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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 19, 2020 15:50:16 GMT -5
The Last Sovereigns by Robert M. Utley
If you're looking for a biography of Sitting Bull this is probably not the place to start. There's nothing wrong with the book. It's very clear that Mr. Utley is very familiar with the subject and the research certainly appears to be complete and well rounded. And while the book does give enough background on Sitting Bull's life to keep one from getting lost (particularly if you're reasonably well versed in the history of the American West) that isn't the focus. Utley sets out, with appropriate background, to examine Sitting Bull's time living with his Hunkpapa followers in Canada after fleeing the United States. In particular Utley looks at the relationship between Sitting Bull and John Morrow Walsh, who was a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer and Commander of Fort Walsh when Sitting Bull and his followers settled near Fort Walsh in Wood Mountain Saskatchewan. Sitting Bull and Walsh entered into a friendship and an important relationship that caused significant local and international consternation. The influx of a relatively large number of Lakota into Canada, where indigenous tribes were already struggling with the demise of the buffalo was a significant problem. Internationally, Sitting Bull had caused a black eye to the United States with the defeat of Custer and they wanted the Lakota docilely settled on allotments. Since Canada's foreign policy was still largely handled by Great Britain at the time international diplomacy was involved in the attempts to get Sitting Bull and the Lakota back to the U.S. This has been a part of the history of Sitting Bull that tends to be glossed over in favor of the Battle of Greasy Grass (Little Big Horn), Sitting Bull's short time with Buffalo Bill's show and his assassination in 1890. And it's a topic deserving of the attention that Utley gives to it. It's just important to be aware that the other parts of Sitting Bull's life are given a fairly cursory coverage. That said, it is again an interesting and well researched book covering a largely overlooked part of American and Canadian history.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Aug 19, 2020 16:09:31 GMT -5
That sounds like a pretty cool series.. I might have to check it out.. I don't think I realize it was a series with a theme before when you've posted other reviews. Spent ALOT of time waiting the last couple days (my daughter stepped on a pencil and had to have surgery to remove the lead in her foot) so I got two books for ya today Memory Lois McMaster Bujold (Vorkosigan Saga #10) This book falls under the 'Miles Vorkosigan mysteries' part of the series (like Cetaganda) rather then 'the daring adventures of Admiral Naismith'.. I like the latter better. It's not a bad mystery, but not a spectacular one either, since it was clear who the bad guy was from the start. It appears I'm in the minority when I say this was my least favorite of the series so far. Perhaps it's because of the plot points that happens as part of the larger story... I knew what happened her was coming, and dreaded it, but they WAY it happened was totally out of character in my opinion, and forced other character to gloss over the event in a way that didn't make sense to the other sensibilities of the book. That's almost worse that the random coincidences that mar some of the other books, since this was purposeful. I suspect going forward we're going to have alot more relationships and Barrayar politics and alot less Galactic adventure and world building... i'll give that a chance, as LMB is great at characters (and they are still great, even if this plot forced them to act like other people).. I'm hoping this is an blip and the series will continue to be excellent after this. That Old Ball Game: How John McGraw, Christy Mathewson, and the New York Giants Created Modern Baseballby Frank Deford It sure is different reading a book about baseball from a WRITER, rather than a historian... most of the others I've read fall into the later category.. there's alot of fact, with a bit of color thrown in. This book is the opposite... it's all color, with just a few facts here and there. On the one hand, I probably would have got more out of the book if I hadn't already read several books about the era (and the Giants in particular), since very little of it was new to me. I could definitely see it being a great read for someone who is checking out the details of that era for the first time, though. My big quibble.. the title. John McGraw certainly did not create modern baseball.. he held one to the dead ball era as long as he possible could, until Babe Ruth literally clobbered it away. I guess it makes for good copy, but it's totally wrong. Anyway, definitely a good primer on McGraw and Mathewson.
