To the To the Edges of the Earth: 1909, the Race for the Three Poles, and the Climax of the Age of Exploration

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by Edward J. Larson, 2018, Kindle Edition, William Morrow publisher

One of the topics in this book was especially interesting to me because it depicted Shackleton’s 1909 attempt to reach the South Pole in 1909.  I visited Shackleton’s hut on Cape Royds in Antarctica in 1971 when I was stationed there with the Navy.  I didn’t know much about Shackleton’s expedition, however, so I didn’t have any context regarding the hut.

This book was one of the selections for our men’s book club and I took some of the pictures I had taken in 1971 to our meeting to show the other participants.  It generated some discussion as to why I had been there and what my role was during that time.

The other two topics that were covered in the book was the race to the North Pole and an attempt to climb K-2 in the Himalayas in that same year. I didn’t have any knowledge regarding these two expeditions.

The book itself wasn’t as well-written as I would have liked.  I compare it to a book a read some years ago about Shackleton’s subsequent attempt to reach the South Pole when his ship became frozen in the ice.  This book was written, I believe, in the 1950’s by a man named Roland Hungerford and is now out of print.  It was one of the most exciting books I have ever read, but “To the Edges of the Earth” was pretty boring in places.

Overall, I am glad I read this book, but for reasons other than my enjoyment of the book itself.2 1/2 stars

Where the Crawdads Sing

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by Della Owens, 2018, Kindle Edition, G.P. Putnam’s Sons

This is a well-written book about a girl who grows up in a coastal area in North Carolina isolated from the rest of the nearby community. She eventually learns how to read and goes on to publish books on the local environment. It also includes a murder of a young man but keeps the mystery the perpetrator to the end of the book. 3 1/2 stars

The Lewis Man: The Lewis Trilogy

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by Peter May, 2015, Kindle Edition

This is a good book that follows up on the first book of the trilogy, but seems quite different from the first.  It starts when a discovery is made of a partially mummified body in a peat bog.  The quest to identify the body leads to some startling discoveries.

Peter May mixes in a detective mystery, genealogy, DNA, and very interesting characters.  Overall, a very well-done novel 3 1/2 stars

The Secret Servant

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by Daniel Silva, 2007, Audiobook narrated by Phil Gigante, Brilliance Audio

I was very disappointed in this book.  I was expecting a suspenseful thriller that would have some unexpected twists and turns.  What I got was a terrorist kidnapping of a young woman who had connections to the U.S. ambassador to the UK and the U.S. President.  The plot then proceeded on a fairly predictable path with Gabriel Elon, the Isreali secret agent, performing heroic tasks to rescue her.

The rather unimaginative plot, coupled with Silva’s distaste for Muslim immigration in Europe and England (which bordered on a rant), did not endear me to this book at all.  Perhaps the fact that it was written way back in 2007 when Islamic terrorism was more front and center provides some excuse, but there were other books written at this time that are much better.

It’s interesting that the reviewers on Amazon give this book a 4.7 out of 5, a lot higher than my 1.5 Stars out of 5.  About 2 per cent give it a one or two rating, but when I read those lower reviews, they echo some of my thoughts.  One individual said he had read quite a few of Silva’s other books and this one was the worst.  The other 98% rated the book a three or higher.  I am swimming upstream on this one, I guess. 1 1/5 stars 

Three Days in January: Dwight Eisenhower’s Final Mission

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by Brett Baier and Catherine Whitney, 2017, William Morrow

The more I read this book, the more I didn’t like it.  It’s an overview of Ike’s days in the White House, but is built on the premise that his last three days in office were somehow momentous and important.  The book, however, doesn’t have much to say about those three days, and, instead, gives a somewhat condensed biography of Eisenhower and his presidency.  The problem is that it’s a biased account, generally praising (worshiping?) him for about everything, constantly criticizing his predecessor, Harry Truman, and the man who followed him in office, John Kennedy.

What is really the corker for this book, however, is the end of the book where the author(s) attempt to draw a favorable comparison between Ike’s approach to problem solving and that of Donald Trump.  Throughout the book they describe Eisenhower’s very deliberative, respectful, consensus-building style.  They then suggest that there are close parallels between the Eisenhower presidency and Trump’s.  After reading in the book all the steps that Eisenhower would take in coming to a decision and knowing that Trump likes to rely so much on his own instincts and intuition, I found it ludicrous that someone would even attempt to suggest that there are similarities.  Also, the way Ike would treat his subordinates with respect and consideration versus the way Trump denigrates his associates (Jeff Sessions, Wilbur Ross, Rex Tillerson), not to mention his name calling and insults of women, make one wonder if both individuals belong to the same species.

