Book reviews from gsbookseller

Battle

by John Toland

If you only read one book about the Battle of the Bulge, let this be it. Toland provides superb strategic context as well as background on the primary generals. But he also provides clear and detailed tactical reviews and intensely interesting personal stories of the individuals on the front lines.

Personal Memoirs Of Us Grant

by Ulysses S Grant

Deservedly considered one of the best personal memoirs of the Civil War era by any high-ranking individual. Grant received help in the writing from mark Twain and one can see the influence of the humorist in multiple small vignettes.More endearing is the honest, straightforward treatment Grant makes of his own performance and decisions as well as his evaluations of others, on both sides of the conflict.Clearly he did not like Secretary of War Stanton but his treatment of Stanton, while enumerating the problems, also included an evaluation of Stanton's better features.It is this even-handedness, and the fact that Grant does not use his memoirs as a justification or a white-washing of his own mistakes that makes this a truly valuable tome.Grant made mistakes, he freely admits them and, on occasion, offers suggestions for what he could have done better and also illuminates that the war, command, and battle was a learning process for all involved. He talks about how mistakes he made early in the war were not repeated later and how others made the same growth, or were moved out of command positions.All in all an excellent read, well-written, balanced.

Gone For Good

by Harlan Coben

An excellent book. The plot twists and turns in improbable ways leaving the reader guessing until the very end. The author's use of several different narrative voices allows the tension to build and creates an additional level of both suspense and "what if". The author relates and interweaves the seedy street life of New York City, quiet suburban New Jersey and the upper level of teh mob seamlessly. The reader feels empathy for the protagonist and can relate personally as he is not extraordinary except in the situation he finds himself. The pages fly by and the chapters are short making this a good book both for long trips and short bursts at the beach. The biggest criticism is that a couple of the major characters are a bit hard to believe, seemingly joining two or three lives into a single character.