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Post by Prince Hal on Aug 19, 2020 18:46:25 GMT -5
wildfire2099, if you enjoy that early period of baseball history, I have to recommend to you a novel called "The Celebrant," by Eric Rolfe Greenberg, in which Christy Mathewson plays a pivotal role in the life of one his most ardent fans, a Jewish immigrant named Jackie Kapp. It's a wonderful book, very accurate in its recounting of historical events, and both joyous and sad in its revelations. And Mathewson has moments of philosophical splendor when he talks about baseball in ways you might never expect, including his retort when he is reminded of the old romantic notion that baseball is just like life. "Baseball isn't anything like life," Mathewson says. "In truth, nothing in the game appealed to me as much as its unreality... Wouldn't life be easier if it consisted of a series of definitive calls: safe or out; fair or foul; strike or ball. Oh, for a life like that, where every day produces a clear winner and an equally clear loser, and back to it the next day with the slate wiped clean and the teams starting out equal." Enjoy.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Aug 19, 2020 22:17:49 GMT -5
I've got that on my list.. it's been referenced in couple things I've read... just debating whether I want to get it out of the library or track it down.. sound really cool.
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Post by EdoBosnar on Aug 20, 2020 6:49:34 GMT -5
Lud-in-the-MistHope Mirrlees, 1926 The setting is the titular city of Lud-in-the-Mist, which is the hub of a tranquil, prosperous country called Dorimare. To the west, Dorimare is bordered by the mysterious Fairyland, beyond the wonderfully named Debatable Hills, with which all commerce and communication have been forbidden for centuries. However, when certain people begin acting strangely, it becomes apparent that the forbidden ‘faerie fruit’ is being smuggled into the country. The town’s rather unassuming mayor, Nathaniel Chanticleer, has to step up and deal with the problem, particularly when it looks as though his son has partaken of said fruit. I was interested in reading this because it influenced a number of later fantasy writers after it was republished in the 1960s (Neil Gaiman apparently *really* loves it). And… I liked it well enough, although I was almost halfway through it before I thought the story finally kicked into gear. One thing I liked were some of the asides, like musings about laws and how they order our lives even though they’re just as unreal as fairy tales (because, according to the author, people can’t live without delusions). And, because I’m apparently still 12 years old, I audibly chuckled after reading this passage, describing a party being thrown in the mayor’s house, wherein many delicacies were being sampled and his young son rushed up to the mayor at one point and, “…with tears in his eyes, implored him, in a shrill terrified voice, not to cut the cheese.”
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Post by EdoBosnar on Aug 21, 2020 15:33:21 GMT -5
The Not-WorldThomas Burnett Swann, 1975 The Not-World is a forest outside of Bristol, England in the 18th century. The main characters are Deirdre, a somewhat sickly novelist, and Dylan, a burly sailor, who have to spend a night in the forest because the horses pulling their carriage got spooked, broke out of their harnesses and ran off. While there, they meet none other than child-prodigy poet Thomas Chatterton, who helps them survive the night – because there’s all kinds of dangerous magical goings-on in the woods and he knows how to deal with them. They end up returning to the Not-World with Dierdre’s aunt about 10 days later when they learn that Chatterton had apparently committed suicide in London (in real life, he did, here – not so much). During their search for the poet, they get waylaid by dwarves, night mares (actual creatures, not the bad deams) and other magical and mostly unfriendly sylvan denizens. This is a pretty decent and, at places, rather bawdy fantasy story. If you can find it cheap, like I did, it might be worth picking up, because this Daw edition has some nice illustrations by George Barr.
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Post by brutalis on Aug 22, 2020 15:12:31 GMT -5
Sharpe's Regiment by Bernard Cornwell delivers book 8 in the adventures of now Major Richard Sharpe as he takes the battle from Spain against the French into London. Here he must do battle against both politicians and thieves as tough as the soldiers of Napileon.
The mystery he is here to solve is why the army is not receiving new replacements on the field of battle for dead and wounded soldiers. Our boy Dickie and his always attendant (now temporarily RMS) Harper find they must go undercover as army recruits to uncover the truth. That being there are those in command making money from sales of recruits to far away foreign posts of the highest bidders.
