{Review} The Formation of Christendom by Judith Herrin

This is a scholarly work about a fairly obscure subject. It isn't about the spread of religion. Instead, the book deals with the transition of the various political entities of Europe from secular states into Christian ones. It describes the increase of the power of the Church as it fills the vacuum left by the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. Activities such as looking after the poor, maintaining public buildings and organizing and regulating commence became the domain of religious leaders. By undertaking these actions they gained the popular support of the people. They soon established the right of the Church to advise and even make demands upon secular leaders

This is not a casual beach book, but for those interested in European history it provides an interesting look at the transition from Roman authority to feudal suzerainty.

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{Review} The Chariot Makers: Assembling the Perfect Formula 1 Car by Steve Matchett

Steve Matchett is a former Formula One mechanic who has become a successful writer and currently is a commentator for Speed TV and ESPN. In this book, Matchett weaves a tale set in an airport bar, where he and a few others wait for hours and hours for a delayed trans-Atlantic flight. To past the time they discuss what would make up an idea F1 car and team. However, the book is actually much better than this rather tissue-thin back story would suggest, although Matchett swears that the events he uses in the back story did happen, although he did alter the time sequencing and people.

Once you get past the setup, most of the rest of the book is an enjoyable discussion of Formula One technology, construction techniques and race craft. Matchett does touch upon the historic background of many of the subjects, but mostly he deals with the modern era. His style is informative without being too wrapped up in techno-speak. And, just as if he was conversing with a group of people, there are questions asked by his fellow would-be passengers that allow Matchett to explain and illustrate points so that the layman could comprehend them.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes racing, has an interest in F1 and would like to find out more about it without having to delve into much more technical books. As is always true in F1, as soon as a book is published the information in is becomes out of date, but enough of the currently technology of F1 has been around since before Matchett wrote this book that it does have relevance to the current racing season. And Matchett is a good writer, dubious back story or not.

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{Review} Doo-dah!: Stephen Foster and the Rise of American Popular Culture by Ken Emerson

This is the story of Stephen Foster, who wrote so many songs in the nineteenth century that are considered American standards such as "Oh, Susanna", "Campdown Races" and "Swanee River". The book focuses on Foster as one of the first song writers to be benefited by the commercialization of music, in the guise of sheet music and copyrights. He became a well recognized figure based upon his fame as a popular music composer. Foster initially struggled to be a successful composer, then spend of good part of the rest of his life in court defending his rights and chasing "music pirates", to use a modern term. However, the book is not easy to read. The author goes on for page after page, chapter after chapter, relating how Foster did this and went there and said that and after a while it becomes a blur. Recommended only to those who really have an interest in the subject.

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{Review} Spearheading D-Day: American Special Units of the Normandy Invasion by Jonathan Gawne

This book is a real find for those who love to wallow in the excruciating details of military operations.This is most definitely not a coffee table book. The author has investigated and thoroughly documented all those small units that assisted the landings of the Allies in Normandy, as well as examining not so much as "who" landed as much as "how" they were equipped and with "what". His emphasis is not so much on the people as on their equipment and operations. Examples? There are loading diagrams for the landing craft, showing where each soldier was positioned (or intended to be positioned). We shown in photos and text how different navy personnel marked their helmets and jackets to differentiate themselves from the men who were landing. We learn how soldiers packed their packs, what kind of uniform they wore, how they protected their weapons from salt water (plastic bags!) and what other items they carried.

There is even a detailed (heck, everything in this book is detailed!) chapter about the combat vest that was used only on the Normandy operation and not by all troops, who made them and how they were made (and how the US Marines tested it and decided against adopting the vest for their landing troops).

This is not to say that the book overlooks the operations carried out by these units. Their actions on D-Day are described in detail and often we are also informed of their subsequent actions through the end of the war.

I have at times described books as "lavishly" illustrated, but this book requires a stronger adjective. The included photographs and drawings are simply incredible in detail and abundance. There are many photos of objects from museums or collections, expertly placed and photographed for clarity. There are even posed photographs of re-enactors to show off different equipment and uniforms.

You don't have to be a D-Day fan to enjoy this book. I would very much recommend it for any military history enthusiast who revels in the details and minutiae of military accoutrements and equipment.