Frankly, this book, while it describes a lot of what went on in the Eisenhower administration, it’s bias in favor of Ike versus the other presidents and it’s absurd comparison of Eisenhower and Trump, lost it for me.2 stars

Killers of the Flower Moon, The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by David Grann, 2007, Vintage Books, A Dividion of Random House LLC, New York

This book chronicles the murders of members of the Osage Indian tribe in Oklahoma in the early part of the 20th century and the efforts of the newly founded FBI to solve the crimes.  The Osage were given land in the 1800’s that was considered worthless but oil was discovered and they became extremely rich.  They then became prey to unscrupulous white persons who rigged the system to get their money and property.  Many were murdered or died under suspicious circumstances.  The local and state authorities and courts were complicit in denying justice until an honest FBI agent, Tom White, pursued the cases.

I was not aware of the atrocities committed against these Indians.  It’s shocking to know how justice can be circumvented by powerful individuals in a community.  The author also describes additional possible murders that were never discovered or prosecuted.

The book was well researched and fairly well written, but due to the subject matter I can’t say that I enjoyed reading it.

2 1/2 stars

The Husband’s Secret

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by Liane Moriarty, 2013, Audiobook narrated by Caroline Lee, Penguin Audio

This book is about three women who live in Australia and how they are affected by the murder of a young girl many years ago.

The book is well-written and is believable, although the outcome is fairly predictable.  The epilogue, however, provides some interesting alternative outcomes that are not expected and enhances the total package considerably.

The author does a good job capturing each of the characters. Although I enjoyed listening, it seemed to drag a bit in places. I guess it was necessary to describe each of the characters but some of it was overdone. 2 1/2 stars

One Hell of a Gamble, The Secret History of the Cuban Missile Crisis

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by Aleksandr Fursenko and Timothy Naftali, 1997, W.W. Norton & Company, New York

This book is a detailes account of the events that led up to and took place during the Cuban Missile Crisis.  The research that went into the writing of the book is well done and the writing is very good.  The only downside is that reading the book requires a lot of concentration on the details to get the full meaning of the book.

The authors’ conclusions were that Kennedy took the right course of action, despite his advisors advocating a more aggressive and belligerent stance.  I was struck, however, with how Khrushchev reacted in a time of crisis.  He clearly had made a colossal mistake in deciding to put nuclear missiles in Cuba, but his reasoned actions to remove them suggest that he was a smart individual who understood the implications of his actions.  It was also interesting that he seemed to have had a much better time dealing with Kennedy, his adversary, than Castro, his ally.

Thank goodness we made it through this one without a nuclear holocaust.  Hopefully, a hothead leader on either side won’t lead us down that path again, although, after reading this book, I am certain that if our current president had been in office in 1962, we would have suffered nothing short of a nuclear holocaust. 4 stars

Educated: a Memoir

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by Tara Westover, Kindle version, 2018, Random House LLC

This book is a harrowing memoir about a young girl growing up in a dysfunctional family in Idaho with an abusive father and brother. She was discouraged from attending school and told she had to remain at home. Despite her family situation she broke away and went on to get degrees from Cambridge and Harvard.

The book is well written and compelling. She does mention areas where her version may be clouded due to memory lapses which may cast some doubt on actual events as she describes them, but the book overall is believable.

The one question that goes unanswered is how someone with such limited resources and support can go on to achieve so much academic success when our schools, in many cases, can’t always succeed with much more resources. 4 stars

I Am Pilgrim

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by Terry Hayes, Atria/Emily Bestler Books, Kindle version, Simon and Shuster Digital Sales, Inc.

This book is a thriller but it is long.  The author provides quite a bit of detailed background about every move the main character and his nemesis makes.  Most of the background is necessary but it does at to the length of the book.

One aspect of the book that I was especially pleased about was that much of the action took place in Bodrum, Turkey, a place we had visited just a few years ago.  While we weren’t there long, it was one of the prettiest spots that I have ever seen with its Crusader castle in the harbor and the green and blue shades of water.  The author describes it in one of the passages and it took me right back to the place.

Back to the novel.  I was a bit mystified about the connection between a murder that took place in New York City a few months after 911 and the eventual pursuit of an Islamist terrorist.  The main character is called in to take a look at the murder scene and he surmises that it is a woman. Later in the book, his pursuit of the terrorist takes him to Bodrum Turkey, but he uses his investigation of another murder that took place in Bodrum as his cover for being there. While he is attempting to locate the terrorist, he finds out that the murder in Bodrum was committed by the same person who committed the murder in New York.  I realize that an author of fiction can use some license to create coincidences that would otherwise be unrealistic, but this one is unbelievable to me.  Maybe if his character hadn’t been present at the first murder, it may have been more realistic, but I am having trouble buying into this scenario.  I would have given the book a much higher rating if it had been a little more believable and perhaps not quite so long.3 1/2 stars