Sharpe and Harper dutifully save the day in their usual stubborn belligerence, fighting Royal shenanigans while creating his new regiment of riflemen right under the nose of those making bank. Sharpe is reunited with a lovely lady (he does always manage to find such wondrous flowers of beauty in the mud and he tramples through) of which by story's end he has married.
Another rousing military romp for all to enjoy.
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Post by EdoBosnar on Aug 23, 2020 15:25:04 GMT -5
War with the NewtsKarel Čapek, 1936 (translation from Czech by Ewald Osers, 1985) A science fiction classic that I finally got around to reading. The basic story is that a new species of giant salamander or newt is found in a bay on a small island near Sumatra. They live in salt water, can stand upright, so they’re about 4 feet tall, and they can apparently speak – initially it’s thought that they repeat speech like parrots, but then it becomes apparent that they can actually learn human languages. They’re also quite adept at making any kind of structures under- or above water, like embankments, dams, and even artificial islands, and soon people start to put them to work, thinking of them as little more than cattle capable of skilled labor. Of course, humanity underestimates the newts, which leads to an entire series of unintended consequences and then open conflict – although the titular war only transpires in the last few chapters. Most of the rest of the book is just build-up and explanations. Čapek explores a lot of themes here, but especially human arrogance and hubris, as well as racism, colonialism and excessive consumerism. This is an absolutely fascinating book, written in a very engaging style, with considerable (esp. black) humor.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Aug 23, 2020 20:35:31 GMT -5
That sounds very interesting.. I'll have to find that one at some point! Blood is Bloodby Will Thomas (Barker and Llewelyn #10) I haven't checked in with Barker and Llewelyn for a while... so it was nice to visit them again. This was one of those books that was written mostly as a reward for long time readers... the continuity from other adventures was heavy. It was fun to see some old bad guys (all the more to make my comparison to Batman and Robin more apt)... they even had a asylum for them. All we need is for them to start coming back from the dead (maybe at the next wedding?) and we'll have full Superhero mode I was disappointed in the Caleb Barker parts... I expected more of his appearance... he was pretty superflous, imo. Very much a wasted opportunity. This could easily have been the last book... but there is another... the start of a new status quo? Or an epilogue? (Guess I'll find out soon)
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Post by berkley on Aug 23, 2020 23:24:22 GMT -5
The Last Sovereigns by Robert M. Utley
If you're looking for a biography of Sitting Bull this is probably not the place to start. There's nothing wrong with the book. It's very clear that Mr. Utley is very familiar with the subject and the research certainly appears to be complete and well rounded. And while the book does give enough background on Sitting Bull's life to keep one from getting lost (particularly if you're reasonably well versed in the history of the American West) that isn't the focus. Utley sets out, with appropriate background, to examine Sitting Bull's time living with his Hunkpapa followers in Canada after fleeing the United States. In particular Utley looks at the relationship between Sitting Bull and John Morrow Walsh, who was a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer and Commander of Fort Walsh when Sitting Bull and his followers settled near Fort Walsh in Wood Mountain Saskatchewan. Sitting Bull and Walsh entered into a friendship and an important relationship that caused significant local and international consternation. The influx of a relatively large number of Lakota into Canada, where indigenous tribes were already struggling with the demise of the buffalo was a significant problem. Internationally, Sitting Bull had caused a black eye to the United States with the defeat of Custer and they wanted the Lakota docilely settled on allotments. Since Canada's foreign policy was still largely handled by Great Britain at the time international diplomacy was involved in the attempts to get Sitting Bull and the Lakota back to the U.S. This has been a part of the history of Sitting Bull that tends to be glossed over in favor of the Battle of Greasy Grass (Little Big Horn), Sitting Bull's short time with Buffalo Bill's show and his assassination in 1890. And it's a topic deserving of the attention that Utley gives to it. It's just important to be aware that the other parts of Sitting Bull's life are given a fairly cursory coverage. That said, it is again an interesting and well researched book covering a largely overlooked part of American and Canadian history.