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{Review} Intervention!: The United States and the Mexican Revolution, 1913-1917 by John S. D. Eisenhower

This is the story of the United States interventions into Mexico in the first two decades of the twentieth century. Eisenhower tells the story as a narrative without evaluation or moralizing and delivers a pleasantly readable history that moves along well without bogging down in details, yet does tell the story that at times goes down to the personal level of the participants. Most histories of this period confine themselves to the Pershing expedition, but this book also thoroughly examines the American seizure of Veracruz in 1914, probably one of the provocative and ill-considered military operations ever undertaken by the US against our neighbor to the south. Strongly recommended for those with interests in military and international history.

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{Review} Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin

A simply brilliant history of the political rise to power of Abraham Lincoln contrasted against those who were his adversaries, would eventually run against him in the election of 1860, or supported his opponents. All would eventually be part of his cabinet. It concentrates on the four main characters who would were his competitors and adversaries then eventually his allies; Chase, Bates, Seward and Stanton. While normally I'm not a big fan of political histories, the storytelling ability of Doris Kearns Goodwin is so successful that I thoroughly enjoyed the entire book. The narrative flow is easy to follow, well paced for the more casual reader but is still insightful and thoughtful in it's evaluation of Lincoln as a great mediator and team builder. Very happily recommended for those with any interest at all in American history.

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{Review} America's Pursuit of Precision Bombing, 1910-1945 by Stephen L. Mc Farland

In some of my reviews I have used evaluations such as "scholarly study" and "academic history". This book is solidly in that camp. Sadly it's a very dry and uninspired history of the development of precision bombing capability by the United States Army Air Corp and Army Air Forces over the period noted. The data and evaluations and observations are all no doubt valid and of great interest to the serious aviation and military historian, but it took much determination on my part to get through this book. Only recommended for those who really, really want to study this subject.

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{Review} Hitler's Grey Wolves: U-Boats in the Indian Ocean by Lawrence Paterson

This is a narrative history of German U-boat operations in the Indian Ocean during World War 2. Germany, in an effort to war against Allied merchant shipping, reached an agreement with Japan to establish a base in Malaysia, with other smaller bases in Indonesia. German subs would transit out from their bases in Europe, attack allied shipping in the Atlantic and Indian oceans, then refit and rearm in the Far East. Ultimately the campaign was doomed by the overwhelming logistical challenges, the improvement of Allied anti-submarine efforts, and the lack of support and sometimes the barely contained hostility of the local Japanese commanders. It's not exactly a fun read, but it's more easy going than a scholarly study and can be enjoyed by those with an interest in naval history, especially the lesser known aspects of WW2.

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{Review} The Los Angeles Metropolis by Howard J. Nelson

I come across unusual books on Amazon.com at times and get the wild urge to order them. This book is more like a textbook about the history of Los Angeles and it's environs. It is not a narrative history, but instead chapter by chapter covers subjects such as climate, traffic, urban sprawl and ethnic diversity. It's not a bad book and for someone wishing to learn more about the region it's a good overview, but it's not the kind of book you bring to poolside to read while getting a tan... unless you are someone like me!

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{Review} The Dillinger Days by John Toland

This is an earlier work by John Toland about the gangsters of the early Depression period such as Dillinger and Bonnie and Clyde. Surprisingly for Toland, who military histories have been well reviewed, this book seems to fail both as a history and a narrative. It seems jumbled and meanders at times. There are other good histories of this period and I so I wouldn't recommend this book for the casual non-fiction reader.

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{Review} Victorian London by Liza Picard

I love this book. Just to let you know that up front.

This is a marvelous history of London, the city and the people, from 1840 to 1870. Picard writes in a familiar, casual style what is was like to be in the city during those years. You can get a sense of the style of the book by just listing the first few chapter titles: "Smells", "The River", "The Streets", "The Railways", "Buildings", "Practicalities", etc. Picard relates fascinating details with superb storytelling skills. The book reads as if some well educated close friend was telling you about the city with evident knowledge, but with a distinct desire not to bore or become too tied down in trivia. The book achieves this in ways that Victorian America (see my review) was unable to reach.

I heartedly recommend this book to those who wish to learn more about England and her people, but also to anyone who has a desire to read a very well written non-fiction book.

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Hey, why did I give 5 stars to THAT book?

As I was posting my last review, it occurred to me that someone (or more than just one person) out there might be wondering how the heck I assign my star ratings on my LibraryThing site. I suspect that people have their own definition of what they feel is a five star book, or one star, or somewhere in-between.

My criteria is based on whether I enjoyed the book, based upon what I expected to get out of the book. If I think in advance that a book will be a drier, more scholarly study and it does turn out to be that, but I learn a lot from the book without having to take massive doses of caffeine to get through it, then that's a four or five star book. If I have to force myself to get through it, then it's a two or three star, depending on how much I did learn. If it's a chore to read and I find that there's little to learn, then it's a one star.

