Empress of the Nile

Empress of the Nile: The Daredevil Archaeologist Who Saved Egypt's Ancient Temples from Destruction by Lynne Olson

This history/biogrpahy of egypt and egyptology tells the fascinating story of Christiane Desroches-Noblecourt and her lifelong involvement with egyptian antiquities, her amazing effort to save monuments and her tireless ability to share the stories of the Pharoahs.

Obelisk Odyssey

Obelisk Odyssey: 26 Ancient Monoliths, 4 Continents, and 1 Man's Monumental Search for Meaning by Mark Ciccone

Part travelogue, journal, history. This rambling but fun 'odyssey' follows the travels of Egyptian oblelisks from their origin to where they and up in cities all over the world. This is very entertaining and allows the author to describe his travels as he tracks down the oblelisks and describes the history of each one along with the travails that followed the monuments to their present resting places.

The Army that Never Was

The Army that Never Was: George S. Patton and the Deception of Operation Fortitude by Taylor Downing

This WW2 history documents the 'deception' strategies of the Allies in their attempt to confuse the Nazis as to the real strategies and troop strenght of the Allies. In particular the attempt to make sure the Germans did not know that the D-Day invasion of Nomrandy was 'the' invasion, leading them to believe that the real invasion would take place in Calais. This worked wonderfully and the Germans held large numbers of troops at Calais that could have been used to interupt the Normandy invasion. Surprisingly despite the title Patton plays a very minor part in this book.

The Scapegoat

The Scapegoat: The Brilliant Brief Life of the Duke of Buckingham by Lucy Hughes-Hallett

This is the story of James the first of England, told through his 'favourite' the Duke of Buckingham. James I was the successor to Elizabeth the first, he was the son of Mary Queen of Scotts and was raised in Scotland and was the scottish king James VI. James had many 'facourites' who were people he apparently had a physical relationship with, but he appointed them to high offices. The Duke came for an average family, not royal, which was part of the issue with people who thought he was reaching above his status. However, he appeared to be a talented hard working person who was more than a pretty face.

The history is very detailed and in some ways too much so. The author gets bogged down in details that don't really enhance the story, I found myself skipping large sections of the book to move ahead.

The Forbidden Garden

The Forbidden Garden: The Botanists of Besieged Leningrad and Their Impossible Choice by Simon Parkin

The largest seed back in the world is in St Petersberg, but it was founded in the 12920s when the city was Leningrad. The see back was world renowned and created by a world renowned scientist. During WW2 and the seige of Leningrad, the dedicated workers at the seed bank protected the collection, even at their own peril.

Into Unknown Skies

Into Unknown Skies: An Unlikely Team, a Daring Race, and the First Flight Around the World by David K. Randall

The true account the first flight to go around the world, in stages and over 175 days. The Douglas World Cruiser aircraft was a 2 seater open cockpit plane. The US team started in Seattle and flew west, flying through freezing arctic conditions and through broiling desert heat. The US team started with 4 planes, each plane had a pilot and mechanic. Any time something brokde on the planes, the crew had to fix everything themselves. The US team had one plane actually finish the race. Other attempts were made by the UK, France, Portugal and Argentina. Each of these had a single plane. The major advantage the the US had was the US Navy havnig ships that supported the effort. This race was the idea of Gneral Mitchell in an attempt to get support for a more robust US military air effort.

Henry V

Henry V by Dan Jones.

Henry V was king of England in the early 1400s. A relatively short reign but a very active one. He brough Wales back to England after a very tough rebellion, and spent many years and battles in France, mostly Normandy. The most famous of his battles was Agincourt, where he was outnumbered in troops by the French. This was a very well written history, which I wanted to keep going. He fought so many battles in Normandy that I began to wonder if the Allies had studied these battles before launching D-Day.

The Notebook

The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper by Roland Allen

Not to be confused with the Nicolas Spark book, as the subtitle says this is about paper and it application to notebooks. The basic premise is that when paper started to be mass produced in Italy in the 1400 this allowed the renaisanse to take off. Before this writing was done on velum, time consuming and expensive to produce and basically used the the Church to illuminated manuscripts. With paper readily available artists could carry a sketch book with them wherever they went and practice their craft. The best known of the notebooks are Leonardo Da Vinci's, of which a portion survive. Cheap notebooks allowed for diaries, journals, sketchbooks, thought diaries, lists, idea books to be carried by many people. There is also the premise that writing changed the way people think and work and the act of writing in a notebook allowed people to become better writers and thinkers.

Manhunt

Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson

This is a chronicle mainly of John Wilkes Booth before and the aftermath of the assasination of Lincoln. The author concentrates on the facts of the conspiracy to kill not just Lincoln but several high ranking members of the Feberal government. There is actually a lot of detail that is available about Booth after he shot Lincoln and fled the capital. Some of the details become tedious.