That sounds interesting. Have you read any of Utley's other books? I see quite a few titles in his wiki entry that sound like they might be worth a look.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 24, 2020 14:50:57 GMT -5
The Last Sovereigns by Robert M. Utley
If you're looking for a biography of Sitting Bull this is probably not the place to start. There's nothing wrong with the book. It's very clear that Mr. Utley is very familiar with the subject and the research certainly appears to be complete and well rounded. And while the book does give enough background on Sitting Bull's life to keep one from getting lost (particularly if you're reasonably well versed in the history of the American West) that isn't the focus. Utley sets out, with appropriate background, to examine Sitting Bull's time living with his Hunkpapa followers in Canada after fleeing the United States. In particular Utley looks at the relationship between Sitting Bull and John Morrow Walsh, who was a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer and Commander of Fort Walsh when Sitting Bull and his followers settled near Fort Walsh in Wood Mountain Saskatchewan. Sitting Bull and Walsh entered into a friendship and an important relationship that caused significant local and international consternation. The influx of a relatively large number of Lakota into Canada, where indigenous tribes were already struggling with the demise of the buffalo was a significant problem. Internationally, Sitting Bull had caused a black eye to the United States with the defeat of Custer and they wanted the Lakota docilely settled on allotments. Since Canada's foreign policy was still largely handled by Great Britain at the time international diplomacy was involved in the attempts to get Sitting Bull and the Lakota back to the U.S. This has been a part of the history of Sitting Bull that tends to be glossed over in favor of the Battle of Greasy Grass (Little Big Horn), Sitting Bull's short time with Buffalo Bill's show and his assassination in 1890. And it's a topic deserving of the attention that Utley gives to it. It's just important to be aware that the other parts of Sitting Bull's life are given a fairly cursory coverage. That said, it is again an interesting and well researched book covering a largely overlooked part of American and Canadian history.
That sounds interesting. Have you read any of Utley's other books? I see quite a few titles in his wiki entry that sound like they might be worth a look.
I have not read any of his other books. I'd be happy to do so if the opportunity arose.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 24, 2020 15:22:25 GMT -5
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick.
I finished this over two weeks ago and I'm still trying to decide how I feel about it. Ultimately this is, again, Dick looking at the nature of reality, something that was probably his major theme. This one also seems to have been written in the middle of a decade of very heavy use of speed when Dick was hacking out books at an unprecedented (for him) rate. The story, such as it is, has the UN (in charge for unknown reasons) randomly shipping people off to colonies on other planets (Dick is using Golden Age of SF Mars, for example). Since it's essentially a draft, the "colonists" spend a lot of time taking Can-D which allows them to escape into their "Perky Pat" dioramas and experience a quasi-life that doesn't include the drudgery of being a non-functional colonist. Because everything we see from Dick indicates that these people are only surviving on Mars, etc. because of authorial largess. They seem to not work, their farming equipment is falling apart, but somehow they survive because...reasons. Into this welcome Palmer Eldritch who returns from Proxima Centauri with a new drug, Chew-Zee, that the UN authority is prepared to allow to be legal, unlike the nominally illegal Can-D. Chew-Zee (apparently made from alien lichen) allows an altered state of mind without the use of the dioramas, and is supposed to be fully realistic. Except it also appears to be controlled by Eldritch. We also have pre-cogs and valiant corporate drones who are trying to save humanity from Eldritch so they can continue to be enslaved by the corporation. There seems to be an underlying theme of redemption. But the only person who seems to be redeemed is the pre-cog Meyerson...and ultimately I didn't care. While the review is largely negative I didn't find the book to be without any merit. There's definitely a corollary between the escape into either Can-D or Chew-Zee and the modern escape into the internet. And I'll admit that I was going through a significant reader's block during the book, so some of the problem may lie with me. But ultimately this is the worst thing that I've read by Dick.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Aug 24, 2020 15:51:47 GMT -5
Jerry and the Joker: Adventures and Comic Art by Jerry Robinson
