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komet2020's reviews
1673 reviews
The Book of Everlasting Things by Aanchal Malhotra
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The Book of Everlasting Things is a generational saga spanning a century and across continents (from the India of the British Raj - which gave rise to Partition and the emergence of India and Pakistan in August 1947 following the end of British rule - to Europe).
The heart of the novel is centered on 2 families in Lahore - one Hindu and the other Muslim - 2 people from those families --- Samir, a Hindu boy born in 1927 in the midst of a monsoon with a nose possessing an extraordinary sense of smell -- and Firdaus a young Muslim girl born in 1929 whose loving father, recognizing early her growing talent for calligraphy, encouraged her and made it possible for her to study calligraphy in a school normally reserved for boys --- who, meet by chance during the late 1930s in the ittar shop owned and run by Samir's family and, over the following decade, fall in love and carry out a subtly discreet exchange of love letters.
But for Samir - a perfumer's apprentice - and Firdaus - a calligrapher's apprentice - their love, so pure, tender, and all-encompassing, was not fated to be fully realized. Both are young adults when India in the mid-1940s becomes convulsed in religious strife as Muslims are pitted against Hindus and Sihks, with whom they had long lived together harmoniously, in the countdown to Independence. Samir finds himself caught up in a tragedy that destroys his family and has his heart broken, leaving him little choice but to leave Lahore and, eventually, India for France.
The novel goes into considerable detail in describing the resultant arcs of Samir's and Firdaus' lives, showing how both their families over time were impacted by the reverberations arising from Partition.
I felt a deep sense of loss and sadness from reading The Book of Everlasting Things. And yet, I could appreciate Samir's ability to endure and absorb the weight of his sorrow, making a life and livelihood in a foreign land. As for Firdaus, her life in Lahore became one in which she sacrificed personal happiness in fulfillment of filial duty (which taught her that love can assume many forms, allowing some compensations for the heart) for the rest of her life.
The heart of the novel is centered on 2 families in Lahore - one Hindu and the other Muslim - 2 people from those families --- Samir, a Hindu boy born in 1927 in the midst of a monsoon with a nose possessing an extraordinary sense of smell -- and Firdaus a young Muslim girl born in 1929 whose loving father, recognizing early her growing talent for calligraphy, encouraged her and made it possible for her to study calligraphy in a school normally reserved for boys --- who, meet by chance during the late 1930s in the ittar shop owned and run by Samir's family and, over the following decade, fall in love and carry out a subtly discreet exchange of love letters.
But for Samir - a perfumer's apprentice - and Firdaus - a calligrapher's apprentice - their love, so pure, tender, and all-encompassing, was not fated to be fully realized. Both are young adults when India in the mid-1940s becomes convulsed in religious strife as Muslims are pitted against Hindus and Sihks, with whom they had long lived together harmoniously, in the countdown to Independence. Samir finds himself caught up in a tragedy that destroys his family and has his heart broken, leaving him little choice but to leave Lahore and, eventually, India for France.
The novel goes into considerable detail in describing the resultant arcs of Samir's and Firdaus' lives, showing how both their families over time were impacted by the reverberations arising from Partition.
I felt a deep sense of loss and sadness from reading The Book of Everlasting Things. And yet, I could appreciate Samir's ability to endure and absorb the weight of his sorrow, making a life and livelihood in a foreign land. As for Firdaus, her life in Lahore became one in which she sacrificed personal happiness in fulfillment of filial duty (which taught her that love can assume many forms, allowing some compensations for the heart) for the rest of her life.
FROM SPITFIRE TO FOCKE WULF: The Diary and Log Book of Pilot H. Leonard Thorne, 1940-45 by H. Leonard Thorne
adventurous
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
FROM SPITFIRE TO FOCKE WULF: The Diary and Log Book of Pilot H. Leonard Thorne, 1940-45 is a rich and engaging story of the author's wartime experiences as a fighter pilot in the Royal Air Force (RAF). Thorne flew Spitfires in combat over Occupied Europe during 1941-42 with a couple of fighter squadrons and, from May 1942 to the end of the war, test flying a variety of single-engine and dual engine combat aircraft, including a captured Focke Wulf FW 190, the Hawker Typhoon, and the Gloster Meteor fighter jet. It's a highly fascinating account of a wartime pilot's multi-faceted service in the RAF.
