Chief of the US Army from 1796-1798 and from 1800-1812. He was also a agent of the Spanish government. He is probably the most interesting figure from the revolutionary era that no one has ever heard of. I will be posting a full review shortly.

66. Clausewitz: A Very Short Introduction by Michael Howard. Very short indeed at only 80 pages, however Howard manages to cover everything the non-specialist needs to know. He gives the basics of Clausewitz's theories and move importantly discusses how they were put to use. Historians often blame Clausewitz for the manner in which World War I was fought, Howard maintains his theories were misunderstood and misapplied which resulted in the disaster that was WW I. This is the best way to understand Clausewitz short of reading 700+ pages of On War.

#17: Looking for both of those . . .*sigh*

My review of An Artist in Treason is now up and available on the LT book page. It is also available here.

67. Revolutionary Characters by Gordon Wood. Biographical sketches of eight of the Founders, with each getting a chapter. The chapters were previously published separately in different magazines and although an introductory chapter and a concluding chapter were added, I felt the book lacked an overarching theme. Several of the chapters contained a historiography of the subject Founder, it was interesting to see how historians opinions over time. I found that most of the chapters focused too narrowly on one aspect of the man involved rather then an overall view of him. While it was good to see the oft-neglected Burr and Paine included, I would not recommend this too highly. Ellis’ Founding Brothers and American Creation cover similar ground in a more understandable manner. I have heard good things about Gordon Wood and I and will probably try reading some of his other works.

Thanks for the review. I have American Creation on my To Read list--and I own it; I'll be adding Founding Brothers to my Wishlist now. I'll skip the Gordon Wood book. I appreciate the way you not only steer me to good reads, you also help me avoid mediocre (or worse) ones! :-)

ETA I also put An Artist in Treason on the Wishlist. Great review--thumbs up!

I am skipping the Wood book,too. I have read both of the Ellis books and enjoyed them.

68. George Mason:Reluctant Statesman by Robert Rutland.

A brief (116 pages) biography of a little known Founding Father. This is a good introduction to Mason, but only because there's not a lot to choose from, George Mason: Forgotten Founder is the only other modern biography. This book will only serve as an introduction though, there is no in depth exploration of thoughts and deeds, which is unsurprising considering the page count, the large print, and the relatively unneeded illustrations. Are the illustrations of Mason’s neighbor George Washington, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison really needed? Also, for those who are concerned about such things, there are no footnotes. All and all it was worth reading just because I knew so little about Mason and he is an interesting character, definitely worth learning more about. Moreover, since it’s just up the road a piece, I’m going to find time to visit his home, Gunston Hall.

Thanks - excellent reviews. You piqued my interest, so I did a quick check of google books and the 'internet archive' which reveals a few more books on George Mason that, being out of copyright, can be downloaded, such as the two-volume 1892 work "The Life of George Mason, 1725-1792". Now, I just need one of the e-readers!

This morning, I just finished a book on another character in America's rich political history. Namely, A Different Drummer: My Thirty Years with Ronald Reagan by Michael K. Deaver. I'll try and do a review sooner rather than later.

Rutland wrote that he used the two volume work as his primary source. If only I had an e-reader myself.

I'll be interested to hear what you think of Deaver's book.

69. The Unforgiving Minute:A Soldier's Education by Craig Mullaney.

Mullaney tells the story of his time at West Point and Oxford as well as Army training in Airborne and Ranger schools. After his training, Mullaney’s story continues as he goes to Afghanistan as a Platoon commander. He then briefly recounts his life after returning to the U.S.

Mullaney’s recounting of his time in Afghanistan is relatively short and I thought the weakest part of the book, however it’s not at all bad. Mullaney concentrates on his time prior to deployment, as the subtitle indicates this is a story about education. And a good story it is, he almost made me wish I’d gone to West Point, and I do wish I’d gone to Oxford.

One of the better books I’ve read this year, my thanks to Petermc for the recommendation.

#26 - You're most welcome!

I also see we're 69 books a piece in this little challenge we've set for ourselves :)

I'm currently well into number 70 - LeMay by Barrett Tillman, which is part of the "Great Generals" series. Thin books, but the lack of fluff is refreshing! I have a few books in this series, but may give Richard Frank's MacArthur (Great Generals) a miss as I also have the much lauded American Caesar: Douglas MacArthur 1880 - 1964 by William Manchester.

