THE TAKING OF JEMIMA BOONE By Matthew Pearl

THE TAKING OF JEMIMA BOONE: Colonial Settlers, Tribal Nations, and the Kidnap That Shaped America By Matthew Pearl Fascinating story of the kidnapping of Daniel Boone's daughter in 1776. Really more of a story of Daniel Boone, who was also taken by native americans, and even adopted by a tribe. The details of the struggle on the frontier of the new States during the revolution is a complicated political story that involved a lot of colorful charectars.

Taste: My Life Through Food

Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci. Well known actor, and this is not an acting memoir. Really is about food, and his love of food and cooking, with some references to film, but that is not the focus. He goes from his childhood in Upstate New York, and how he evolved into a foodie. Also, his bought with cancer and the impact that had on food, and continues to have, for him.

On Animals

On Animals by Susan Orleans. Well known best selling author. This is a collection so essays that have appeared elsewhere, most the New Yorker. Entertaining and well done of course. Spoiler alert, she likes dogs.

The Baseball 100

The Baseball 100 by Joe Posnanski. Baseball writer Joe gives his take on the 100 best players of all time. What is interesting about this is that it is not a countdown. Many of the players are listed at a number that is significant to them. Joe Dimaggio is 56, Jackie Robinson is 42 etc. So that makes it more interesting than starting at the bottom and working your way up. He does spend a lot of time with black players, the Negro League and the impact on the MLB that those players were not in the main stream. He also spends lots of time on stats, which is not really my thing, but thoroughly researched.

Decision in Normandy by Carlo D'Este

Decision in Normandy by Carlo D'Este. A very detailed account of the planning of the invasion of Normandy, the intentions and the reality of what can be executed and how you cannot control what your enemy does. I have never read a book with more excerps from books and documents, and more footnotes and endnotes. Mostly we get a view of what the leadership was planning, how they tried and in many ways were foiled by the Germans. We get a lot of information on the leadership and their personality, and how they got along or didn't with each other. It seemed to be very back and forth, generals who worked well with each other in Africa did not see eye to eye when fighting in Normandy. In particular the very controversal Montgomery. We really can't see if he was a brilliant strategist, a giant ego, or probably both.

Spearhead by Adam Makos

Spearhead by Adam Makos, the story of the 3rd Armored Division in WW2, chronicling the battles from the Bulge to the taking of Cologne and then the battle that took the fighting in to Germany and cut off the Ruhr industrial area from the German war effort. Told through the personal stories of the personal stories of the men who fought in the tanks, with some stories of their counterpart in the German tank forces. The writing is very accessible and relies on many original sources, telling the story from the soldiers point of view, not the tactitions and generals. There are many tough stories told here, as the reality of being on the front lines comes off the page.

Ascent by Chris Bonnington

Ascent by Chris Bonnington, the british mountaineer's memoir on his life as a climber. Because of the time period that his life covered, this also provides a great history of how modern mountaneering developed. From climbing in the Wales as a teen ager, to adventures in the Alps and then participating in the opening up of the Himalayas to climbers from all over the world. An interesting memoir from a pioneer of the field.