Stephen J. Alexander is an educator and author. You can learn more about this author here, visit his Facebook page here or see him on twitter @DwarfPlanets5.
WHO IS THE TARGET AUDIENCE?
Peter and the Dwarf Planets is written for children 5-11 years old.
SYNOPSIS
Peter and the Dwarf Planets is a bedtime story for children. It relates the adventures of a father and his son, Peter, exploring the solar system. The father, Daddy, is speaking with Peter about the different planets when the subject of dwarf planets comes up. As Peter starts to drift off to sleep, he imagines a great space adventure with Daddy. They travel together checking out all of the planets on their way out to Pluto.
CONCLUSION
Peter and the Dwarf Planets is a very short book. The story starts in a rhyming fashion, losses it for a couple of pages in the middle, and then rhymes to the end. The flow is easy and great for small children. It teaches kids about planets, dwarf planets, and our solar system while entertaining them.
The illustrations by Laura Coppolaro are very nice. They are colorful, fun, and appealing. They make the book a joy to look at while reading. A child can use their imagination while viewing the pictures and reading/hearing the story.
Overall, this book is a joy to read. Anyone will love sharing this story with their young children at bedtime. I only wish it were a little longer. I can’t wait to see what Peter and Daddy get up to next.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
SPECIAL MENTION – ILLUSTRATOR
Laura Coppolaro is a professional illustrator. You can find her on Facebook here or if you have need of her skills, you can contact her here. Her LinkedIn page is located here.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank Stephen J. Alexander and Olympia Publishers for affording me the opportunity to review Peter and the Dwarf Planets.
Learn about Jerry Borrowman, his books, speaking engagements and his life here.
WHO IS THE TARGET AUDIENCE?
This book is best suited for people who enjoy historic architecture and engineering. Anyone who likes suspense, death defying incidents and tragedy will find this book enjoyable.
SYNOPSIS
Catastrophes & Heroes is a chronological record of eight historic disasters and ends with the authors “Final Thoughts.” Each story is broken down for the reader into subsections such as: The Human Cost of Tragedy, an Overview, Fateful Choices, Victims and First Responder Heroes, and Professional Heroes.
This is a pre-release and therefore had no pictures or diagrams but the author will include period images in the final release. That being said, this copy had a notation in the proper location for each image that will eventually be included. I appreciated this concept as I could easily look online at images that would bring into focus the events described.
The subjects vary from Civil War paddle boat disasters, to train wrecks, to bridge collapses, to hurricanes and to damn failures. Each disaster tells the stories of individuals that were killed, maimed, who survived, the rescuers, the villains and the ramifications. Whether the cause of the disaster was an Act of God, greed, ignorance, or malice Jerry brings the stories to life before your eyes.
Although the stories are intriguing in their own right, I think the after effects are the most interesting. Because of these disasters, we of today are safer. Procedures have been scrutinized, and corrections emplaced to prevent these types of disasters from happening again.
CONCLUSION
Catastrophes & Heroes is an extensively researched look into a few of the world’s greatest historic disasters. The first-person monologues add to the stories and lets the reader feel as if they are really there viewing the incident in real time. Some personal stories are tragic, some are exhilarating, many are depressing, and while others are joyful.
Even though the book is superbly authored and researched, I found some of the stories more obscure. I would have liked reading about some more widely known disasters and their stories. I did learn a lot about the incidents recorded in this book and definitely found the Civil War paddle boat disaster the most interesting.
The authors “Final Thoughts” are just a rehash of what was previously covered. That section could have easily been left out of the book entirely. On balance, this book is an informative and enjoyable read, but not rememberable.
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank Jerry Borrowman, NetGalley, and Shadow Mountain for affording me the opportunity to review Catastrophes & Heroes.
Stephen and Matilda’s Civil War: Cousins of Anarchy
Author
Matthew Lewis
Publisher
Pen & Sword History (4 Nov. 2019)
Format
Kindle, Hardcover
Pages
280
Language:
English
ISBN # 10 / 13
1526718332 / 978-1526718334
AUTHOR
Matthew Lewis was born in England. He obtained a law degree, but history has always been his passion. He has authored numerous historical books, both fiction and non-fiction. You can find his blog here, his Facebook page here, his Goodreads page here, and his Twitter page here.
WHO IS THE TARGET AUDIENCE?
This book is best suited for historians, students of medieval history or anyone who enjoys learning about the English ancient ruling class.