As for LeMay - I hadn't realized just how interesting this character was. Now I'm interested in the recently published bio, LeMay: The Life and Wars of General Curtis LeMay by Warren Kozak (2009).

70. The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution by Richard Dawkins. The title pretty much says it all. If you're on the edge about evolution this will push you over. If you don't believe the theory of evolution is correct but are willing to be persuaded this will probably do it. If you believe the earth was created in seven days and is less then 6,000 years old this book will probably not change your mind. I didn’t need to be convinced but I think Dawkins did a good job explaining the evidence. I've never been particularly science minded but I managed to follow most of the science here, although I did have some problems with the molecular biology. If you have a science background this book is probably a little basic for you. Not a bad book but I preferred The Rough Guide to Evolution which I read earlier this year. Mark Pallen also doesn’t get the bad press that Dawkins sometimes gets.

71. Common Sense by Thomas Paine. Paine was quite the rabble-rouser; I am now convinced America should declare its independence from Britain. I’m somewhat embarrassed to say I have never read this before. Now that I have, I see what all the fuss was about. My wife was watching a show about the British royal family yesterday and I kept thinking about Paine’s arguments against monarchy in general and hereditary monarchy specifically.

I've read Dawkin's The Blind Watchmaker and liked it.

Strange sometimes how over lapping events can change a books impact upon the reader.

#29. I have The Selfish Gene and The Ancestor's Tale on my shelf but I don't know when I'll get to them. So many books, so little time.

72. Thomas Jefferson: The 3rd President by Joyce Appleby, part of the American Presidents series.

Rather then a book about Jefferson the President, this was a book about the Jefferson presidency. The author chronicles events that happened during Jefferson's two terms but offers minimal discussion of what Jefferson himself did.

She also seemed interested in making moral judgments about Jefferson's attitude towards slavery over and over again. While she correctly documents the results of the semi-recent Jefferson-Hemmings DNA she then mischaracterizes the meaning of the results, stating Jefferson was almost definitely the father of one of Sarah Hemmings' children and probably the father of all of them.

There are plenty of other books covering this period of Jefferson's life, I'm sure many of them have more to offer then this one.

We're going on a cruise next week so when I get back I'll probably have finished my 75 challenge. I'll be sure to pack plenty of books, the last cruise I went on, I only brought two books. Halfway through the cruise I went to the ship's store and was forced to buy Tom Clancy's awful The Teeth of the Tiger. So I'll bring plenty this time so I'm not forced to choose between Dan Brown and Vampires.

#31 - Good to know. Will avoid. I'm currently back with Andrew Jackson (the pre-White House years) in Winston Groom's Patriotic Fire.

#32 - Lucky you. Enjoy the cruise!

Have finally posted on my thread a review of Deaver's A Different Drummer: My Thirty Years with Ronald Reagan. Enjoy :)

A cruise! Lucky. Have a good time, buddy.

#33 & 34, thanks guys I'm sure we'll have a good time.

Have a wonderful time on the cruise, Mike!

Have a great trip. Happy reading.

# 31 re American President Series

I've read two books in that series. One was disappointing as you seemed to find Thomas Jefferson: The 3rd President and the other was just not a good book. This may be a series to avoid--especially for presidents who have several biographies from which to choose.

Have a great time on your cruise--I hope you find a lot of time to read! :-)

#36, 37, 38 - Thanks, we had a great time. Lots of eating, drinking, sun, and reading.

73. The Anvil by S.M. Stirling. Book 3 of "The General" series. Several hundred years after the fall of the Galactic Federation, the planet Bellvue has descended to a 17th-18th Century technology level and is divided by warring tribes. Unknown to everyone, a battle computer is still running underground waiting for someone that can unite the battle and begin rebuilding the Federation. Of course that someone appears and Raj Whitehall begins uniting the planet. Book 3 mostly contains battles and sieges and it was ok for the most part, but it is very much a middle book. I read the first two books a couple of years ago but I probably won't wait so long to read the next one.

74. Kydd by Julian Stockwin. First book in a series. Napoleonic seafaring story much like Hornblower and Aubrey/Maturin except Kydd is an impressed sailor and not an officer, but that might change in later books. Some of the events in the book were similar to events in the two series above. Not a bad book but a step below Forrester and O'Brian.

75. From Russia, With Love by Ian Fleming. I read a half a dozen James Bond books years ago, but I decided to read them all in chronological order. I read the first few then stopped but I've picked up again. This was one of the best in the series so far. I always forget how different the literary Bond is from the movie Bond. As always the book is better.

