OneGuyFromBarlick

James Watt is good but heavy reading. I decided to give myself some time out so I've started re-reading John le Carre yet again. I never tire of them, so well written.

Le Carre is going down well. Wonderful writer, I am on 'The Looking Glass War' now and enjoying it. If you've never read him have a stab at it, you won't be disappointed.

Getting vast enjoyment out of le Carre..... He is such a good writer.

Two books by Anthony Beevor arrived yesterday, 'Arnhem' his latest and 'Ardennes' one that I have been meaning to read. I like Beevor.... Funny thing is that the Ardennes book is a large print edition. No mention of that on the web site when I ordered it but it will be a new experience and probably better for me.....

'Ardennes' is great! Beevor has done his research and it's full of the sort of insights that general history misses. He is very dismissive of Montgomery which pleases me because even in the days when we relied on BBC News for our propaganda ration I was deeply suspicious of him simply because I didn't like the man. It seems my instinct was right.....

I finished Ardennes yesterday. Brilliant book and I learned a lot.......
I've read Chris Aspin's book as well, very surprising facts and full of interest.

I have started on Antony's latest, 'Arnhem'. Another cold hard look at what was a military disaster from start to finish. It reinforces the view that 'Military Intelligence' is an oxymoron..... Monty at his finest again! Our heroes (massaged by inspiring propaganda of course) now have feet of clay.

My latest book 'The psychology of Military failures.' Has him down as a good general but with Arnhem likened him to the Pope taking up safe braking and choosing his first job as the Bank of England. Out of his depth and too ambitious.

Eisenhower was convinced that Monty could never accept the fact that he might be wrong. Beevor reckons this experience scarred him so much that it affected his attitude to Suez when he as President. He gives a lot of contemporary evidence to support his views.... I was always suspicious of him but put part of that down to my instinctive distrust of the 'officer class'. Turns out that my instinct was perhaps right. Mind you, none of the high ranks were infallible.....

I'm half way through Arnhem but it is such a tale of woe I put it down and retreated into le Carre's 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy'. I never tire of this book!

I finished Tinker Tailor..... A wonderful book that you can read over and over again.

John Clayton delivered his latest book yesterday, ' Hill Forts, Homesteads and Habitats in the East Lancashire Pennines'. It's a big format, 400 pages and crammed with high quality research covering 63 sites.
This isn't a page turner, it's a reference book and what I call a dipper. The quality of production and the content are superb and I have told John it's a credit to him. I don't know of any other source that gives so many clues! I hope it triggers interest in the sites and possible deeper investigation there is so much more to learn.
John has produced a masterpiece and I would urge anyone with an interest in the landscape to seek it out and get a copy. I for one will be going back and dipping into it a lot over the next few weeks, so much to take in!

I haven't read this new book but it got an excellent review in The Times this weekend and it's endorsed by the official web site of the USS Indianapolis Survivors. The Indianapolis transported the parts for the atom bomb in 1945. This from their web page... LINK

INDIANAPOLIS
By Lynn Vincent & Sara Vladic
For the first time, thanks to years of original research and new reporting, two acclaimed authors deliver the riveting and emotionally wrenching full story of the worst sea disaster in United States naval history: the sinking of the USS Indianapolis during World War II—and the fifty-year fight to exonerate the captain after a wrongful court martial.
Based on new primary sources and interviews with 107 survivors, Vincent and Vladic reveal the untold stories of the crew left adrift for five days in the Philippine Sea as they battled dehydration, sharks, insanity, and each other; the Army spy who shepherded the bomb aboard Indianapolis; the hidden history of the Top Secret ULTRA program that could have saved the ship; and the survivors’ fifty-year fight for justice. In this powerfully emotional account—unfolding against the larger war and the historic actions of titans of the era—the USS Indianapolis and its heroic crew come to full, vivid, unforgettable life.

Interesting Tiz..... I am tempted!
I'm still filling in the odd hour re-reading Le Carre. I am nearly at the end of 'A Perfect Spy'. Not an easy read but brilliant, you can read it time and time again.

Still on le Carre..... I'm reading Secret Pilgrim now.....

Of course I had to find 'Oranges are not the only Fruit' after seeing a programme about the author Jeanette Winterson, last night. I'm amazed I found it so quickly - nothing is shelved in any particular order in my book world.

I sometimes lose track of mine David..... I've been snatching the odd chapter of Cronin in between nursing duties.

I've been re-reading 'Fame is the Spur' by Howard Spring. I last read it many years ago and it's still a good story covering the life of Labour politician from his birth in the slums of Manchester to his elevation to the House ogf Lords. It takes in many things on the way including the Suffragettes. Well worth looking at if you want a serious read! Published in 1940.
I've ordered 'Fear. Trump in the White House' by Bob Woodward. It will be released in time to get to me by the 11th of the month. From what I have heard it's a savage critique and I trust Woodward. (Trump says it is a bad book.......)

Amazon apologised for a delay in the delivery of Woodward's book but it arrives today so watch this space!

Just finished Bill Bryson's book on Shakespeare, Even China would find it interesting. Not that it quotes endless bits of plays etc but lists all the things we don't know about him which appears to be a lot more than we than we do know. Not a big book, 190 ish pages but if you can find a second hand copy its worth a look at just to able to upstage these know all's.

I enjoyed that Bryson book too, Plaques. `Down Under' is a very funny read about his visit to Australia. `A Short History of Nearly Everything' is good on science and was one of the bestselling popular science books of 2005 in the UK.

I'm reading a novel published in 1948 and it's noticeable how some things have changed since then. The main character is in London and while near Tower Bridge he comments on the noise of the heavy docks traffic - there won't be much of that now. In central London in the late evening he notes how there are still some lights on in the office blocks - nowadays they're on 24/7!

You make me feel old Tiz, I used to go to those docks.
Woodward arrived late yesterday.

I'm having another go at Boris Johnson's Churchill book, which I find from the Abebooks slip, that I have had for two years, and from the bookmark that I only got to p. 27 last time.

It's good - I'm learning a lot about Churchill, (I actually knew he was once MP for Oldham) and a bit about Boris. Disappointed that the word tergiversate has yet to appear, when there was ample opportunity to use it. Probably a bit too esoteric for him.

You've probably heard about yellow hi-vis vests being banned at Edinburgh Zoo because they're frightening the pandas and deterring them from mating. The Telegraph has a cartoon of two pandas, one saying to the other: "They should put a hi-vis vest on Boris".

David, The best biog of Churchill I ever found was William Manchester's 'The last Lion'. It was to be a trilogy but he only wrote two volumes before he died.
LINK
I found you this link on Bookfinder but when I opened it I found that the third volume exists! So I have ordered it from the US for £16 because that will be a good hardback..... Thanks for raising the matter!