This is an art-book with some minor memoir type stories by Robinson. I think it's meant as an art-book and not as a memoir. As the former it's okay, but not spectacular. As the latter it's mostly a failure. As I said in an early review of a book about Robinson I take no position on the creation of characters 80 plus years ago. Memories are fallible and I sure wasn't there. I will point out that Robinson says he never read a comic book but admired Eisner's work on the Spirit newspaper insert before he went to work for Bob Kane. But that insert absolutely did not appear until after Robinson was working in comics. I don't point that out to "gotcha" Robinson, only to show that memories aren't always reliable after many decades. The highlight of the book are reproductions of original art pages by Robinson, predominantly of his work on Batman. There is certainly some value on this as an art book. If you can find it cheap it's worth picking up for the pictures. But it will add very little to your understanding of Robinson or his work.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2020 4:37:33 GMT -5
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang While most fantasy draws on western, specifically western European traditions, folklore and culture, Kuang draws on eastern sources. Nikara and Mugen are roughly analogs for China and Japan the way many fantasy kingdoms are roughly analogs of medieval Britain or France. The mythical beasts draw on Asian folklore such as the Phoenix and the Ki-Rin, not things like centaurs, unicorns and orcs. Using this backdrop as a foundation stone Kuang crafts a compelling tale of the horrors of war, the price of victory and the sacrifices one must make for both. She also crafts a very compelling cast of characters, with Rin, he young war orphan girl who wins her way into the most prestigious military academy as her protagonist and the center around which the rest of the cast revolves. The titular Poppy Wars refers to a series of wars between Nikara and the Federation of Mugen, and the story begins with tensions rising between the two nation building towards the third such war. The book is divided into three parts. The first part covers Rin's humble beginnings as a war orphan adopted by a family of opium smugglers, her decision to take the Keju (a standardized test) to try to escape her fate, and her first year at Sinegard, the most prestigious academy in the nation after acing the Keju. The second part starts with Rin's second year at the academy as she chooses to study lore under the eccentric master Jiang and begins her path towards becoming a shaman as war tensions grow and leads to the Federation invasion of Nikara and the siege of Sinegard as Rin's heritage is revealed. The third follows her military career as part of the Cike, the "freak" division consisting of shamans and those considered outcasts who are usually more assassins than soldiers and their role in the early days of the Third Poppy War as Rin comes into her powers and her new position of prominence because of it. It's the first book in a series, and I am interested in reading more, but it is in many ways a dark and heavy read, and I have some other stuff I want to get to first. I did like this book a lot, and Kuang's exploration of shamanism and eastern traditions is a breath of fresh air in fantasy and very well done, but its exploration of war is dark, gruesome and disturbing. Also well done, but explicit in its depiction of the horrors and atrocities of war, which might not be for everyone. I would recommend this book to those who can handle it, bit not for those who are looking for fantasy as escapist. There's no escape here, just a brutal depiction of war in a fantasy setting. -M PS I want to give a shout out to the cover artist-Jung Shan Chang I really like the pen and ink drawings on the front and back covers. I found them very striking and I want to explore more of her work. PPS I should also mention that there is (especially in the in the exploration of shamanism) explicit drug use, especially hallucinogens and opium, so those who do not want to read about such things can be forewarned
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Post by EdoBosnar on Aug 26, 2020 16:09:10 GMT -5
Perilous DreamsAndre Norton, 1976 This is a collection of three novellas and a short story (the first one originally published in If magazine in 1969), even though the back cover blurb creates the impression that it’s a novel. The unifying theme is directed or ‘action’ dreaming – specifically, there’s a planet which has a class of people with the genetic ability to enter other people’s minds and create any kind of dream they want, and the dreams feel like reality. All of the stories involve the dream experiences taking unexpected turns and becoming a little “too real” – actually effecting changes in the real world. In general, I’ve never been disappointed by Andre Norton, but I have to say I liked the first part of this book, the first two novellas, far more than the last two. Those two featured the same characters, only in different settings, and there were some story elements that were left dangling that I wished had been resolved – in fact, I would have preferred if the book was indeed a novel that told the complete story of said characters. Overall, this isn’t a bad book, but I can’t say I’d recommend it over Norton’s many (so many) other, better efforts.
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