If the book is a narrative history or storytelling, then to be a four or five star it has to be easy to read, but makes me sit back and ponder things I read and think "hey, that's interesting". If I find it's harder to get through but still ponderable (to coin a word), or easier to read but not as deep as I hoped, then it's a two or three star. If I have to get up to jog to stay awake during chapters and start finding myself skimming because it's boring or repetitive, then it's a one star rating.

Hope this helps.

{Review} Valkyrie: North American's Mach 3 Superbomber by Dennis R. Jenkins and Tony Landis

This is another product of Specialty Press, which produces both intense studies of aviation subjects and photo books aimed at a more general audience. This book is one of the former. It's a detailed history of the XB-70, including much information on design, construction and flight testing. The book is lavishly illustrated with photos, drawings and other illustrations. Jenkins & Landis have established a reputation for well researched and written aviation histories and this book is well up to that standard. For the aviation enthusiast it is well worth the very reasonable price. Others might find the level of detail in the text a big overwhelming, but may be worth their time to read.

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{Review} The Electric City: Energy and the Growth of the Chicago Area, 1880-1930 by Harold L. Platt

This book is a history of the electrification of the city of Chicago. It is not a narrative history, rather it is a more scholarly (dry!) work with lots of tables and charts. Still, it's an interesting series of events I wasn't aware of. Starting in the more downtown areas and moving towards the suburbs, numerous small companies were established that sold electricity to nearby customers. Surprisingly for a number of years they existed side by side with companies providing gas for illumination. The author notes that it often wasn't a matter of the customers demanding electrification of their neighborhood, rather it was a start-up small electricity supplier being nearby that convinced customers to give electricity a try. Very much like the way we saw the early ISP surge in the 1990s. Ultimately, this being Chicago, local politics soon intervened and the companies that survived and ate up the others were the ones which had the best political connections.

Recommended only for those who are willing to plod through a very academic study.

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{Review} The Court Martial of General George Armstrong Custer by Lawrence A. Jones

This is a novel that is chock fill of real historic detail, valid suppositions and great storytelling. The author is a military lawyer and so the account of the court-martial is detailed and convincing. The basis of the story is simple; suppose Custer had survived Little Big Horn? The book is not some overblown action story or historical romance. It is, as accurately as the author can surmise, what the subsequent court-martial of Custer would have been like. But it is not a dry supposition; Jones does a marvelous job in making his players interesting, memorable but completely in character. His protagonist is the chief prosecutor for the army and we see most of the story through his eyes, but we also are witness to events taking place from out West to the White House.

We listen in rapt attention to the testimony of Generals Terry and Crook, who led the expedition, explain how Custer exceeded his orders, and to Benteen and Reno as they retell the battle. There are other witnesses as well, but much is also going on behind the scenes as the government wrestles with conflicting goals; punish the man who brought such disaster on the army, but also defend the military actions of his superiors and the leaders back in Washington.

Jones also does a fantastic job in setting the scene. The court-martial is held in New York City in the late 1870s and Jones adds authenticity and atmosphere when we leave the courtroom to go to eat at Delmonico's or tour down Fifth Avenue.

I happily recommend this book to those who like their historic fiction with more emphasis on the history and also those who might be interested in learning more about the Battle of Little Bighorn and the political and military actions and discussions leading up to the battle and subsequent to it.

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{Review} Dreadnought by Robert K. Massie

This is the prequel to Massie's Castles of Steel (my review). In this facinating tale Massie tells the story of the naval arms race between Great Britain and Germany in the decades leading up to the first world war. As he would do in Castles of Steel, Massie concentrates on the personalities of the government and military leaders, who often used the naval race for their own purposes to further their careers or to assuage their paranoia. He stays away from technical descriptions and evaluations, instead concentrating on the storytelling. He relates how leaders of both nations alternated between a fear of out of control budgets and eventual war and the fear that should they appear weak or vacillating to their peers, leaders and subordinates. There are many lessons for the current generation in this tale.

I would strongly recommend this not only to those with an interest in naval history, but also to those who enjoy a good non-fiction tale of intrigue, power and conflict.