SYNOPSIS
Stephen and Matilda’s Civil War is the tale of two cousins fight over the throne of England. King Henry I died in 1135 and had no legitimate male heir. His only legitimate son, William Adelin, drowned in the “White Ship” disaster in 1120. His only other legitimate child was Empress Matilda, a female. No female had ever ruled England at this time, but Henry I wanted her to reign after him. Unfortunately for Matilda she was in Anjou at the time of her father’s death. Her first cousin Stephen of Blois rushed in and usurped the crown in her absence. This led to The Anarchy (civil-war) that endured nearly two decades.
Matthew Lewis composes a compelling tale of a tumultuous time in English history. His research and writing ability are evident throughout the book. He delves into the chaos of the time and brings to light the suffering of all those involved. The war ebbs and flows back and forth with no one really seeming to get the upper hand. The external and internal conflicts surrounding this event in history are too numerous to comprehend, but Matthew does an excellent job. He uses personal accounts, quotes, and even a few images to help the reader try to understand the complexities of the times.
CONCLUSION
Stephen and Matilda’s Civil War is an exceptionally researched historic look at The Anarchy. The author is able to describe in detail the look and feel of the era, as if you were standing there observing it in real time. The battles, both political and literal are played out across the pages of this manuscript. A great read for anyone who is interested in medieval England.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank Matthew Lewis, NetGalley, and Pen & Sword History for affording me the opportunity to review Stephen and Matilda’s Civil War: Cousins of Anarchy.
Dangerous Shallows: In Search of The Ghost Ships of Cape Cod
Author
Eric Takakjian & Randall Peffer
Publisher
Lyons Press (January 24, 2020)
Format
Paperback, Kindle
Pages
272
Language:
English
ISBN # 10 / 13
1493042300 / 978-1493042302
AUTHORS
Find out more about Eric Takakjian on his linkedin page here. He can be found on Boston Sea Rovers here. Finally you can find some information on Eric at Doug Grad Literary Agency, Inc. here.
You can find some information on Randall at Doug Grad Literary Agency, Inc. here. Randall Peffer gives a 90 second video biography here.
WHO IS THE TARGET AUDIENCE
This book is for everyone. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a sailor, a diver, a history buff, an adventurer, or you just like a good thriller; this book has it all.
SYNOPSIS
Dangerous Shallows: In Search of The Ghost Ships of Cape Cod is a superbly written book that grips the reader from the very onset. Eric Takakjian takes the reader from the earliest of times in relation to diving techniques to modern mixed gasses. He intersperses his experiences with spellbinding tales of sunken ships and the events that led up to their tragic fates.
Eric explains in terms that are easy to understand all of the intricacies of diving and especially deep diving. He guides us through the uses of mixed gas to get to exceptionally deep wrecks and the troubles associated with each dive. He brings into view the price of miscalculation and bad circumstance and the lethal effects associated with deep diving. Intermixed is his own journey as a USCG crewman through his marriage and operating his own dive company while looking for those “virgin” wrecks.
Dangerous Shallows covers a myriad of different vessels and reasons for their current predicaments. The wrecks that Eric explores cover centuries of accidents, war, and depression. He takes the time to relate to the reader exactly what he sees and feels as he dives the wrecks. While swimming over the wrecks, he takes the reader back in time and makes the reader feel as if they are there for each vessel’s demise. The reader can feel the panic, the elation, the fear, or the determination of the people associated with each vessel.
Included within the book are the stories of his own trials and tribulations. He talks about the hardships keeping “virgin” wreck locations secret and the betrayal of “friends” who want to use his work for their own gains. He explains the research he, his wife, and friends undertake to locate and find each lost vessel. Eric describes the dangers each particular dive has; from currents, to sharks, to visibility issues, to the “bends.”
The author interfuses pictures and illustrations throughout the book. The color and black and white photos enhance the readers perceptions of the boats and the wrecks. Some of the photos are historic as are the schematics.
CONCLUSION
This book is thrilling, mysterious, and intriguing. Even if you don’t know much about diving and especially deep diving, this book easily explains the terms and conditions. The stories of the individual wrecks are told in vivid detail. The reader can easily feel as if they are right there with him on this journey of discovery. I heartily recommend this book for everyone.
AKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank Eric Takakjian and Randall Peffer, NetGalley, and Lyons Press for affording me the opportunity to review Dangerous Shallows: In Search of the Ghost Ships of Cape Cod.
Anyone who enjoys history or WWII military operations.
