I managed to pick up John J. Miller's book "Our Oldest Enemy" -- on the U.S. relationship with the perfidious French -- Thursday afternoon at the Union-Tribune's periodic get-rid-of-review-books-for-charity-sale. Conservative books usually last quite awhile, but I was still a little surprised it lasted until late afternoon. On a related note: Some stinkin' Frenchman apparently […]
I'm nearly finished reading Hugh Hewitt's latest book with the extremely unwieldy title of "If it's not close they can't cheat: Crushing the Democrats in every election and why your life depends on it." Overall the book is pretty good. You can read it in easy-to-digest bites and, despite the title it's pretty independent and […]
I just picked up Stephen Coonts' latest novel, "Saucer: The Conquest." It's a sequel, so read the first (simply entitled "Saucer") before starting this one. I'm not completely finished with the book yet, but a couple of items struck me as a blogger. First, the bad guy is French. Second, the bad guy's last name […]
I just finished David Hackett Fischer's history of the winter campaign of 1776-77. Washington's famous crossing of the Delaware was but the start of this period that Hackett argues was key to the success of the Revolutionary War. I'm usually hesitant to "ruin" the ending of the book, but Fischer has something to say about […]
As I read David Cay Johnston's book on the U.S. tax system, I kept thinking of Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle." I first read "The Jungle" the summer before my junior year of high school for my Advanced Placement U.S. History class. Sinclair's novel is the story of an immigrant family trying to make it in […]
Today's New York Times has an interesting article on the plethora of books out there aimed at evangelical singles. The piece mainly focuses on women, though there are books out there aimed at men too. Since I've been quoted (anonymously) in one of these books (Single Men are Like Waffles, Single Women are Like Spaghetti), […]
In today's New York Times, columnist Nicholas Kristof writes his book report on "Glorious Appearing," the latest in the "Left Behind" series of books by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. I've got to give credit to Kristof. He is the only one of the Times' liberal editorial columnists who attempts to see evangelical Christians and […]
I just finished reading Lev Grossman's "The Codex," a book that quickly grabs you and doesn't let go. Edward Wozny is an investment banker who is taking two weeks off work to prepare for his new posting in London. His last assignment before he starts packing is to visit an English Duke and Duchess for […]
I finished Stephen Coonts' latest book, "Liars & Thieves" this past weekend in just one day. It's not the usual Coonts fare with exotic locales and the fate of the world hanging in the balance as hero Jake Grafton sets things right. Instead, it reminded me much more of books by Steve Baldacci -- specifically […]
I'm currently reading the late, great Michael Kelly's "Martyrs' Day," an account of the first Gulf War. The book is very different in style and substance from Rick Atkinson's "In the Company of Soldiers" (which is also an excellent book), but more of a traditional historical account of Gulf War II. Kelly's work is more […]