I got to a point on the cruise where I was almost out of books again. The onboard store had nothing, but there was a library on the ship. I borrowed a book I had at home in case I didn't finish it before I left.

76. Eifelheim by Michael Flynn. Most of the story takes place in the 14th Century and concerns a village where aliens crash landed. There are also modern sections that involve a historian a researching the village. Although I found the reaction of 14th Century villagers to aliens mostly unbelievable, I liked that part of the book better then the modern sections which I did not like at all. Overall I thought the book was very average, although I found the depiction of the village as it was ravaged by plague gripping. I don't know how realistic it was but I could imagine it happening as it was described.

I finished this with one day left on the ship, so I had to find another book that I had at home because there was no way I would finish anything, so I read about a third of The Lost City of Z which was unbelievably good and I can't wait to finish it.

77. The First World War by Michael Howard (Touchstone not working). I saved this to read on the plane. Prior to reading this I knew nothing about WW I other then what I learned in high school, which wasn't much. This book does a great job of explaining the causes of the war, the major events, and the consequences of the war is less then 150 pages. A definite starting place for future WW I reading.

78. Recent Themes in Historical Thinking: Historians in Conversation Ed. Donald Yerxa. This is a collection of essays taken from the journal "Historically Thinking" and was divided into three themes. 1) The State of Historical Inquiry, this was the most interesting part of the book. These essays dealt with how history is taught and how it should be taught, there was also an essay discussing popular vs professional history. 2) Postmodernism, I mostly skimmed through this part. 3) Assessing Counterfactuals, do they have a place in history? Some said yes, some no. A short book that might be interesting if you have an interest in the teaching of history.

edited to fix touchstones, but it didn't work.

Congratulations on hitting the 75! Clearly a cruise is the way to go... sounds like my idea of heaven.

Congrats!

Lost City of Z is very good. I thought River of Doubt about Teddy Roosevelt's exploration of one of the Amazonian Basin rivers about the same time period was pretty good too.

Congratulations on reaching the goal!

I told you City of Z was good ;p

I'm going to check out the Flynn book.

And so glad you guys had a good time.

I've not read Ian Fleming for awhile, either. Maybe it's time.
Glad you had a great trip.

Congratulations for reaching #75!

Mike, Congrats on reaching 75!

I've decided to do some World War I reading next year, and it sounds like you'd recommend the Michael Howard book as a good place to start. So I'm following your advice! Thanks!

Congrats on reaching 75! I don't know if I've commented before, but I've been lurking on your thread for a while. You read some interesting stuff!

Congratulations on reaching 75--and thanks for the many suggestions for great reads you gave us along the way! There's still 1 1/2 months to go--I'm looking for more good reviews. :-)

#41-50 - Thanks folks.

79. What have You Changed Your Mind About?: Today's Leading Minds Rethink Everything Edited by John Brockman. Short essays, mostly by scientists of one type or another, that discuss issues the writers have changed their minds about. Isn't it great when the subtitle is actually relevant. I've been reading this book a little at a time for most of the year. I don't think I could have read it straight through. Some of the topics were way over my head, some were just a little over it, and some I actually got. There is some interesting stuff here. This is the fourth (I think) similar book from Edge.com. In my opinion What is Your Dangerous Idea?: Today's Leading Thinkers on the Unthinkable is the best of the series and I would recommend that one over this one. But this one wasn't bad.

Congrats on the 75!

Ian Fleming's From Russia with Love is a great book to reach it on as well. The movie version is widely considered (and I agree) the best of all the film adaptations, but, I must admit, Daniel Craig really blew me away with "Casino Royale"; although his second outing in "Quantum" was a bit of a let down. Let's see how he does in "Bond 23" in 2011.

However, the original 12 novels (+ 2 short story collections) are, and always will be, the 'real' Bond.

I see on the "Military History" thread you've started First into Nagasaki by George Weller. I look forward to your review as I have this book in my collection. I see George Weller's son Anthony Weller, who published this book posthumously, has recently compiled another (much, much thicker) volume in Weller's War: A Legendary Foreign Correspondent's Saga of World War II on Five Continents.

Glad you enjoyed the cruise. Welcome back :)

I like those John Brockman edited books. They're nice to have around because you can jump in when you need something short to read. Or need to tie your brain in a knot. I just finished one edited by his son Max so it looks like another generation of these Edge.com books will be with us.

