Mike's Book Reviews.

I love reading and have decided to share my experiences with the few lost souls who chance upon my site. I've changed the way I do it to reflect more accurately what I think about the books I've read. So there are three sections; My Recommendations, Beach Books and Dustbin.

My Recommendations

The bloody background to this story is the death and destruction of the 2nd World War and especially that wrought by the extremely brave people who crewed the Lancaster. The story exposes the political maneuvering which goes on behind the scenes, the personality feuds which sometimes caused wrong decisions to be made and, most importantly, the thoughts and experiences of the bomber crews who were doing all the work.

The officer in charge of Bomber Command was Arthur Harris who's aim in the war was to flatten every city in Germany, which he very nearly did. This savage approach to the air war by the British is still the subject of heated discussions. Only recently (Dec 2009) a French aquaintenence, a history buff, mentioned the British bomber's war crimes! The strength of Harris was that even his superiors buckled in the face of his insubordination and he always seemed to get his way.

But the Lancaster. Designed by the AVRO genius engineer, Roy Chadwick, the Lancaster started off as the Manchester, a twin engined bomber which was going nowhere. He took the unsuccesful design, increased the wingspan, added two engines and the Lancaster was born. From the start the crews loved it. It was the racehorse alongside the other bombers which were the cart-horses. It was a joy to fly. And it could take more punishment than others and still bring the crews home safely. We follow its development as it was steadily improved and modified to carry "strange" loads like the Dambuster's bouncing bomb.

More bomber crew members died during the war than any other group. Your chance of survival was 30%! That means that your chance of dying was 70%! We meet many of those brave men as they recount their experiences during long, bomber raids over Germany. Can you imagine, hundreds of aircraft flying through the night for up to ten hours, with no lights, primitive instruments, no heating and when they arrive at their destination, flying through the searchlights and flak to drop their load before, hopefully, turning for the five hour flight home. Also fraught with danger as ack-ack batteries and night-fighters were often waiting.

As well as meeting many "unknown" crew members we are also (re-)acquainted with some household names of those days: Guy Gibson, Leonard Cheshire, Douglas Bader, Douglas Sholto and others. And on the other side we share the experiences of the recipients of the bomber crew's loads.

The basic Lancaster design lasted until 1991 when its great-great-great grandchild, the Shackleton, Mark III, was phased out.

Lancaster is a must for you bookshelf. A fascinating and gripping read.

Kim (Penguin Popular Classics) by Rudyard Kipling
This classic story is, to use the jargon of the time it was written - 1901 - a gripping yarn! Mark Twain is reputed to have read it twice a year.

I came across the names of several famous authors whilst reading "Churchill's Wizards". These men of literature, among them Rudyard Kipling, worked for the British government, assisting in dreaming up plans to deceive the enemy. (Another name mention was Scottish author John Buchan, writer of "39 Steps" and a future Governor General of Canada.)

Kim is a young orphan, born out of wedlock to a British serving girl and an Irish sergeant. He lives on the streets by his wits and is not aware of his legacy. He meets a holy man and becomes his chela (disciple) and travels the length of India with him searching for the Lama's holy river. We learn so much from the exciting descriptions of the people he meets and the places he passes; of the culture of the then India.

As prophesised by a fortue teller, one day he comes into contact with his father's old regiment and receives a sahib's education. He also comes into contact with a certain Colonel who recognises Kim's intelligence and aptitude for subterfuge and we see how, later, Kim and his Lama become involved in finding out what certain Russians are about in India.

The language in the book is of course that of the 19th Century but don't let that put you off. If you like history, if you like adventure, if you like colour, Kim is a book you must read.

The View from the Ground by Martha Gellhorn
This woman's stories are so brilliant she makes me think I'm there with her. This collection of reports and recollections is collated in the decades 30's to the 80's.

In the 30's she takes us to a lynching in the deep south and shares her revulsion with us.

In the 40's we witness the terrible persecution by the Un-American Activities Commmittee of people who had done nothing wrong except, that in the eyes of some, a vague connection to the communist party in their youth which made them enemies of the state. Soviet methods by Senator McCarthy in the west's largest democracy.