The Secret Life of John Le Carre by Adam Sisman
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Reading The Secret Life of John le Carré confirms for me a quote I read recently that is ascribed to Jackie Kennedy: "I have three lives - public, private, and secret." So it was with David Cornwell (better known as John le Carré).
Adam Sisman had been enlisted by Cornwell a decade ago to write his biography. From the start, Cornwell had given Sisman complete access to his papers and people with whom Cornwell had friendships and relationships through the whole of his life. From reading this book, which details some of the ups and downs Sisman experienced with Cornwell while working on the biography (which was published in 2015), I was both amazed and surprised (if not wholly shocked) about the various affairs and dalliances Cornwell had with a variety of women through 2 marriages.
I've been a fan of John le Carré's fiction since the mid-1980s and found him to be a fascinating, intriguing person from all the interviews I've heard him give either on TV or radio. Yet, in all that time, I gave little - if any - thought to his personal life.
From reading this book, it becomes clear how much Cornwell took pains to hide his secret life from the public, though many of the characters in his novels are clear reflections of the women in that aspect of his life, as well as his knowledge of the spy world. Cornwell is the embodiment of the assertion the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson once made when he said that "I am a part of all that I have met." He at times tried to undermine Sisman as he worked on his biography when it seemed to him that Susman might shed light on this secret life he lived, which was rife with duplicity, deceit, hypocrisy, passion and tenderness. So, Sisman refrained from making plain this facet of Cornwell's life so long as he and his wife Jane were alive. But once both were gone (Cornwell died in December 2020, age 89, and Jane died 6 months later), Sisman felt free to publish what he had learned about Cornwell's secret life.
I think for those of us who like to read biographies, we want to know, inasmuch as it is possible, the full arc of the person's life who is the subject of the biography. Otherwise, the biography is, at best, a half truth of what the subject of the biography was in life, warts and all. I appreciate learning about this side of Cornwell. This doesn't in any way detract from my deep admiration of his talents as a writer because his novels for me are so engaging, insightful, and a joy to read.
This is a book I much enjoyed reading. It's a sure keeper, one that I will be eager to re-read in times to come.
Adam Sisman had been enlisted by Cornwell a decade ago to write his biography. From the start, Cornwell had given Sisman complete access to his papers and people with whom Cornwell had friendships and relationships through the whole of his life. From reading this book, which details some of the ups and downs Sisman experienced with Cornwell while working on the biography (which was published in 2015), I was both amazed and surprised (if not wholly shocked) about the various affairs and dalliances Cornwell had with a variety of women through 2 marriages.
I've been a fan of John le Carré's fiction since the mid-1980s and found him to be a fascinating, intriguing person from all the interviews I've heard him give either on TV or radio. Yet, in all that time, I gave little - if any - thought to his personal life.
From reading this book, it becomes clear how much Cornwell took pains to hide his secret life from the public, though many of the characters in his novels are clear reflections of the women in that aspect of his life, as well as his knowledge of the spy world. Cornwell is the embodiment of the assertion the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson once made when he said that "I am a part of all that I have met." He at times tried to undermine Sisman as he worked on his biography when it seemed to him that Susman might shed light on this secret life he lived, which was rife with duplicity, deceit, hypocrisy, passion and tenderness. So, Sisman refrained from making plain this facet of Cornwell's life so long as he and his wife Jane were alive. But once both were gone (Cornwell died in December 2020, age 89, and Jane died 6 months later), Sisman felt free to publish what he had learned about Cornwell's secret life.
I think for those of us who like to read biographies, we want to know, inasmuch as it is possible, the full arc of the person's life who is the subject of the biography. Otherwise, the biography is, at best, a half truth of what the subject of the biography was in life, warts and all. I appreciate learning about this side of Cornwell. This doesn't in any way detract from my deep admiration of his talents as a writer because his novels for me are so engaging, insightful, and a joy to read.
This is a book I much enjoyed reading. It's a sure keeper, one that I will be eager to re-read in times to come.
REPORTING FROM THE RUHR: The Complete 1923 Toronto Star Reports on the French Occupation of Germany by Ernest Hemingway
informative
fast-paced
3.0
This book is a collection of news stories Ernest Hemingway wrote while serving as a correspondent for the Toronto Star during the spring of 1923 as part of his reportage of the French Occupation of Germany's Ruhr Valley.
My Travels with Mrs. Kennedy by Lisa McCubbin Hill, Clint Hill
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
My Travels with Mrs. Kennedy is a life affirming, informative, and photo-rich book in which Clint Hill, a former Secret Service Agent who was in charge of the security detail for First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy from 1961 to 1964.
