Aflame: Learning from Silence by Pico Iyer

This chronicles Pico's 30 years of going to the catholic monistary in northern California. (see also Fire Monks: Zen Mind Meets Wildfire by Colleen Morton Busch)

The Tiger Slam

The Tiger Slam: The Inside Story of the Greatest Golf Ever Played (Tiger Woods in 2000–2001) by Kevin Cook

This biography/Tribute to Tiger Woods concentrates on his amazing wins in 2002-2001. His upbringing and later issues with health problems and scandals is mentioned, but this really is a love letter to Tiger. In some ways very diservingly, he was an amazing athlete and arguably the best golfer of all time, having changed the game and revitalized interest in golf during his run.

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.