A Soup to Nuts Science Look at War-Fighters

Roach, Mary.  Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War.  New York: W. W. Norton, 2016
          ISBN: 978-0-393-24544-8

 Mary Roach provides a brief and informative look at the science involved in keeping U.S. military personnel intact, awake, sane, uninfected, and uninfested. In fourteen chapters, she looks at clothing, vehicles, hearing issues, stink bombs, sleep, maggot flies, and many other interesting topics.

Each chapter has Mary Roach investigating how science and the U.S. military interact.  In "Second Skin," she visits Natlick to find out how military uniforms are tested.  In "Sweating Bullets," she endures a heat tolerance test alongside a Army Ranger.  There are chapters that deal with diarrhea, medical devices, maggot flies, training medics under combat conditions, shark repellent, submarines, and what the dead can do for the living.  Each chapter provides a brief look at the issues and what the military is doing to help, improve, or understand the science and make the end product or process more usable. 

Mary Roach writes in a straightforward style that is engaging and entertaining.  She provides footnotes that add little details that can make the reader laugh, giggle, or go "Huh?"  She provides a bibliography of sources for further research.  While Grunt has much to offer, it does suffer from quick changes of subject, and sketchy topic coverage in the last few chapters. The lack of a conclusion is also a drawback.  But if you are interested in the U.S. military, you are likely to enjoy Grunt.

Centennial Essays on the First World War

Strachan, Hew.  The Oxford Illustrated History of the First World War.  New York: Oxford
         University Press, 2014.  New edition.  ISBN: 978-0-19-966338-5

If you are looking for an readable, easily comprehensible digest of the First World War, you could do much worse than reading the new edition of The Oxford Illustrated History of the First World War.   In the book, you will find discussions on tactics, strategy, examinations of the various fronts alongside munitions, technology, peace negotiations, and memory

Hew Strachan once again brought together a group of historians writing essays in 24 chapters.  The book opens with "The Origins of the War" and closes with "Memory and the Great War".  In between are essays on aerial warfare,  Central Power and Entente Power strategies, economics, women, politics, propaganda, and peace.  The one new essay is Robert Gerwarth's "No End to War" which examines when the conflict actually ended, especially in the East and Middle East.  Several of the essays have new authors and most have been updated in light of new scholarship.

The Oxford Illustrated History of the First World War (New Edition) is worth reading for its own sake.  But do libraries need to replace their 1998 edition?  That is a decision each library would need to make based on its circumstances and budget.  But if a library or reader is looking for a quick way to review the First World War, The Oxford Illustrated History of the First World War will fulfill that need.

A Fan Looks at Karen Carpenter

Samberg, Joel.  Some Kind of Lonely Clown: The Music, Memory, and Melancholy Lives of Karen
       Carpenter.  Albany, GA: BearManor Media, 2016.  ISBN: 9781593938697

Joel Samberg combines biography with memories and musical analysis in Some Kind of Lonely Clown.  This mixture provides a melange of memory for a singer who left too soon.

Some Kind of Lonely Clown is Joel Samberg's take on Karen Carpenter's life filtered through his memories, memories of those who knew her whom he interviewed, published documents, public interviews, viewings of concerts, and a leavening of professional analysis of her mental state and physical condition.  He provides a reasonable short biography spliced between chapters on her professional life/career.  He provides at least the highlights of The Carpenters as a group and a chapter on Karen Carpenter's one solo album.  Not content to just provide facts, Samberg examines the music, rating albums and songs, while using the music sang to interpret Karen's internal struggle.

If you enjoy The Carpenters, you are likely to find something to like and/or dislike in  Some Kind of Lonely Clown.  If you have not caught The Carpenters fever, what are you waiting for?  Listen to some Carpenters' music and see what you think.