Congrats on hitting the 75! I love your reviews.

80. The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann. In spite of all the good reviews here on LT I had my doubts about this book but I was wrong. I really enjoyed this book almost to the point that I want to trek through the Amazon (but not quite). I'll also be moving 1491 closer to the top of the tbr pile.

#52. Peter, I agree with you regarding the films, I think Craig's Bond in Casino Royale came the closest to Fleming's Bond, but I was also disappointed in QoS. I've almost finished First into Nagasaki and I've already put Weller's War on the tbr pile.

#55: Glad you enjoyed Z, Mike! I am with you about the trek to the Amazon - almost, but not quite.

Another library book sale last week, even though I haven't read any of the books I bought at the last one yet. I think I have a problem.

This month's haul:

Lee: An Abridgement by Douglas Southall Freeman
Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel
The Third Chimpanzee by Jared Diamond
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown
First Footsteps in East Africa by Richard Burton
The Works of Rudyard Kipling
Lawrence of Arabia by Jeremy Wilson
Son of the Morning Star by Evan Connell

Total cost $6.50

Woo-Hoo! You got a great deal.

I think I have a problem.

Welcome to the Club...

81. First into Nagasaki:The Censored Eyewitness Dispatches on Post-Atomic Japan and its Prisoners of War by George Weller. George Weller was the first non-Japanese to enter Nagasaki after the dropping of the atom bomb. He was a reporter for a Chicago newspaper and he defied Douglas MacArthur’s ban on travel to the two atom bomb sites. He wrote several stories from Nagasaki, which he then forwarded to the Army censors in Tokyo, where they disappeared. After the war, Weller was unable to locate his carbon copies of the stories so they did not appear in print until his son found the carbons after his father’s death in 2002. The title of the book is somewhat deceptive, while Weller was the first into Nagasaki; the stories from there make up only a small portion of the book. After his stay in Nagasaki, Weller began traveling around southern Japan, visiting POW camps, often being the first to tell the now former prisoners the war was over. The majority of the book contains the stories Weller wrote about the POWs. Unfortunately a large portion of the stories read like this, “Sergeant X, from (insert town), was captured at (insert battle/island).” This is followed by a brief quotation from the former POW about how often he was beaten by camp guards. This continues for dozens (hundreds?) of individuals. I started skipping ahead and considered returning the book to the library unfinished. Eventually Weller returned to more traditional, and interesting, reporting. Reading the story of the “Death Ships” which transported POWs from Manila to Japan I was amazed that anyone could treat fellow human beings in such a way. The discussions of censorship by MacArthur and the U.S. government were enlightening to say the least.

Definitely worth reading if you realize that Nagasaki is only a small part of the story. Weller’s son, who edited the book and added an introduction and afterword mentioned that the Japanese POW camps have been almost forgotten, especially when compared to German camps, for that reason alone this is an important book. I look forward to reading Weller's War: A Legendary Foreign Correspondent's Saga of World War II on Five Continents.

#57: Nice haul, Mike! Congratulations.

#59: Already put that one and Weller's War in the BlackHole. I will be interested in your input on the latter once you have a chance to read it.

#59 - I noticed the page after page of quotations from interviewed POWs in First into Nagasaki and wondered how they would read. Thanks for the review. It was virtually at the top of my TBR list as of last week, but was suddenly usurped by Bonnie-Sue: A Marine Corps Helicopter Squadron in Vietnam (no touchstone?), which I will tackle as soon as I've finished one of my current reads. Weller's War is on the wishlist, but I will bide my time hoping to see it hit the Bargain Bin (if it ever does) - I'm in no hurry.

82. A Man Without a Country by Kurt Vonnegut. I've never read anything by Vonnegut before and picked this one up in the library on a whim. It sort of reminded me of Andy Rooney except some of it was actually funny. I thought most of his observations were funny, interesting, or profound although I found him a bit to socialistic for my tastes. I still added Slaughter-House Five to my tbr pile.

#61 - The library has Weller's War so I hope to read it some time soon (next two-three years probably).

83. War and Society in Europe, 1870-1970 by Brian Bond, part of the War and European Society series. The title pretty much tells it all. Covers the major wars of the era - Franco-Prussian, WW I, and WW II, with a good discussion of events leading up to WW I as well as the inter-war period. Overall a good book but I though the WW II coverage was a little light.

Simply stopping by to wave hi. As always, you are reading some great books!