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{Review} Going Downtown: The War Against Hanoi and Washington by Jack Broughton

This is Jack Broughton's sequel to Thud Ridge. As an F-105 Thunderchief pilot during the Vietnam War, he flew many missions over North Vietnam, some of which are retold in this book (the first book does some of them as well). Often hamstrung by rules of engagement established by politicians without regard to military necessity or survival, he became disenchanted with the leadership and soon was flagged as a troublemaker. Broughton was finally court martialed for attacking ships in Haiphong harbor. They were made strictly off-limits by the politicians because some were Russian, but many mounted anti-aircraft guns and shot down American pilots. Broughton finally became so incensed at this that he strafed the ships on one mission. He was court martialed and convicted. Much later Congress overturned the conviction, but much too late to be of use to Broughton. The latter part of the book relates the story of the legal proceeding and the subsequent actions Broughton took to publicize the government's cover up of it's ineptness.

I would recommend this book for those who are interested in the air war in Vietnam. It does rather bog down towards the end in the politics, but should be considered a necessary read for those of the current generation who may not be aware of how badly the Vietnam air war was conducted by Washington.

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{Review} Moments of Terror: The Story of Antarctic Aviation by David Burke

For those with interests in aviation or exploration, this book is a real find. Many people are familiar with Admiral Byrd's exploration of the seventh continent including his flyover of the South Pole in his aircraft the Floyd Bennett. But few are aware that aviation in Antarctica has been present since some of the earliest expeditions. Small float planes provided the ability to scout for paths through the sea ice and reconnoiter potential overland trails for expeditions based on ships. Once land bases were established, aircraft often were the only means of communication and rescue.

Moments of Terror is also the story of the more colorful aviators of Terra Australis Incognita. Few people today have heard of Lincoln Ellsworth, but in the 1930s he was as well known as Charles Lindberg. A colorful character, who among his other quirks strongly admired Wyatt Earp (and flew with Earp's actual gun in his plane). The book related the tales of his famous Antarctic cross-continent flight and his other flights there which made him a household name.

More recent aviation activity is also covered in detail. The author relates the story of the C-130 Hercules and it's association with Antarctica, becoming the workhorse of the US Navy, delivering personnel and supplies all the way to the South Pole in flights that might seem routine but are often fraught with dangers and difficulties.

The book comes well illustrated with over 300 photos, maps and drawings. The writing combines some first person tales with the author's informal storytelling style. The book remains interesting throughout, from the stories of fragile biplanes perched precariously on the decks of tiny ships to tourist flights in jumbo jets.

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{Review} Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea by Robert K. Massie

Massie is the author of Dreadnought and this book essentially picks up where the last ended, with the beginning of the Great War. I had at first hesitated to jump into this book because I had read other naval histories of WW1 and didn't expect this to be much different. Yet surprisingly the book is very engrossing and readable and full of details often not covered in conventional histories. Massie explores the personalities of the political and naval leaders of Great Britain and Germany and shows how the naval movements and battles that occurred where often the outcome of conflicts between leaders of the same nation. Politics, ambition and personality quirks were often as influential as intelligence reports and naval doctrine.

Recommended for those who enjoy some fascinating history in narrative form, even if you don't really have any great interest in naval warfare.

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{Review} Africa: A Biography of the Continent by John Reader

Reader's book is a gem. Subtitled "The Biography of a Continent", I was a bit skeptical that it would be so much of an overview as to be dull or repetitive. Instead "Africa" approaches the subject as an object. It is not a history of the people and cultures of the continent as much as it is the story of the land itself, as least for a good part of the book. The author delves into the geology of the continent, both in origin and the effect that it's unique mineral, landform and climate molded the cultures that evolved there. While this might sound a bit boring or scholarly, instead it makes for interesting reading.

A fascinating, and perhaps controversial section discusses the how the development of man's physiology was affected by Africa's climate and topography. This includes a discussion of the need for the cooling of the brain and how man's unique biped stance and movement were developed as a response to Africa's weather and flora. I found it pleasantly surprising to find that what I thought would be a simple history went so far afield yet stayed true to the subject.

He discusses the evolution of early man and the effect the land had on it. As man evolved and civilizations emerged, Reader shows how Africa's rainfall, soil and weather affected the way in which those civilizations developed. He describes the unique cultures of the different peoples, although he does not attempt to be comprehensive. Rather it is a sampling of some of the more interesting aspects.

The end of the book is a bit of a disappointment. With the beginning of the colonial era the style goes to more of an overview and while it is certainly appropriate for a single volume, it feels like a bit of a letdown compared to unusual and interesting approach Reader had taken in most of the book. Still, there's nothing bad or unreadable and for many readers it will be quite enough.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in people and history, and especially those who enjoy finding those books that take chances and succeed.

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