In the 50's we happily witness the 'downfall of' the aforementioned Senator McCarthy proving that there is justice after all.

In the 60's we visit Poland under the communists, we visit the Eichmann trial in Israel and we hear about the horror of the Vietnam war.

In the 70's we join in one of the largest demonstrations ever witnessed when the American youth protested about what their government was doing in Asia. And we visit Spain the day dictator Franco died.

In the 80's we read the mind numbing story of a young man tortured in San Salvador and we visit Cuba and meet lots of happy Cubans.

In all there are more than 30 stories spanning her life and if you are interested in what has happened in our world in the past you should read The View from the Ground . And strange as it may sound you'll notice that some things never change.
A definite must to read.

So be you agnostic, atheiest, christian, muslim or jewish get The God Delusion and read it. You may join the many who have escaped their superstitions thanks to it.

The book tells the story of the attempts of unions to open their struggle against their capitalist employers. How the police, themselves dramatically under rewarded, were used as strike breakers until they themselves go on strike resulting in horrific riots.

The book also tells the story of racism at its peak as it follows Luther when he flees to Boston after committing a crime. His survival is his first priority, not only from life but from a policeman out to get him.

We also follow Danny, the policeman on the beat, son of a well respected police captain, as he gives up the hope of a carreer higher up to lead the first policeman's union. The consequences of which change his life completely. Between Danny and Luther a friendship grows which ignores racial boundaries.

The Given Day is an amazing story which will have you on the edge of your seat. Emotionally, it will drag you along with it.

A thoroughly enjoyable book. Get it!

Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar is a horrifying account of how one man ruled an enormous empire through fear. I kept thinking, "Why didn't someone do something? Why didn't they assasinate him?" But fear prevented that, fear for the lives of their families and their own lives and, obviously, fear of the unknown - life after Stalin!

This isn't only a history book, obviously there are large nuggets of history in there, mainly it's the intimate story of one man's reign of terror and with the parallel story, the insight into the private life of this monster. His love of singing, his daughter, how he lived, his well stocked villas, his manipulation.

The involvement of names some of us will remember, Molotov, Bulganin, Brezhnev, Khrushchev, in many of the crimes commited against the different peoples of the USSR remind us how recent this age of terror was.

I couldn't put this book down. It's a gripping story which kept me enthralled from start to finish. For those fans of recent history this book is a must.

Shirin Ebadi, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, has written a book which takes you into a world which, to people who are used to freedom, will seem like a nightmare. And for those at the heart of the consequences of the "revolution" it is a nightmare. Mrs Ebadi, a judge at the time of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, fell victim to the hard-liner's declaration that women were unfit to be judges and she was demoted to be a clerk in her own courtroom.

The anecdotes she relates in Iran Awakening as to how people in general, and women in particular, were treated made my hair stand on end. It is quite amazing to read how these extremists, fundamentalists, call them what you will, were willing to debase and humiliate their fellow countrymen and women in the name of a merciful God. The absolute ignorance of some of those given 'license' to be judges is horrifying. Read this book! It's a must for everyone who loves freedom.

Beach Books

My Word is My Bond: The Autobiography by Roger Moore
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. What an interesting and full acting life Roger Moore has had, Everyone remembers his successes; Ivanhoe, The Saint, The Persuaders, the never to be forgotten James Bond movies and many others.

The name-dropping is shamefully present on all pages and that just helps to add lustre to an already glittering life story. Many of the anecdotes made me laugh out loud. He tells them well.

And a lot of space is given to his important work as an Ambassador for Unicef, work which he still continues to carry out in his eighties.

I've always liked and admired this actor and My Word is My Bond was a welcome insight to his exciting carreer.

Her closest ally is the journalist Mikael Blomqvist who we met in the first book. The theme is the woman trafficking industry, supplying underage girls for the pleasure of men. We meet those running it, those trying to expose it and the bosses and customers. `What is Lisbeth's connection? The truth is surprising to say the least. Mikael is convinced of her innocence (his company is about to publish a shocking report on the sex trafficking industry in Sweden), and he is determined to help her – whether she wants his help or not.

The Girl Who Played with Fire is another great read!

Dustbin Books