SYNOPSIS
Ian Fleming and SOE’s Operation POSTMASTER: The Untold Top Secret Story, is a historical look at just one of the Special Operations Executive’s (SOE’s) missions in West Africa. The author draws parallels between this mission, the makeup of the SOE, and Ian Fleming’s James Bond series.
The story follows a small group of soldiers from Dunkirk through special operations training to mission “Operation Postmaster.” Brian Lett explains how Ian Fleming was involved with the SOE, how he knew the individuals involved, and how he incorporated certain characteristics from each member into his fictional character James Bond. Brian breaks down the makeup of the SOE and the code words and letters utilized during the time and how Ian Fleming incorporated those into his series.
Operation Postmaster is the tell of a small group of highly motivated soldiers from all walks of life and multiple nationalities banding together to accomplish a single goal. These soldiers trained in England and Scotland, and then went to work on the Spanish island of Fernando Po, now known as Bioko, off West Africa in the Gulf of Guinea. The story describes the trails and tribulations that the SOE went through just to be able to do their job. From the pushback of the Admiralty, to the international political scene.
The detailed planning, the timely execution, and the personal fortitude of the men is quite evident. The fact that they received almost no help from their own military only added to the tale. The British General Officer Commanding (GOC) West Africa Command refused to support the mission. The only way they could accomplish this mission was to get help from the Governor of Nigeria.
CONCLUSION
Operation Postmaster is sometimes thrilling, but for the most part it just tedious. This is in no part due to the author, but due to the lack of support from the British military. In order to tell the story, the author has to incorporate the long delays, the trials, and tribulations that the men had to go through. When the story really picks up it is very good. Overall, I found it an interesting read but one I could do without. The whole operation just seemed a waste of resources for little gain and the possible international ramifications. The way the story is told it seems that the whole operation was just to prove that the SOE could “do it.”
Although there are similarities between the code names of the soldiers and Fleming’s books, there is no evidence that he used this particular mission to from his James Bond 007 series. It is evident that he used his experiences working with the SOE for the background of his series, but I believe the author put too much emphasis on this one mission. My greatest disappointment is that Ian Fleming, although promoted heavily on the dust cover, features less than I expected.
Acknowledgment
My sincere thanks go to: The Author, NetGalley, and the Publisher, for affording me the opportunity to review Ian Fleming and SOE’s Operation POSTMASTER: The Untold Top Secret Story.
Thomas Morris was
a successful radio producer for the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) for many
years. He is now a freelance writer and medical historian. His first book,
The Matter of the Heart: A History of the Heart in Eleven Operations, wonthe Royal Society of
Literature and the Jerwood Charitable Foundation award. The award is one of
three annual awards, one of £10,000 and two of £5,000, offered to authors on
their first works of non-fiction. Mr. Morris now lives in London.
WHO IS THE TARGET AUDIENCE?
This book is for
everyone 16 or older. The
Mystery of the Exploding Teeth is
written for the masses and not just for those who want to learn about historic
medicine. The book is full of individual cases hand-picked through time to
provide the reader with a glimpse of common medical procedures, some uncommon
medical procedures, and allot of very interesting cases.
SYNOPSIS
The Mystery of the Exploding Teeth:
And Other Curiosities from the History of Medicine, is a sojourn into some of the most interesting medical
cases and the procedures used in those cases. It is told through the eyes of
the people who were actually there. This book is a conglomeration of notes, letters,
personal views of the doctors, and sometimes the patients. The author does a
great job of finding the most interesting cases in history. There are some interesting
cases that include various items escaping the bodies from all different places,
some not very good places. How about the surgeries where the patient is not anesthetized and
is an active participant? There is a chapter of patients who survived extreme
injuries, some lived normal lives after their injuries.
CONCLUSION
After reading this book, I listened to the audible version and the narrator added so much more to the enjoyment. He does a great job with the inflection of his voice and the bits that are in French. The little jokes he throws in are awesome. This tome, at times, had me laughing, cringing, crying, and always wondering about the historic doctors and their sometime weird practices. The cases offer a wide variety of injuries and maladies; the causes of some of these will haunt me. I would definitely recommend this book to a friend.
SIMILAR WORKS YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN
Dr. Mütter’s Marvels was established by Dr. Mütter who sadly died prematurely at the age of 48. He left behind an immense collection of medical oddities that form the basis of Philadelphia’s renowned Mütter Museum. Dr Mütter’s Marvel byCristin O’Keefe Aptowiczis an insight into the dedicated surgeon’s career as well as his life and times. Aptowicz presents her view on Dr. Mütter’s medical practices and the prejudices he witnessed. Aptowicz draws upon Mütter’s speeches and lectures which reveals his humanist based approach.