Hill shares with the reader his impressions of Mrs. Kennedy and the people in her circle whom he encountered during the travels she took to France (a state visit with President Kennedy), India, Pakistan, the UK, Latin America (state visits to Venezuela and Mexico with President Kennedy), Italy, Morocco, Middleburg VA where Mrs. Kennedy could indulge her love for horses and horseback riding, to the home in Wexford VA which the Kennedys had rented as a weekend getaway from the White House, as well as the various places where Mrs. Kennedy travelled or spent time within the year following the assassination of President Kennedy.
Many of the photos in this book come from Hill's personal files (which he had not looked upon for decades) and had never before been published.
I very much enjoyed reading this book, which I found deeply moving. In reading My Travels with Mrs. Kennedy, I felt myself a part of these travels and what I have learned about Mrs. Kennedy and the way she carried herself and related to people, has deepened my respect and admiration for this woman who had to weather a lot of personal tragedy while in the public eye.
Hill shares with the reader his impressions of Mrs. Kennedy and the people in her circle whom he encountered during the travels she took to France (a state visit with President Kennedy), India, Pakistan, the UK, Latin America (state visits to Venezuela and Mexico with President Kennedy), Italy, Morocco, Middleburg VA where Mrs. Kennedy could indulge her love for horses and horseback riding, to the home in Wexford VA which the Kennedys had rented as a weekend getaway from the White House, as well as the various places where Mrs. Kennedy travelled or spent time within the year following the assassination of President Kennedy.
Many of the photos in this book come from Hill's personal files (which he had not looked upon for decades) and had never before been published.
I very much enjoyed reading this book, which I found deeply moving. In reading My Travels with Mrs. Kennedy, I felt myself a part of these travels and what I have learned about Mrs. Kennedy and the way she carried herself and related to people, has deepened my respect and admiration for this woman who had to weather a lot of personal tragedy while in the public eye.
Jackie: Public, Private, Secret by J. Randy Taraborrelli
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
JACKIE: Public, Private, Secret is an extensive, engaging, comprehensive, and at times entertaining biography of one of the 20th century's most famous women, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis.
Reading this book helped to add to my understanding of an intriguing, perplexing, and extraordinary woman who helped to shape, with her first husband, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, a short-lived renaissance in a decade (the 1960s) that would also be marked by conflict and tragedy. She was like the phoenix, who arose reborn from the ashes left in the wake of President Kennedy's assassination, and lived out the remainder of her life not far from the view of the public, as fully as possible.
This is an easily readable book that also explores the varied and complex relationships that Jackie Onassis had with her family, associates, and friends, which gives the reader the full measure of a woman who, despite being a unique, public figure, managed to live a life with its store of secrets.
J. Randy Taraborrelli should be complimented for the depth and quality of research he brought to Jackie. There is a section in the book that lists all the various sources he used in preparing this biography.
For anyone with a special interest in Jackie Onassis, I highly recommend this book. It shows, as Jackie's mother, Janet Auchincloss, once observed of her oldest child: "There's something about her that's so unique. No one I know looks like her, speaks like her, writes like her, or has a better idea of who she's expected to be in the world. She was much too young to be widowed when we lost Jack. It wasn't fair. But somehow, she goes ever forward despite a tragedy so great it would've destroyed most other women. Winston Churchill once said, 'It's the courage to continue that counts.' I believe that's true, and I have so much admiration for my daughter's courage."
Reading this book helped to add to my understanding of an intriguing, perplexing, and extraordinary woman who helped to shape, with her first husband, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, a short-lived renaissance in a decade (the 1960s) that would also be marked by conflict and tragedy. She was like the phoenix, who arose reborn from the ashes left in the wake of President Kennedy's assassination, and lived out the remainder of her life not far from the view of the public, as fully as possible.
This is an easily readable book that also explores the varied and complex relationships that Jackie Onassis had with her family, associates, and friends, which gives the reader the full measure of a woman who, despite being a unique, public figure, managed to live a life with its store of secrets.
J. Randy Taraborrelli should be complimented for the depth and quality of research he brought to Jackie. There is a section in the book that lists all the various sources he used in preparing this biography.
For anyone with a special interest in Jackie Onassis, I highly recommend this book. It shows, as Jackie's mother, Janet Auchincloss, once observed of her oldest child: "There's something about her that's so unique. No one I know looks like her, speaks like her, writes like her, or has a better idea of who she's expected to be in the world. She was much too young to be widowed when we lost Jack. It wasn't fair. But somehow, she goes ever forward despite a tragedy so great it would've destroyed most other women. Winston Churchill once said, 'It's the courage to continue that counts.' I believe that's true, and I have so much admiration for my daughter's courage."
Das vergessene As: der Jagdflieger Gerhard Barkhorn by Axel Urbanke
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Das vergessene As: Der Jagdflieger Gerhard Barkhorn (The Forgotten Ace: The Fighter Pilot Gerhard Barkhorn) is a comprehensive account of Barkhorn's military career in the German Luftwaffe during World War II and his postwar service with the Bundesluftwaffe in West Germany, which spanned from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s. The book has plenty of photos (black & white and color), maps, and illustrations encompassing Barkhorn's wartime and postwar military service. Any aviation and model airplane kit enthusiast will be thrilled with this book, which has text in both German and English.
Barkhorn (1919-1983) was one of only 2 fighter pilots in the history of warfare to be credited with shooting down at least 300 enemy aircraft in aerial combat.
Barkhorn (1919-1983) was one of only 2 fighter pilots in the history of warfare to be credited with shooting down at least 300 enemy aircraft in aerial combat.
On Her Trail: My Mother, Nancy Dickerson, TV News' First Woman Star by John Dickerson
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I first became aware of women journalists holding prominent positions in the national news broadcast media as a small child in the early 1970s. Before going to work, my Mom would have the TV turned on to The Today Show, which was hosted by Barbara Walters and Hugh Downs. Barbara Walters was the woman journalist in the national spotlight who made the biggest impression on me then, followed by Stephani Shelton (CBS), Ann Compton (ABC), Sylvia Chase (also with ABC), Lesley Stahl (CBS), and Jessica Savitch (NBC). Nancy Dickerson did not enter my consciousness then, though I may have seen her on TV without taking note of her presence.
On Her Trail helped so much to give me a full and comprehensive view of the arc of Nancy Dickerson's life, both as a pioneering journalist and to a smaller extent --- courtesy of the author, who provided useful and valuable insights throughout the book into the woman he knew while growing up (and by his own admission, not always valuing his mother) and later as a young journalist himself when their relationship became closer, shortly before Dickerson's death --- her self apart from journalism in some of its complexities.
Among Nancy Dickerson's achievements as a pioneering woman journalist were: the first woman TV journalist (with CBS) to cover first-hand a national political convention (the 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles) and 2 presidential inaugurations (JFK in 1961 and LBJ in 1965), as well as providing coverage in real time of the March on Washington and President Kennedy's assassination (from the time Kennedy's body and a grieving Mrs. Kennedy returned to Washington -- along with the newly sworn-in President, Lyndon Johnson, and his wife -- aboard Air Force One hours after the tragedy that had taken place in Dallas earlier that day: November 22, 1963) and subsequent state funeral.
John Dickerson provides what is perhaps an apt summation of his mother --- "The full life of Nancy Dickerson can withstand the scrutiny. To look at the frailty, tenderness, nastiness, vanity, generosity, love, pride and humility all in proper proportion still yields a very impressive woman, and a more genuine one. Mom loved image and glamour and insinuation, but she also liked to know a true thing when she could find it. She would understand my need to search for the story because she had that same need. I went looking for my mother's story and found a woman who was compelled to find stories and tell them too."
For anyone who wants to gain a understanding of the struggles experienced by women to gain acceptance and respect as journalists in the U.S. national news broadcast media from the 1950s to the 1970s and beyond, I highly recommend reading On Her Trail and learning about Nancy Dickerson, who was a rather remarkable person.
On Her Trail helped so much to give me a full and comprehensive view of the arc of Nancy Dickerson's life, both as a pioneering journalist and to a smaller extent --- courtesy of the author, who provided useful and valuable insights throughout the book into the woman he knew while growing up (and by his own admission, not always valuing his mother) and later as a young journalist himself when their relationship became closer, shortly before Dickerson's death --- her self apart from journalism in some of its complexities.
Among Nancy Dickerson's achievements as a pioneering woman journalist were: the first woman TV journalist (with CBS) to cover first-hand a national political convention (the 1960 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles) and 2 presidential inaugurations (JFK in 1961 and LBJ in 1965), as well as providing coverage in real time of the March on Washington and President Kennedy's assassination (from the time Kennedy's body and a grieving Mrs. Kennedy returned to Washington -- along with the newly sworn-in President, Lyndon Johnson, and his wife -- aboard Air Force One hours after the tragedy that had taken place in Dallas earlier that day: November 22, 1963) and subsequent state funeral.
John Dickerson provides what is perhaps an apt summation of his mother --- "The full life of Nancy Dickerson can withstand the scrutiny. To look at the frailty, tenderness, nastiness, vanity, generosity, love, pride and humility all in proper proportion still yields a very impressive woman, and a more genuine one. Mom loved image and glamour and insinuation, but she also liked to know a true thing when she could find it. She would understand my need to search for the story because she had that same need. I went looking for my mother's story and found a woman who was compelled to find stories and tell them too."
For anyone who wants to gain a understanding of the struggles experienced by women to gain acceptance and respect as journalists in the U.S. national news broadcast media from the 1950s to the 1970s and beyond, I highly recommend reading On Her Trail and learning about Nancy Dickerson, who was a rather remarkable person.
Bf 109 Jabo Units in the West by Malcolm V. Lowe
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
In the main, Bf 109 JABO UNITS IN THE WEST relates the history of the use of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter as a Jagdbomber (fighter-bomber) from 1940 (during the Battle of Britain in which it was used as a 'nuisance raider') to its later deployment during 1941-42 in low altitude hit and run raids against British coastal shipping and military targets in Southeast England.
By July 1942, the Bf 109 would be replaced as a fighter-bomber by the Focke Wulf FW 190, which was more ideally suited for the role, owing to its speed and ability to take enormous punishment and still bring its pilot home.
Like all books in the Osprey Series, this book is rich in illustrations and photos highlighting the Bf 109 in its role as a fighter-bomber in Western Europe between 1940 and 1942.
By July 1942, the Bf 109 would be replaced as a fighter-bomber by the Focke Wulf FW 190, which was more ideally suited for the role, owing to its speed and ability to take enormous punishment and still bring its pilot home.
Like all books in the Osprey Series, this book is rich in illustrations and photos highlighting the Bf 109 in its role as a fighter-bomber in Western Europe between 1940 and 1942.
One Fighter Pilot's War by John W. Walcott
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
3.0
ONE FIGHTER PILOT'S WAR is an account the author wrote in November 1999 for his family of his service during World War II as a fighter pilot in the United States Army Air Force (USAAF). Following Walcott's death in 2003, his son J. Andrew Walcott had it edited and published in 2015.
John W. Walcott had been in his senior year at the University of Michigan studying engineering when he enlisted in the USAAF in 1942. He was officially called up in February 1943, underwent flight training in PA and TX, won his wings in April 1944, and was assigned to the 31st Fighter Group in Italy during the late summer of 1944. The 31st flew P-51 Mustangs, which Walcott only learned to fly with said unit before taking part in his first combat mission over Hungary, where he was part of a strafing attack on a block of locomotives. He would fly 39 combat missions up to April 17, 1945.
The parts of the book describing the stages of Walcott's flight training were very revealing, as was Walcott's conveying to the reader the everyday life of an USAAF aviation cadet who earned his wings and became a fighter pilot with a front-line fighter group during the latter stages of World War II in Europe. The book also has photos interspersed throughout to give the reader a palpable tangibility of the experiences of a fighter pilot, who, though not an 'ace', faithfully served his country to the best of his ability, hazarding his life every time he took to the skies.
John W. Walcott had been in his senior year at the University of Michigan studying engineering when he enlisted in the USAAF in 1942. He was officially called up in February 1943, underwent flight training in PA and TX, won his wings in April 1944, and was assigned to the 31st Fighter Group in Italy during the late summer of 1944. The 31st flew P-51 Mustangs, which Walcott only learned to fly with said unit before taking part in his first combat mission over Hungary, where he was part of a strafing attack on a block of locomotives. He would fly 39 combat missions up to April 17, 1945.
The parts of the book describing the stages of Walcott's flight training were very revealing, as was Walcott's conveying to the reader the everyday life of an USAAF aviation cadet who earned his wings and became a fighter pilot with a front-line fighter group during the latter stages of World War II in Europe. The book also has photos interspersed throughout to give the reader a palpable tangibility of the experiences of a fighter pilot, who, though not an 'ace', faithfully served his country to the best of his ability, hazarding his life every time he took to the skies.