The Future Was Now

The Future Was Now: Madmen, Mavericks, and the Epic Sci-Fi Summer of 1982 by Chris Nashawaty

This book chronicles the watershed year of 1982, which during the summmer saw the release of 6 movies: E.T., Tron, Star Trek: Wrath of Khan, Conan the Barbarian, Blade Runner, Poltergeist, The Thing, and Mad Max: The Road Warrior. The 1970s blockbusters Jaws and Star Wars saw everyone scrambling to create their own money maker, resulting in this glut of summer movies.

The Bookshop

The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore by Evan Friss

This is the history of the boostore 'bookshop' mostly in north America. Starting the colonial times, with of course Ben Franklin and coming up through the present mega bookstores such as Barnes and Noble. Along the way small and specialty bookshops are explored. Many niche bookstores were important centers of communities in the civil rights era with black bookstores and LGBT bookstores providing vital info for their communties. Many stories of the personalities of people who were instrumental in creating the modern bookstore. Many of the pioneers were women at a time when there were not many options available, and there are nice little known stories such as the groundbreaking bookstore on the thrid floor of Mashal Fields in Chicago.

PARIS 1944

PARIS 1944: Occupation, Resistance, Liberation, by Patrick Bishop

From the title it would seem this book is about the liberation of Paris in WW2. Which it is but it is also much more going back to the 1930s and following major events of the war up until the liberation of Paris. The author concentrates on events but also major personalities during the War: Hemingway, De Gaulle, Robert Capa, Martha Gellhorn and many more not as well known but who played vital roles in the resistance and as soldiers on both sides of the conflict.

Many interesting facts come out, much is spent outlining the resistance and their role. Also traces the origins of many of the people in the Spanish civil war as a lead up to WW2.

A Machine to Move Ocean and Earth

A Machine to Move Ocean and Earth: The Making of the Port of Los Angeles and America by James Tejani.

Alexander at the End of the World

Alexander at the End of the World: The Forgotten Final Years of Alexander the Great by Rachel Kousser

The last years of Alexander the Great, when he was trying to integrate his many conquests from Macedonia to India into an integrated society. Interesting theories by the author of a subject that has been convered for millenia. Someplaces academic in nature, not surprising, but I am always surprised how much material is available to research aspects that are of really ancient nature.

Fur, Fortune, and Empire

Fur, Fortune, and Empire: The Epic History of the Fur Trade in America by Eric Jay Dolin

The history of the fur trade in the Americas, from pre-colonial times to the present. Very thoroughly researched and detailed story of the fur trade, which was a huge economic engine for a couple hundred years. The book focuses on the beaver trade in the 1700s and early 1800s. This is a good compliment, and more detailed acccount of the industry as described in the book Astor.

After the beaver trade faded for a time it was the American Buffalo that was hunted, almost to extinction. Also included here is not just the detail of the fur trade but the political implications and impact that the fur trade had.

A Walk in the Park and The Emerald Mile

A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarko

This book is by the same author of the well known "Emerald Mile". However, this is story a 'through hike' of the grand canyon, not the usual rim to rim hike, but hiking the length of the grand canyon following the Colorado from Lee's Ferry to where the river starts to enter Lake Mead. This is a tremendously difficult hike that has been completed by only a handful of people. The author and his photographer friend Pete started the hike fairly unprepared, and with the help experiences friends were able to accomplish their goal.

Along the way the history of through hikers, of the history of the national park and the story of the native people who have lived in the canyon for millenia. Also explored is the uncertain future of the canyon and its use and misuse.

The Emerald Mile: The Epic Story of the Fastest Ride in History Through the Heart of the Grand Canyon, was first published in 2014. Specifically this is the story of the fastest boat to travel through the Grand Canyon on the Colorado, but it is also the history of the rafting business that developed on the river. The many colorful personalities that made up the river guides are described, and of course these are a group of outsiders who lived a unique life on the river.

Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space.

Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space by Adam Higginbotham.

The story of the space shuttle Challenger and its tragic end. But also the story of the entire shuttle program and NASA in general. A lot of this story is known to anyone who was alive at the time, but the details are interesting. A lot of the story is the culture of NASA and the politics of the space program.

Chamber Divers

Chamber Divers: The Untold Story of the D-Day Scientists Who Changed Special Operations Forever by Rachel Lance

This is the history of the research done in the late 1930s and during the war on the effects on people of breathing different mixtures of oxygen, CO2 and nitrogen. This is with the intent of studying how people going at debts underwater. It was already known that coming up from depths too quickly caused the bends, but why this happened was not known. This was particularly important during the war as the leadership wanted to be able to scout beaches before sending in invasion troops. This resulted in what would become scuba gear, but a very early and crude version.

