Book Recommendations

Autumn appears to be here to stay, and with it shorter, colder days and longer, colder nights perfect for lounging in front of the fire, wrapped in one of Agnes's quilts, sipping hot cider and reading good books.

I did less recreational reading this past summer than I usually do because I've been reading extensively on the ongoing political circus and its accompanying social implications. But I have read several good books over the past few months, and I thought I'd pass on a couple of recommendations ...

Those of you who, like me, are military history buffs, will enjoy Giles Milton's fascinating book Churchill's Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, a history of the amazing group of odd, driven heroes who planned the ingenious, vicious unconventional warfare campaign against Hitler's Germany during World War II. Starting with virtually nothing but the far-out-of-the-box ideas of a couple of unprepossessing military men, a few brilliant women, and no resources, Britain developed what became the Special Operations Executive, a secret military department that spread across the British Isles, developed and fielded millions of devilish weapons, and helped to create the American Office of Special Services (OSS), the forerunner of today's CIA. This is a story every bit as exciting as any adventure fiction you'll read, although it's not for the squeamish - two major characters were the world's leading experts in silent killing, and the descriptions of the techniques they taught to thousands of guerrillas are truly horrifying in a time when we're used to the idea of killing from drones without getting our hands dirty. The story of the destruction of the all-but impregnable Norsk Hydro plant, vital to the Nazi effort to create an atomic bomb, is a nail-biting tale of courage in the face of impossible odds, and the guerrilla campaign in France that prevented the German 2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich" from responding in time to stop the Normandy landings showed how a small number of brave, determined men and women - well-equipped, motivated, and willing to die - could take on and humble a vast armored force is thrilling. Also worth noting is the years-long campaign of the traditional army, used to war as a "gentlemanly" conflict conducted according to "civilized" rules, to hamper the development of the dirty, "ungentlemanly" irregular forces that proved to be so effective. This is a great book for those interested in military history, and also for those who just love exciting tales of true-to-life adventure.

Turning to the fiction world, I can also recommend Stephen Baxter's The Massacre of Mankind, a sequel to the classic H.G. Wells science fiction novel The War of the Worlds. Set 14 years after the Martian invasion described by H.G. Wells, Baxter's story tells the story of the return of the Martian invaders, how humanity had prepared for their return, and how the Martians had adapted and changed their tactics as well. Many of the characters in the sequel are those who appeared in the original novel, although now they have names (which, in the original, many didn't). This is an exciting, well-plotted, and well-researched novel that imagines a very different world at the turn of the last century - a world where, because of the Martian invasion, the First World War took a very different turn that resulted in some unexpected alliances. It works both as science fiction and as alternative history - you can compare it to the wonderful Worldwar series by Harry Turtledove, which I also recommend highly.

What do you recommend? Leave a comment so that I have more to explore on those long, dreary winter days.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo