Waterloo by Bernard Cornwell. Not much to say here. Excellently written, quite descriptive of the battlefield and troop movements. Nice bits of "trivia" or little known facts. This is a superb book and worth the read if that period or battle interests you.
Play Nice by Jason Schreier. Great for game nerds, Schreier's reporting on the game industry is kind of the gold standard and this book is no exception. The subtitle of The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment is pretty much all you need to know about the book's topic. Great for gaming nerds, probably a bit boring to everyone else. Bonus topic: we get the back story on Leeroy Jenkins. Y'all know Leeroy.
My Father's Daughter by Tina Sinatra. Imagine growing up as Frank's daughter. Pretty solid book about being Ol Blue Eyes' daughter and all she went through. It wasn't a rosy childhood and it is clear her dad meant the world to her and whatever his faults, he seemed to be a good father when he was around. She also glowing things to say about Ava Gardner as a stepmom. If Ava was my stepmom I'd get stuck in the dryer every day...Anyway, the book drags in the second half when Frank's last wife shows up. The reader is left to wonder if the book was about Tina and her dad or Tina's side of the story of her battle against a manipulative gold digger. The last 1/3 to 1/2 of the book was just that. A good read, well written, solid details, but the ending bored me. Chapter after chapter about that fight.
The Borgias and Their Enemies by Christopher Hibbert. If you saw The Borgias on Showtime then you know the gist of this story. (If you haven't seen the series, you're missing out). Great details, a solid history of the family and all within their influence. Cesare Borgia would inspire Machiavelli's The Prince because they both knew one another. I learned more about syphilis than I expected...because everyone had it back then. If you've seen the series, the casting is quite good minus the Pope's weight gain over the course of his life. All-in-all, a really good book about the family and the period by extension with a side order of "Jesus Christ, the Papacy was that fucking rotten." his is a good one if you're into that slice of history.
Let's wrap this up. Rescue Warriors by David Helvarg about the US Coast Guard.This is a really good book. The author embedded with the Coasties across multiple locations, missions, and even the leadership. He interviewed current former Coasties, several former Commandants, even a few elected officials. At times it could be viewed by an outsider as a bit too glowing, but I was kind of impressed he was able to spend so much time with the people who work the USCG's exceptionally diverse mission sets. The reader gets a great overview of the branch, missions, people, mindset, history, challenges, etc. A good book in it's own right, a really good book if you want to know more about the Coast Guard.
I'm tired of typing and refuse to proofread. Enjoy.
Play Nice by Jason Schreier. Great for game nerds, Schreier's reporting on the game industry is kind of the gold standard and this book is no exception. The subtitle of The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment is pretty much all you need to know about the book's topic. Great for gaming nerds, probably a bit boring to everyone else. Bonus topic: we get the back story on Leeroy Jenkins. Y'all know Leeroy.
My Father's Daughter by Tina Sinatra. Imagine growing up as Frank's daughter. Pretty solid book about being Ol Blue Eyes' daughter and all she went through. It wasn't a rosy childhood and it is clear her dad meant the world to her and whatever his faults, he seemed to be a good father when he was around. She also glowing things to say about Ava Gardner as a stepmom. If Ava was my stepmom I'd get stuck in the dryer every day...Anyway, the book drags in the second half when Frank's last wife shows up. The reader is left to wonder if the book was about Tina and her dad or Tina's side of the story of her battle against a manipulative gold digger. The last 1/3 to 1/2 of the book was just that. A good read, well written, solid details, but the ending bored me. Chapter after chapter about that fight.
The Borgias and Their Enemies by Christopher Hibbert. If you saw The Borgias on Showtime then you know the gist of this story. (If you haven't seen the series, you're missing out). Great details, a solid history of the family and all within their influence. Cesare Borgia would inspire Machiavelli's The Prince because they both knew one another. I learned more about syphilis than I expected...because everyone had it back then. If you've seen the series, the casting is quite good minus the Pope's weight gain over the course of his life. All-in-all, a really good book about the family and the period by extension with a side order of "Jesus Christ, the Papacy was that fucking rotten." his is a good one if you're into that slice of history.
Let's wrap this up. Rescue Warriors by David Helvarg about the US Coast Guard.This is a really good book. The author embedded with the Coasties across multiple locations, missions, and even the leadership. He interviewed current former Coasties, several former Commandants, even a few elected officials. At times it could be viewed by an outsider as a bit too glowing, but I was kind of impressed he was able to spend so much time with the people who work the USCG's exceptionally diverse mission sets. The reader gets a great overview of the branch, missions, people, mindset, history, challenges, etc. A good book in it's own right, a really good book if you want to know more about the Coast Guard.
I'm tired of typing and refuse to proofread. Enjoy.
