Book

Missive #353 Published 25 September 2024

Note: There is a movie being made based on this novel. If it follows the book closely I would suggest that you do not go see it.

In the Kirkus Review it is said that McCarthy uses 'pretentious prose' he also avoids using any punctuation and when rendering dialog likes to do so using Spanish whenever possible. He does break up the 'gore and blazing sun' somewhat with some very descriptive writing about the landscape, flora and fauna that the scalp hunter are passing through. However, even there he can not help himself and loads the descriptions with pretentious adjectives — either ignore them or treat the book as a vocabulary builder.

Missive #352 Published 23 September 2024

Alternate Generals II is a collection of short alternate history stories, edited by Harry Turtledove.

Missive #349 Published 18 September 2024

No book promos found and only the one meaningful customer review. This is not a well read book now and probably not a big seller in 1944 when it was published. It does provide some good history about the Mississippi Delta so if your reading the Mainstream of America Series don't give this a miss.

Missive #348 Published 17 September 2024

In my opinion, the best parts of this book are those where he writes what he thinks. Those that are star struck may enjoy what he has to say about his screenwriting days. I think you will like this book.

Missive #345 Published 11 September 2024

Sailing across the Caribbean, Hector Lynch falls into the hands of the notorious buccaneer, Captain John Coxon. Hector’s two friends, Dan and Jacques, are released when Coxon mistakes Hector as the nephew of Sir Thomas Lynch—the Governor of Jamaica—an error that Hector encourages. Coxon delivers Hector to Sir Henry Morgan, a bitter enemy of Governor Lynch. The captain is expecting to curry favour with Henry Morgan but is publicly humiliated at a Christmas ball. From then on, Coxon seeks to revenge himself on Hector and the young seafarer finds himself on the run again.

Missive #344 Published 9 September 2024

There Will Be War is a landmark science fiction anthology series that combines top-notch military science fiction with factual essays by various generals and military experts on everything from High Frontier and the Strategic Defense Initiative to the aftermath of the Vietnam War.

Missive #341 Published 3 September 2024

This book was not any easier to read than the prior two histories, 1939 and Silent Conflict. It picks up where Silent Conflict left off and takes you to 1939. Most historians when writing about a period focus on country leaders; this author focuses on the country diplomats with the leaders taking a back seat. Good history but difficult reading for me.

Missive #335 Published 19 August 2024

The Illuminatus! Trilogy comprises three parts which contain five books and appendices: The Eye in the Pyramid (first two books), The Golden Apple (third and part of fourth book), Leviathan (part of fourth and all of fifth book, and the appendices). The parts were first published as three separate volumes starting in September 1975. In 1984 they were published as an omnibus edition and are now more commonly reprinted in the latter form.

Missive #332 Published 15 August 2024

This deeply informed book traces the dramatic history of early Soviet-western relations after World War I. Michael Jabara Carley provides a lively exploration of the formative years of Soviet foreign policy making after the Bolshevik Revolution, especially focusing on Soviet relations with the West during the 1920s. Carley demonstrates beyond doubt that this seminal period—termed the "silent conflict" by one Soviet diplomat—launched the Cold War. He shows that Soviet-western relations, at best grudging and mistrustful, were almost always hostile. Concentrating on the major western powers—Germany, France, Great Britain, and the United States—the author also examines the ongoing political upheaval in China that began with the May Fourth Movement in 1919 as a critical influence on western-Soviet relations.