Review: All Systems Red

All Systems Red by Martha Wells
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

"Robocop" in space. An android, at times displaying the human traits of self-centeredness and laziness, is contracted to protect a crew researching a planet, who are then attacked by another crew with other, similar security androids. The description of the fighting feels right out of a "Transformer" movie battle. This book has a lot going for it. The android hero of the book has a checkered past, loves human soap operas, and has a little more free will than most other security androids in the field. The world is bureaucratic, and oh so familiar in the bungling and the legal ramifications. A great introduction to the character. I will be reading more.

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Review: Stillness Is the Key

Stillness Is the Key by Ryan Holiday
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I've read many of these types of books. This one feels very familiar, treading similar paths to other books, providing its "insight" in a new-agey language. I felt comfortable reading this book. I enjoyed the anecdotes and the organization of the author's thoughts without giving anything too much thought. I found this good for a relaxing take on stillness but I'm starting to get jaded with these types of books being so similar.

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Review: And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer

And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Short, beautifully written novella about the gradual loss of a grandfather through dementia and the relationship he has with his grandson. I found it moving - it hit very close to home. I enjoyed how the author ended the story with the circle of life. And so it goes.

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Review: The Memory Police

The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Reading this in mid-2021, this relates quite readily to the current discussion of the government taking away freedoms and where that slippery slope leads to. In “The Memory Police”, residents of an unnamed country are lead somehow to understand that something that they used to know is no longer to be talked about, or owned, or seen. The way it is described is a kind of mass brainwashing – all of the sudden one day, for instance, hats are no longer to be talked about, or owned, and people throw their hats away. There seems no rhyme or reason for what is chosen to be forgotten. The memory police are the wing of the government that enforces the elimination of items, including the “re-education” of people that can’t seem to forget what needs to be forgotten. As the book goes on, you learn of a waning effort to fight the losses. And the memories that are lost get larger and more imposing over time, from hats to birds to parts of the body. The writing is haunting. The story is prescient.

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Review: The Man in the Rockefeller Suit: The Astonishing Rise and Spectacular Fall of a Serial Imposter

The Man in the Rockefeller Suit: The Astonishing Rise and Spectacular Fall of a Serial Imposter by Mark Seal
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I read the blurbs on this book before reading, and expected a kind of “Catch as Catch Can” type of imposter book. This was quite different. In “Catch as Catch Can”, if I recall correctly, the focus of the book was a man who portrayed people with vastly different careers, from pilots to doctors. In “…Rockefeller Suit”, our imposter didn’t so much change the vocation he was playing. Instead, he portrayed a rich guy, which over the years morphed into a specific story about being a Rockefeller cousin. He fooled most that he ran into, including a wife. I kept comparing this imposter to the one in the earlier book, and I find the other guy seems to be a bit smarter, a bit more wily, a lot more interesting. This book also seemed to end weakly, with a glossed over trial and some unanswered questions.

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Review: Pioneers of France in the New World

Pioneers of France in the New World by Francis Parkman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Parkman tells of the early French settlements in what is now Florida as well as later French settlements in Canada and the Northern American coast. First thing is that Parkman is a story teller. He makes his stories of settlements made and destroyed quite interesting. I was left with a number of observations.

Even in a book about the French, religion and religious differences are a constant source of friction. The religious animosities between French and other settlers, as well as among the French themselves, led to many lost lives and destroyed settlements. From the Spanish destroying the mostly Protestant French settlements in Florida, to the later pro- and anti-Catholic French settlements in Canada, to worries about what the Jesuits are thinking, understanding religion is a big part of the enterprise here.

Another observation is that most of the French settlements put mostly colonist who were unfit for colonizing. Most seemed to spend their time doing a little work, but mostly waiting for another ship full of supplies (and perhaps women, since they were almost entirely men). This waiting for the supply ship was so important that the settlers trained the natives to help them look for ships and to report when one was spotted. The two groups that seemed to thrive in the new world were the trappers/fur traders and the guys with the guns – the army.

