The Book of the Year

Back in my single days - before cable television and streaming channels - I entertained myself by reading a book, or listening to the radio, or watching a movie. I would read a book nearly every week. On weekends when I did not have a date, I would listen to the John Batchelor Show out of New York (WABC, 770 AM in those days - he is on WOR, 710 AM these days). His weekend shows featured book reviews, and very often on a dateless Saturday night I would find myself at the computer, ordering the books I heard reviewed that night.

Now, I am lucky to read a book every month. Books compete with the great variety of mysteries one can find on the streaming channels, and most nights, the books lose out to these television mysteries. So I was rather pleased to see that, as of this writing, I managed to read 16 books this year.

Four of the books dealt with world wars. The York Patrol, by James Carl Nelson, was a detailed look at the action that won acting Corporal Alvin York his Medal of Honor. The Secret War, by Max Hastings, examined the intelligence communities of World War II, and how the various enemies (and on occasion, the allies) spied on each other. Operation Vengeance, by Dan Hampton (my most recent read) was a riveting account of the operation that killed Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the mastermind behind the Pearl Harbor sneak attack. Since the P-38s used in this operation took off from the island of Guadalcanal, the introductory chapters that detailed the invasion of that island gave me a new perspective on Guadalcanal's importance. But the most enjoyable World War II read was I Marched With Patton, a memoir by Frank Sisson.

I managed to read five novels. A Good Marriage, by Kimberly McCreight, and Every Vow You Break, by Peter Swanson, were okay. I have a tendency to finish a book that I've started, so that is why I stuck with these until the end. I'm sure they are fine, but just not my cup of tea. I've already mentioned in a previous post the Graham Greene novel The Power and the Glory. I enjoyed that novel, as I did 1984, by George Orwell. In light of today's political environment, 1984 seems less like a novel and more like a book on current events. But the best novel I read this year was undoubtedly Find You First, by Linwood Barclay. I will not spoil your enjoyment, should you choose to read the novel, by giving you any further details. I consider the premise behind this novel to be fascinating.

I read Natasha Trethewey's memoir Memorial Drive for two reasons: I once lived near Memorial Drive, and the Wall Street Journal sent it to me free as partial compensation for the exhorbitantly expensive cost of a WSJ subscription. It was just okay. The same can be said for Just Show Up, by Cal Ripken, Jr. I know, as I write this, that I will receive grief for this comment from a friend of mine in Maryland, but that's life. Jocks tend not to write great books, even with the help of ghost writers. And although I admire Cal Jr., he is still a jock, and I am too old to be inspired by a locker room pep talk, especially when it is a book-length locker room pep talk.

That leaves five books. I am going to classify these books as historical works. I mentioned W. J. Cash's book The Mind of the South in an earlier posting, so I will say no more here, other than the fact that I'm glad I finally finished that book. I took an online course from Hillsdale College on the Book of Genesis, by Moses, so I re-read all 50 chapters. This time around I read the New English translation, a 1970 Christmas gift from my parents and my brother. That translation does not contain the beauty of the King James Version, but it is much easier to understand. I managed another biography of John C. Calhoun, by Margaret L. Coit, and her attention to detail in John C. Calhoun: American Portrait, leaves me in awe of historians who write well. N-4 Down, by Mark Piesing, kept me on the edge of my seat. It is the story of the loss of an Italian lighter-than-air craft that was engaged in exploration of the North Pole. And it answered a question that had never before crossed my mind: whatever became of the Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen?

I have saved the best for last: Beyond, by Stephen Walker. I grew up knowing every detail that was possible to know about the Mercury 7 astronauts, and the troubles the United States had in catching up to the Soviet Union in the race to conquer space. This book provides a look at the other side. The story of Yuri Gagarin's history-making ride atop an R-7 missile, the most powerful in the world at the time, gave me a new appreciation for his sheer courage. He changed the world forever, and he should never be forgotten. Walker did an outstanding job of research and writing, and he published it on the 60th anniversary of Gagarin's flight. I highly recommend it to you.