Mütter Museum: Historical Medical Photographs Is a cornucopia of high quality photographs taken by professional photographers. Between the 1860s and the 1940s, photographers took pictures of these oddities as records for physicians to share among medical colleagues. They also functioned, at the time, to demonstrate various techniques used in medicine such as micrography and X-ray. During the earliest days, they utilized the method of photography known as the daguerreotype. This processing method required the photographer to polish a sheet of copper plate with silver halide coated to a mirror finish, and treat it with fumes that made its surface light sensitive. There is much more to the Mütter Museum however, and it is not for the squeamish.
John C. McManus is a 54-year-old Professor, and Military Historian. McManus is also a long-established author of Military history focusing on the United States involvement in the battle space of World War 2. McManus has more than 14 books currently in print and Fire and Fortitude is his most recent foray into his favored genre. Among his previous publications are such notable works as: Grunts, World War 2 Through Iraq, and The Dead and Those About to Die. A graduate of the University of Missouri he experienced a short stint as a sports journalist before electing to study his Masters in American History at his alma mater. He followed his successful completion of that qualification and began his doctorate, also in American Military History at the University of Tennessee. The primary focus of his Ph.D, was the Normandy battle grounds. McManus style of writing focuses on humanizing the military machine by focusing upon individuals, and the sometimes-insuperable challenges they sometimes face. His earlier work Grunts and The Dead and Those About to Die follow that method. Fire and Fortitude is his first forage into the Pacific Theater of Operation.
Synopsis
I must say, first and foremost, that Fire and Fortitude is very well researched. It is resplendent with quotes from dairies, personal letters, newspaper clippings, and magazine articles. Professor. McManus provides a glimpse into the horror, the desperation, the futility of some of the major battles from all sides of those in this great conflict. Whether the soldier is Japanese, American, Australian, or an indigenous island person the reader feels what they felt at the time.
Part One: Onslaught of the book was tedious to get through. I felt that the author exhibited a degree of bias against General McArthur. The picture of McArthur painted in the book makes him out to be an egomaniacal mommas’ boy; with a narcissistic personality disorder who could do nothing right and the whole Philippine debacle was his fault. I don’t deny the facts, but reading the same thing over and over is tedious. MaArthur’s failings as a General, leader, friend, and politician are a theme throughout the entire book.
The chapters of life in Australia were a bore. I really don’t care about mutton hot dogs, drinking, womanizing, bar fighting, or the recreation practices of soldiers in Australia while they waited to join the war effort. I want to read about the Fire and Fortitude that I was promised in the title of the book.
The author seems to want to brush over the atrocities committed by the Japanese soldiers and write them off as a byproduct of war. He briefly describes a few atrocities during the Bataan Death March and in China, but fails to bring the full extent of their hideous war crimes to the reader. He makes out that the Japanese soldiers were victims of circumstance. The fact that the Japanese soldiers committed vile, brutal acts on POW’s, soldiers, and civilians in different parts of the world at the same time, describes the mindset of the Japanese as a society during WWII.
Part Two: Turnabout of the book is where the author really shines. He finally gets into the Fire and Fortitude of armed conflict. The soldiers, the battles, the fear, the suffering, and the constant hand-to-hand fighting are all brought to life in vivid detail. There is still political infighting and poor leadership but there is also heroism, undying loyalty, and bravery on all sides. Once I got into the second half of this book, I just couldn’t put it down. It was absolutely enthralling. The suffering that the soldiers went through, both Japanese and Allied, was incalculable. Disease, famine, and wounds all surrounded by the dead and dying was equally prevalent to all sides of the conflict. Some soldiers were reduced to cannibalism just to keep alive because of the environmental and logistical nightmares of resupply. Soldiers faced hand-to-hand fighting to the death in the dark wet jungles or Alaskan muskeg. Soldiers were just trying to survive another night, another day.
Conclusion
Fire and Fortitude is a very good book if you start at Part Two: Turnabout. The research into this book is phenomenal. The reader can’t help but to learn something new. Sometimes the book is tedious, other times it is exciting and nerve wracking. Regardless, the book is an overall good read.
Acknowledgment
My sincere thanks go to: The Author, NetGalley, and the Publisher Dutton Caliber for affording me the opportunity to review Fire And Fortitude.