This also had implications for submarine crews and the development of mini-subs that could be used for spying. It is interesting that the scientists doing this research used themselves as the test subjects. They were of course very eccentric and quirky people, but definately pioneers. The title refers to the 'chambers' that they had access to that would simulate people going to depths.

Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose

Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball by Keith O'Brien

A rather amazing account of Rose's career as a baseball player and as a gambling addict. He really was one of the greatest ball players of all time, but what is astounding is the way he was able to pull off the gambling he did for so many years. This is really interesting in light of the recent incidents with Shohei Ohtani. Rose gambled on horse racing, Jai Lai, dog racing, football, basketball really almost anything someone would take a bet on. Ultimately his downfall was betting on pro-baseball and on his own team. The manic energy that it took to live like he did for so many years is extraordinary.

Another interesting aspect of this is that when Rose finally caught and was banned from baseball, was right at the time of the rise of steroids in pro-baseball, which became a much bigger scandal but somehow with less consequences for the people involved.

The Wide Wide Sea

The Wide Wide Sea: Imperial Ambition, First Contact and the Fateful Final Voyage of Captain James Cook by Hampton Sides

The last of Cook's three Pacific voyages proved to be fatal, and he would never return to England. As a navigator and map maker he was very much ahead of his time. It is amazing what he was able to accomplish with the crude instruments that he had available to him. The author points out that Cook had an 'anthropological' view of the new civilizations that he would find, long before the discipline of anthropology was founded, and against the trends of the time when most people viewed people as primitive and backward.

There is much that cannot be known about Cook on this last voyage, but evidence points to the fact that he acted uncharacteric on this voyage, which ultimately got him killed. By the time of his third voyage he was beyond the age that many captains would be when trying this kind of voyage. This is a great story of a great explorer. Among his crew on this last voyage were the young William Bligh and George Vancouver, so Cook did lay the groundwork for the future of British expansion into an Empire.

A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks

A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks by David Gibbins

In many ways this reads more as a textbook that a casual read. The author is very thorough in his descriptions. It is interesting that this is also the history of under water archaeology, that did not really begin until the late 1940s after Jacque Cousteau had created the modern scuba diving system. The shipwrecks are described starting with the oldest that have been salvaged and goes up to a shipwreck from WW2. His descriptions are good and intriguing, and do make we want to visit some of these wrecks that have been salvaged, like the English ship the Mary Rose.

Ghost Town Living

Ghost Town Living: Mining for Purpose and Chasing Dreams at the Edge of Death Valley by Brent Underwood

The author is already known to many through his social media presence, which apparently documented much of what is described in this book. Brent bought an abandoned mining town on a mountain above Death Valley in 2018 and then proceeded to restore and explore. He goes through many tribulations, develops a community of locals that help him out, and in the process has many philisophical thoughts. The people he meets are people who have chosen to live in Death Valley so are definately out of the mainstream.

Twelve Trees

Twelve Trees: The Deep Roots of Our Future by Daniel Lewis

This book is not about 12 individual trees, but twelve tree types. The author illustrates the history of the trees, what makes them unique, their native habitats etc. And he describes how environmental change is affecting the trees. He describes trees such as the bristlecone pine and the baobob. This book can be a bit dense in its details, but it is done well.

Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism

Edward R. Murrow and the Birth of Broadcast Journalism by Bob Edwards. Bob Edwards recently passed away, and that is how I found out about this book. Of course I knew the name Murrow, but did not know the extent to which he created broadcast news. A relatively short life, but a very impactful one. He really was at the center of many of the major events of the 20th century.

The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel

Rudolf Diesel created, yes, the diesel engine. As a more effecient and powerful engine he saw this as a way to further the advance of civilization. Diesel fuel does not burn so is safer when using, especially in a boat, where a fire can be horrible. His engines used in shipping and then in submarines allowed major advancements. However, he became disalusioned that his engine became a main tool for use with war. Especially as Germany rearmed and tried to retain exclusive rights to the engine. Rudolf was german. The ending of this books illustrates the mystery of what happened to him, he may have drown on a fairy crossing of the english channel, or he may have faked his death, which there is good evidence for.

Astor and Vanderbilt

These two books follow the two wealthy american families the Astors and Vanderbilts, tracing how they obtained their vast wealth and how they spent their money. The Astors held on to their money for much longer, but both families fortunes finally came to an end.

Eiger Dreams by Jon Krakaur

The Eiger is of course in the Alps, but this book is really about climbing the high peaks all over the world. He illustrates the people who climb and they are of course a unique bunch, many of whom do not survive.