Waving back.

I'm thinking I might check on Weller's War. Perhaps it will have less of the POW listings, since it's based on a different format. Thank you for bringing these books to my attention.

Congrats on the finds at the book sale! Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is in my dad's library, and I read the book as a youngster at his insistence. It is very moving and enlightening. I still treasure my dad's old copy with his notations and underlinings.

Holiday Greetings, sgtbigg.
I'm about a third of the way through Forgotten Armies. If you haven't read it already, I think you might like it.

#67: I am stealing that one for the BlackHole. Thanks for the mention!

84. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave, Written by Himself by Frederick Douglass. This is one of those books I was embarassed not to have read, now I have. Douglass was a slave in Maryland during the 1820-30s, until his escape. Bottom line - slavery sucks for everyone involved.

#67 - Forgotten Armies looks interesting so I'll chuck it onto the tbr pile. I'll be interested to hear your thoughts when you finish.

On Forgotten Armies - About a year ago, I was offered a copy of this book free and turned it down after reading a very negative and very convincing review on Amazon UK, from an 'expert'. Since that time I've come to regret that decision. I value knowledgeable reviews from people who have made a specialty of studying particular conflicts and have probably saved a great deal of money based on them, but having now studied that particular conflict in more detail myself I question some of the blanket assertions made in that review. Seems like a book worth reading - albeit with a critical eye?

#70 I'm still only about half way through Forgotten Armies. I can understand why the book would be controversial. While it is a chronology of the Japanese invasion of British Asia, the material is presented at a pedestrian level, through snippets of diaries, reports, letters. Of course, it is up to the authors to decide what to glean from their many sources, but I haven't felt (yet) that there is any bias. It is a horrifying account, but then it is humans at war. Atrocities and individual acts of charity and bravery may be blown out of proportion if you want to look at the Big Picture, but from the perspective of the individual civilian and soldier I think the focus is, tragically, realistic. Especially hard to take for some, I'm sure, is the harsh light shone upon the machinations of the all Great Powers involved. There is no soft filtering here.

I've been unbelievably busy of late, work has been crazy, so I am way behind on reading posts and a little behind on posting books.

85. 1421: The Year China Discovered America by Gavin Menzies. I can't say enough bad things about this book. The misuse of sources, the footnotes that have nothing to do with what they're footnoting, the poor use of evidence, and on and on. There is probably some factual information in the book but so much of it is crap it's hard to find.

86. The Ghost Mountain Boys: Their Epic March and the Terrifying Battle for New Guinea - The Forgotten War of the South Pacific by James Campbell. The title pretty much says it all. An interesting book about a neglected campaign. Campbell is not a fan of MacArthur. Definitely worth reading.

With only eight days left in the year, I'm not sure I'll be finishing any more books. But anyone who's interested can find me in the 2010 75 book challenge.

edited due to touchstone issues.

I read 1421: The Year China Discovered America a few years ago; it was much like reading a huge, highly repetitive, epic fantasy. My husband only read a few pages before he tossed it aside in disgust.

I'm on the hunt for The Ghost Mountain Boys.

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays to everyone.

#72 Mike - Have a borrowed copy of The Ghost Mountain Boys. Looking forward to reading it. Plan on delving more into my Pacific War collection in 2010, especially with the new 10-part HBO miniseries, The Pacific, premiering in March!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and your family. Will be 'starring' you again in 2010 :)

#72: Too bad about 1421 - I own that one, although I have not read it yet. I am adding The Ghost Mountain Boys to the BlackHole. Thanks for the recommendation.

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas, Mike!

>72 sgtbigg: You posted that just in time for me, Mike! Just the other day I read something that reminded me about that book, but I couldn't remember the name of it. You provided the name, and convinced me not to take the time! Thanks! And Happy New Year to you!

Well, I thought I was going to add at least one more book but it's not to be. But I won't complain, I managed to read 86 books this year which is much better then the 62 or so from last year.

I'm glad I could warn a few people away from 1421, I guess my work here is done. Therefore I'll see you all in the 2010 group.

Happy New Year.

December was crazy for me--but I am now caught up on your thread! I hope I find you soon on the 2010 thread so I don't get behind. I really enjoy your comments and reviews and you've add a lot to my TBR pile this year.

Happy New Year!

Thanks MM - December was also crazy for me, I got behind on LT threads, both reading and writing, and I didn't get much read. My 2010 thread is up but no books on it just yet.