You also see that this exploration business was quite risky. Financing was difficult and involved making deals with unfriendly powers, generally royals or the church. And the King granted licenses to settle and removed licenses capriciously. In this volume, I don’t believe any of the company founders got rich. In fact most lost all their money and died poor. Perhaps this was a French issue, the few Spanish mentioned here did well and reaped rewards.

I’m looking forward to reading more of Parkman’s works.


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Review: The Way I Heard It

The Way I Heard It by Mike Rowe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you remember radio voice Paul Harvey, you probably recall one of his radio shows called “The Rest of the Story”. In this show’s episodes, Harvey told a story with one aspect, usually the main actor, described in some vague way. About half way through his story, he laid out “The Rest of the Story” and spilled the beans on just who or what he was talking about. For instance, he might start a story about a fellow named Archie who worked in the circus, and in the end you find out Archie was actually Cary Grant. Well, in Mike Rowe’s “The Way I Heard It”, Rowe writes a number of these identical types of stories, even crediting Paul Harvey for the concept. What Rowe adds is a bit of personal autobiography in between each story. Sometimes these snippets are tied to the main stories, sometimes not so much. Rowe has had a twisty path through the entertainment industry. I found his life story quite interesting, unexpectedly so given his travails in television shopping networks and hosting shows about difficult jobs. Rowe is an entertaining writer, and seems to be a genuine guy.

I had read and enjoyed most of the books that Paul Harvey and his son put out based on “The Rest of the Story”, and because of that Rowe’s book felt very familiar. But while the stories had moments of interest, Rowe’s own stories were fun and well told. I’d easily read more by him. By the way, I listened to this in audiobook format, with Rowe narrating. The author has a very casual and friendly way to tell his stories, and I believe his narration added to the interest I had in the book. Well done.


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Review: A Black Hawk War Guide: Landmarks, Battlefields, Museums and Firsthand Accounts

A Black Hawk War Guide: Landmarks, Battlefields, Museums and Firsthand Accounts by Ben Strand
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I chose to read this guide to the Blackhawk War because I grew up in a small town just up the Mississippi River from Rock Island, Illinois, where the War began. I had always been intrigued that a War had occurred so near my hometown yet it was something that wasn’t taught in school. It makes one wonder. This book showed that, yes, the War did touch near my home, and that yes, there was a reason it isn’t talked about, even in Lincoln’s time. When the War began, Blackhawk left Rock Island and headed up the Rock River into Wisconsin. The American response was of two parts. First, the Illinois state militia followed Blackhawk’s tribe up river quickly, while the Federal troops took some additional time to begin their trek North. The book describes official markers that concern the War in Illinois and Wisconsin. It ends up the first marker is in Hillsdale, Illinois, a mile from where I attended 6th grade, and something I never knew about. No mention of Lincoln in the writeup about that marker and the first days of the campaign.

The author does a nice job in providing a guide to the War. He describes the initial political environment and reasons for the War, then gives the chronology of the War and battles, and ends with some post-War details on the major participants, in particular Blackhawk. The “guide” part of the book includes description of historic and natural aspects of the lands covered by the armies of the US and the tribe. The author also briefly describes the major participants, including a number of Chiefs, including “The Prophet”, that had an impact on the decisions made before and during the War. The author describes the chronology of the War. And the author also covers the current day historic and even tourism highlights of the areas included. With this book as a guide, one could put together a historic tour of the battle from beginning to end, and be sure to see many of the major landmarks, historic markers, and tourist sites. He even mentions one of the riverboat tours from the Quad Cities to Dubuque as a way to get a feel for the River (although he neglects mentioning a second boat that has a similar itinerary).

The author also makes sure to inform the readers that many people of the time, apparently including Lincoln, did not look upon this War as a noble effort. Lincoln rarely mentioned his part in this War, even though his military service might have in general helped in his elections. This explained to me why this wasn’t something that was taught in my school near where the War began.

Overall, this was a wonderful book if you are local to the area and are interested in the history of the Blackhawk War. It is even more valuable if you want to drive to the sites of the War, making sure to see markers, forts, towns, and tourist stops that are likely not collected in this way anywhere else. I look forward to making such a tour in the near future.


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