What are you reading?

[JBG]

I just finished reading Realm of Ice and Sky: Triumph, Tragedy, and History's Greatest Arctic Rescue by Buddy Levy. This is my second of his books, having recently read American Legend: The Real-Life Adventures of David Crockett. Realm is a more recent book and as one Goodreads reviewer wrote Buddy Levy keeps getting better. This one was spellbinding.

Like many of its genre, much of the dialogue among the various adventurers has to have been invented, as I doubt that even a cassette dictation machine made polar exploration journeys between 1900 and 1928. All the same, it read like a spellbinding adventure novel, based on true events and things we do know. The book focuses on Arctic travel of Walter Wellman, underestimated and under-covered, Roald Amundsen, the most well-known Arctic (and Antarctic) explorer and Umberto Nobile was an Italian aeronautical explorer. The latter, sponsored by Benito Mussolini, was vilified both because of his connections to Mussolini and eventually by the dictator when his journeys were not a Fascist success story. All the same, a solid "five star."

 

[JBG]

I just finished reading Reagan: The American President by Larry Schweikart. If 3 1/2 were available I would’ve given it a 3 1/2 rather than a three. To be sure, the book was extremely moving. It described quite well a person who was decent, but imperfect. He was a lousy parent and a great president. When he was elected, I thought he was a joke. As President he was anything but.

Now my quibbles. Many pages and short passages of the book were out of chronological order. This makes a jarring read for anything of a historical historical nature. Also, there were a few obvious fact checking errors. He skillfully avoided, writing a hagiography, despite his admiration for Mr. Reagan.

The lack of an index was a definite drawback. The book is well worth reading, but do not expect a masterpiece.

 

[JBG]

I just finished reading George Orwell‘s Animal Farm. This book, obviously a classic, is a parody Communist takeover and of life under Communism. I am surprised that I had never read this book before. It was not assigned to me in middle school or in high school. I found it sitting on my shelf, but evidently it had belonged to my stepsister. She had written her name and our home phone, in the old "SC3-xxxx" format

Many people are no doubt familiar with the basic story line. All that I can say is at some point in most peoples lives they should read it. My one quibble; their should have been an appendix listing the animal's species and names. I often had to return to the book's beginning to remember who the pigs were, etc.

What Orwell would say is it all books are equal, but some are more equal than others.

 

[Darkwind]

I don't really have much time to read for pleasure anymore.

I'm currently reading "SolidWorks 2025 Guide for Beginners".

I am rereading "The Wheel of Time" series but through audio and only when I'm traveling back and forth to work.