Review of Hearts of Courage
This book tells the story of a plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness and the subsequent month-long survival of four of the plane’s six occupants. The story is told by the son of one of the survivors. It’s a compelling story but one that might have been better had the story been handled a little differently.
Review of Methland
The story told in Methland concerns the impact that the drug methamphetamine has had on the lives of the people of one small town in America. The town the author chose to highlight is Oelwein, Iowa. But the negative circumstances attributed to meth use in Oelwein are the same in countless towns and cities across the country. The author could easily have written the same book by focusing on any number of similar towns by simply interchanging characters.
Review of Hunting Eichmann
Fans of fiction often complain that nonfiction books tends to be dry. They obviously haven’t read the right books. I started this blog, in part, to expand the reach of great nonfiction. Hunting Eichmann is a real life thriller that is better than anything Tom Clancy or any other comparable fiction writer could dream up.
Review of Fordlandia by Greg Grandin
The title Fordlandiais not the catchiest title, but it is an appropriate title because it accurately reflects what this book is about. Fordlandia is the name given to a large parcel of land in Brazil purchased by Henry Ford for the purpose of growing rubber trees with the hope of using that rubber in his expanding automotive empire. It is also a story about what happens when Henry Ford tries to transplant a midwestern town in the middle of the Amazon.
Review of Look me in the eye by John Elder Robinson
This book is a memoir written by the brother of the author of Running With Scissors, Augusten Burroughs. Unlike most people who have read Look me in the eye, I have not read Augusten’s book, though I probably will read it now. I give a lot of credit to people who see one author have a lot of success with a book and then decide that they have something to add and can do just as good a job. Frank McCourt’s brother wrote his own memoir after Angela’a Ashesbecame a best seller. I haven’t read it, but the book has done well. Some of the soldiers covered in Mark Bowden’s Blackhawk Down wrote their own book. One of the boat captains in the story A Perfect Stormhas written a couple of successful books. A lot of good books don’t make it because they can’t find an audience. So there’s nothing wrong with riding the coattails of another book.
Review of Horse Soldiers
The story told in the book Horse Soldiers is a modern day western. Not only do we have American special force soldiers riding into battle atop horses alongside Afghan fighters, the story has many of the same plot devices, including a siege at a wood and mud fort. The one difference is that this story is true and it took place not long after the hijackings of September 11, 2001.