The March: A Novel

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by E.L. Doctorow, 2006

This book disppointed me a great deal.  I looked forward to reading a good historical novel on the Civil War and the subject of Sherman’s march to the sea interested me a great deal.  The characters in the book, however, were not very interesting and seemed to be more like stick characters than real people.  Doctorow did not do a very good job of describing the battles and, after a while, they all began to run together.  There also doesn’t seem to be a very good sense of time so all the action becomes very muddled and confusing.

Doctorow also includes several passages which consist of Sherman’s inner thoughts.  I always seem to have a problem when an author presumes to know a famous person’s innermost thoughts, particularly in the setting of an historical novel.  I beleive that the actions and words (letters, etc.) seem to do a much better job in this setting of capturing the essence of a famous personage.

There are much better historical novels written using the Civil War as a setting, and even actual non-fiction history books seem to be a better read than this.  I would not particualry recommend this book as either enjoyable reading or for its historical content. 2 1/2 stars

State of Denial, Bush at War, Part III

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by Bob Woodward, 2006

This book definitely does not have as much impact as All the President’s Men, which was instrumental in driving Richard Nixon out of office.  It does, however, shed a great deal of light on what has happened over the last couple of years when we were supposedly “making progress” in Iraq.

I was especially struck by the portrait presented of Don Rumsfeld.  History may eventually determine that Rumsfeld was right in most of his ideas: streamlining the military to provide a quicker and more accurate response, making the Iraqis stand up and take responsibility, fewer rather than more troops.  Unfortunately, his terrible management style and inability to work as a team member were key ingredients leading to failure.  George Bush, unfortunately, was not competent enough to recognize the impacts early enough to make a timely correction.

Having been in the business world for many years, I recognize some of the characteristics of these types of managers.  They are the ones who are always right and seem to be unfazed by the results of their poor decisions.  The difference is that a business can lose money or even fold and that is too bad.  In the case of a nation, it is a disaster. four stars

The Sea

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by John Banville, 2005

This is an interesting book about the reminiscences of an older gentleman about his youth and the woman he married.  It is a bit hard to follow at times, but the author paints an interesting picture of how one’s memories are muddied as one ages and also how an individual deals with the present.  One warning, however: it is very sad.

Another aspect of the book is the author’s use of a quite extended vocabulary.  The list of words that I don’t recognize includes: revenant, plimsoll, apotropaic, strangury, moue, costiveness.  I guess I will have to dig out the dictionary to see what I missed when I read the book. 3 1/2 stars

The World is Flat, A Brief History of the 20th Century

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

By Thomas L. Friedman, 2005

Most of this book is an overview of the technological advances of the past few years which have allowed the world to collaborate on various types of work projects leading to a new globalization of trade.

As I was reading the book, I was already familiar with many of the tools that he described, but he filled in a lot of the blanks and provided some interesting history as to how these things evolved and gave some insight regarding the individuals who were responsible for their invention.  On the other hand, I thought that the author was overselling the benefits of the new technology in that he made it appear as if they were going to lead us all to some kind of utopian global trade situation.  I kept asking myself, if this is so, why is the world in such a mess?

Friedman redeemed himself in the last part of the book, however, when he outlined the reasons why a good part of the world, primarily the Islamic world, is not buying into the new globalization.  He correctly describes the sources of the cultural divide and is much less optimistic about whether it can ever be overcome.  Because of this more realistic and sobering view, I have much more respect for his overall assessment.  four stars

Something in the Water

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by Peter Scott, 2000, published by Down East Books, Camden, Maine

I picked this book up at a bookstore in Camden when we were visiting there a couple of weeks ago.  The subject, having to do with WWII U-Boats lurking off the coast of Penobscot Bay, looked pretty interesting, so I bought the book.

Unfortunately, there was something about the author’s writing style that did not flow, so it became somewhat of a chore for me to read.  He also had the habit of introducing more and more characters who seemed to blend into the rest of them, so it was very hard to figure out who a person was or why that particular person was important to the story.  The main character dies about a third of the way through the book, additionally reducing the interest level in the characters.  The dialogue between the characters also lacks sponaneity.

I must admit that the book picks up considerably in the last few chapters and, because the book is fairly short, I am glad I stuck with it to see how it turned out.  I would not, however, recommend it as a good read.  two stars

All Creatures Great and Small

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by James Herriot, 1972

One day we were shopping in Barnes and Noble and, for some unknown reason, I thought about the PBS TV program with the British veterinarians from a number of years back.  I couldn’t remember the name of the book so we asked the sales person.  She happened to be from England and had a picture of her dog snapped onto her blouse.  Her eyes lit up and she immediately led us to the the book.

I really enjoyed reading this book, not because I was particularly interested in animal medicine, but for the reason that it was about some truly interesting human characters.  It also didn’t hurt that the book was well written.  James Herriot is a very self-deprecating author and was able to find humor in almost every situation, particularly when it involved events that were embarrassing to himself.

This book will probably never be one of the world’s greatest, but if you want an enjoyable read, to learn a bit about life in Scotland in the 1950’s, and want to chuckle, I highly recommend it. 3 1/2 stars

Dreams from My Father

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by Barrack Obama, 1995, 2004

This is a very interesting book, made even more so by the unusual family history of this man.  It held my interest although some of the passages late in the book relating to all of Obama’s relatives was a bit tedious. The story would probably be of less interest if it were not for the fact that the author has become prominent within his political party.

Wolves Eat Dogs, An Arkady Renko Novel

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by Martin Cruz Smith, 2004

This book, by the author of Gorky Park, really plods along and becomes quite a drag to read.  Redeeming values are that I read it on the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster and it gave me an appreciation of what it must be like to live there twenty years later.  Also, it does seem to capture the Russian psyche.

If you are looking for a thriller, look elsewhere.

Prey

Wilson's Weblog Posted on by

by Michael Crichton, 2002

I don’t think this book is worth the time.  It starts out with an interesing premise, that molucules can organize themselves to do concerted activities.  The book then descends to the preposterous as the molecules begin to acquire intelligence to mimic human behavior.  Characters aren’t particularly interesting either. Don’t bother.