Inshallah by Oriana Falluci. It's a slog because of her use of her heavy use of repetition for emphasis. The book is an ILL from Fort Stockton, TX. The book is in perfect condition so I seem to be the only reader in 35 years.

Finished recently or still working on:

Bigger Bombs for a Brighter Tomorrow, John M. Curatola. “The Strategic Air Command and American war plans at the dawn of the Atomic Age, 1945-1950.” A very informative discussion of our nuclear weapons program and military planning (or lack thereof). Includes countless bits such as the fact that the civilian Atomic Energy Commission that controlled all the nukes refused to provide classified information on weapons’ effects to Air Force planners who were trying to develop targeting information.

Directorate S: The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Steve Coll. A depressing, but good to know account of the involvement of the U.S. in the area after 9/11. A sequel to the earlier Ghost Wars that leads up to 9/11.

Spies: The Epic Intelligence War Between East and West, Calder Walton.

Empire of Secrets, also by Calder Walton. The history of British intelligence operations with much good information about the period after WWII when its former colonies were gaining independence.

The Fate of the Day, Rick Atkinson. The second in his trilogy about the American Revolutionary War (i.e., the First Civil War). I really like Atkinson’s books such as the “Liberation Trilogy” about the U.S. in the WWII European Theater.

Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why, Bart D. Ehrman.

Fiction reading has mostly been limited to books in the Gabriel Allon series by Daniel Silva. A couple of Silva’s recent books have included rants against Trump and the Catholic Church which may be off-putting to some, but I’m continually amazed by his ability to weave engaging stories. The one I’m reading now, Portrait of an Unknown Woman, branches out from all the ones involving operations by Israel.

Reread recently:

Eight Days in May: The Final Collapse of the Third Reich, Volker Ullrich. Discusses many details that most World War II histories don’t get to.

Spy Catcher, Peter Wright. An older book by the former assistant director of (British) MI5 that goes into many of the counterespionage operations from the end of WWII into the 1970s. A somewhat controversial book because of its allegations about top level Soviet spies within the British intelligence network that were challenged by other author(s).

The Second World Wars: How the First Global Conflict Was Fought and Won, Victor Davis Hanson. Another of his excellent works.

And others.

I'm re-reading Michael Shaara's Killer Angels. I first read it when the Ken Burn's Civil War series first aired (along with works by Shelby Foote). Some years ago, while on vacation I had occasion to visit Brunswick, Maine. While having lunch there, I saw a sign for Bowdoin College. It suddenly struck me that this where Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain taught and eventually became president of the school. My wife is a good sport and knew that Chamberlain is one of my hero's, so off we went to Bowdoin. Arriving on campus, we literally parked in front of the Chamberlain House/Museum. Upon entering, we discovered that a tour and lecture was starting in about five minutes. It was a very good presentation and I learned far more about Chamberlain and his life post-Civil War that I imagined. A stop at the museum bookstore was obviously necessary as well. It's funny, in planning a vacation in Maine, it never occurred to me to think of anything Civil War related, let alone to stumble onto one of my specific areas of interest. I have been to the Gettysburg battlefield numerous times. Re-reading the Killer Angels, may now precipitate another visit.

A couple chapters in to re-reading Shogun. Enjoying it as much as the first time.

Generation Kill.

I've seen the HBO series multiple times, but am just now getting around to reading the book on which it was based.

“One Hundred Years of Solitude,” Gabriel Garcia Márquez.

It’s proving a difficult read for me. Multi-generational and succeeding generations have similar names. The book is described as being in the magical realist style, whatever that means. I reached the point where I was ready to put the book down and pick up something else, then I did an internet search about the book’s difficulty. I found that it’s generally acknowledged as a difficult read, but (I was promised) rewarding and worth the challenge.

It’s considered one of the most significant books in Hispanic, even world, literature. So it’s still on my nightstand, and sometimes I even pick it up.

I finally opened The Count of Monte Cristo.
I loved the movie from several years ago.

quote:

Originally posted by Schmelby:
I finally opened The Count of Monte Cristo.
I loved the movie from several years ago.

I think you’ll really like it. If the movie you loved was the one with Jim Caviezel in the title role, then the screenplay was written by an old friend of mine. Unfortunately, he passed away a couple of years ago.

Added The Martian to my hold list.
The next Bosch book is taking forever to get to me, so I've been filing the gap with re-reading The Expanse

quote:

Originally posted by TMats:

quote:

Originally posted by Schmelby:
I finally opened The Count of Monte Cristo.
I loved the movie from several years ago.

I think you’ll really like it. If the movie you loved was the one with Jim Caviezel in the title role, then the screenplay was written by an old friend of mine. Unfortunately, he passed away a couple of years ago.

That's the movie. I'm sorry for your friend.
Maybe I'll find a copy of The Three Musketeers as well.

Finished The Monkey's Raincoat by Robert Crais, first in the Elvis Cole & Joe Pike series. Pretty good detective novel, but suspends belief a little. Get in a big shootout with bad guys? Cops basically say no big deal.

Currently reading The Deep Blue Good-by by John D. MacDonald, first in the Travis McGee detective novels. Also pretty good.

Separately, I've been reading chapters of When The Church Was Young, about the early Christian Church fathers. Fascinating overview, and makes me want to read more about each individually.

Just finished: Ship Of Ghosts by James D. Hornfischer. Excellent book, as are his others. About the USS Houston at the beginning of WWII (and some earlier history of it). First half-ish about the Battle of Java Sea and its eventual sinking (along with the HMAS Perth). The second half is about the survivors being taken as POW's and working as slaves on the Burma-Thailand railroad (Houston mostly working on the Burmese side) Americans, British, Australian, Dutch - terrible treatment (3 - 3 1/2 years until the war ended). Some of their captors charged with war crimes and hung.

If you liked Monte Walsh, you should check out The Virginian by Owen Wister. It's a classic and not anything at all like the television series.

Wife goes away on vacation to visit a friend for a week giving me prime reading time-
Just picked up Carl Hiaasen's Fever Beach

And waiting the arrival of Randy Wayne White's latest- Tomilson's Wake (Doc Ford series)- preordered on Amazon and due 8/23

AUTiger89-
Read the McGee series 30 years ago- still have them all (in paperback) Great series.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:

The Libby/Kindle thing was a no-go, guess my Kindle is just too old for it.

Are you sure about that? When I download using Libby, I am presented with a choice of formats. Some books are not available in Kindle format, you might have hit one of those.

You can download FREE Kindle apps for computers, tablets, and smartphones, if you do not have a compatible Kindle device.

Red Platoon: A True Story of American Valor. Clinton Romesha

True accounting of the battle of outpost Keating near Kamdesh.

It's pretty intense.

From Wiki: The Battle of Kamdesh took place during the War in Afghanistan. It occurred on October 3, 2009, when a force of 400 Taliban assaulted the American Combat Outpost ("COP") Keating near the town of Kamdesh in Nuristan Province in eastern Afghanistan.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:

The Libby/Kindle thing was a no-go, guess my Kindle is just too old for it.

Are you sure about that? When I download using Libby, I am presented with a choice of formats. Some books are not available in Kindle format, you might have hit one of those.

You can download FREE Kindle apps for computers, tablets, and smartphones, if you do not have a compatible Kindle device.

I'm not sure of the situation here but,
My Mom's kindle was too old to run Libby. Since her kindle was in my name (and I think you can add family) I would get her books w/ my Libby and it would share to all kindle devices regardless.

So you may even be able to get them w/ your PC and then read on you other devices.

Three Inch Teeth by CJ Box. Another in the Joe Pickett series.