Radar Raid!

 Lewis, Damien.  Churchill's Shadow Raiders: The Race to Develop Radar, WWII's Invisible Secret 

          Weapon.  New York: Kensington Publishing, 2020.  ISBN: 978-0-8065-4063-4

Everyone knows that radar was a British invention that enabled them to survive the Blitz.  But radar was not just a British monopoly.  The Germans had their own radar sets that were used with success against British bombers.  And the British were keen to get their hands on a set which is the gist of Damien Lewis' Churchill's Shadow Raiders.  

Lewis focuses on two Special Airborne Services (SAS) operations.  The first, Operation Colossus was launched in February 1941 to take out an aqueduct that supplied the Italian naval base of Taranto.  Thirty-five SAS troopers parachuted into Italy, managed to severely damage the aqueduct, and escaped into the countryside.  But, due to an unfortunate bomber crash, their escape route was compromised and they were eventually all caught.  The follow-up aerial recon failed to show the damage that had happened, so the high command considered Colossus a failure.

Operation Biting was launched  a year later in February 1942 for the purpose of grabbing a German radio direction finding device.  Biting was much more ambitious with SAS troopers descending from the skies, seizing the device, fighting their way to the coast, and being snatched off the beach by motor gun boats.

However, Lewis offers more than the details of the operations.  He provides context, background, and the exciting story of scientists, SOE operatives, and French Resistance fighters that made the operations possible.  Also, Lewis provides an understanding of what was accomplished and the part these operations played in the larger conflict along with a briefing on what happened to the participants afterwards.  So if you want a thrilling WWII read, do pick up Churchill's Shadow Raiders!

Comedy Can Be Free Speech Too!

Gold, Judy.  Yes, I Can Say That: When They Come for the Comedians, We Are All in Trouble. 
         New York: Dey Street Books, 2020.  ISBN: 9780062953759  

Laughter may be a medicine induced by comedians.  But medicine is not always sweet, often it may be bitter.  At least that is one of the conclusions Judy Gold came to while growing to be taller than everyone in her family.  And that is part of why she became a stand-up comic.  At least as a comedian, she could be in charge while on stage.

Judy Gold in Yes, I Can Say That explores why she became a stand-up comic providing the reader insight into her thought process and family history.  She also spends time discussing what to expect when going to a comedy club.  As one chapter heading mentions, you are likely to be insulted or offended while there, but is that not the reason you went?  And context is everything!  If you have to explain a joke, it is no longer funny.  And the comedian is not necessarily the same as her/his stage act.  So be warned when reading this book, you are likely to be offended once or twice.

And then you get to politics.  All sorts of politics - academic, national/state, and other hot-button issues.  And the poor comics.  Everyone picks on them.  So why do so many people have issues with jokes?  Are they so insecure that words disturb them enough that they try to silence the speaker?  This goes for right, left, center, and #MeToo as well.  And then the politicians get into the act of trying to regulate what can be a joke.  Well, if a politician can't stand being laughed at, maybe they should get off the stage.  

So while I may not agree with everything Judy Gold says (although you could do worse than looking her up on YouTube), I do agree with her that she has the right to say that!

Can You Argue With a Racist?

Rutherford, Adam.  How to Argue With a Racist: What Our Genes Do (and Don't) Say About

        Human Difference. New York: The Experiment, 2020.  ISBN: 978-1-61519-671-5 

 

What works to win an argument?   Can facts actually overcome feelings?  Adam Rutherford, a British geneticist,  seeks to do just that in How to Argue With a Racist.

Adam Rutherford opens with a Note on language and then a discussion for why he wrote this title -- to show how science, genetics in particular, is no friend of racism, but should instead be a tool against it.  After an Introduction that covered the intersection of science and racism along with his personal stake in this tale, he flows into four parts.  

 

Part One  - Skin in the Game - looks at how pigmentation determined by our genes shape our views of those around us.  And is not just skin, but hair, eyes, and blood types that are affected by our genes.  Yet everyone has the same genes, just expressed differently to provide the spectrum of the human race. 

Part Two - Your Ancestors Are My Ancestors - looks at how genes and genealogy participate in arguments with racists' beliefs about who really is white/black of "pure stock" and the like.  But many racists are surprised regarding the so-called race of their ancestors when they send off their 23and Me sample.  Everyone is related to everyone else via their ancestors.  

Part Three - Black Power - looks at sports and the perceived role that "race" seems to play in who finishes first in sprinting and long distance running.  Does the success of an athlete depend solely on their ancestry or are other factors in play?  Does success depend upon opportunity, perhaps, or national attention to a sport?  These and other questions are examined in this section 

Part Four - White Matter - looks at race and intelligence.  Rutherford is rightly aware that there are pitfalls and no easy answers when examining this topic.  Cognitive abilities do vary among individuals and groups.  But the question has to be asked - what do we mean when describing cognitive abilities?  And is it determined solely by genetics?  Does society and opportunities play a part in a person's abilities?  

In summary, Adam Rutherford works hard to make the point that facts are needed to build an argument, but you need to communicate with someone, not at someone to have a chance of changing their mind.  Listen to the Monty Python Argument Clinic sketch for an example of someone trying to wear down their opponent.  Rutherford, instead, works on proving his point without denigrating his opponent, i.e. trying to make an enemy an ally instead.

The Flip-Side of a Bridge Too Far

Tucker-Jones, Anthony.  The Devil's Bridge: The German Victory at Arnhem, 1944.  Oxford:
          Osprey Publishing, 2020.  ISBN: 9781472839862

 Every battle has at least two sides and Operation Market Garden is no exception.  You are not familiar with this battle dreamed up by Marshall Montgomery?  Ah, you are in for a treat.  Sit down and read A Bridge Too Far by Cornelius Ryan, then watch the movie by the same name.  Now you are ready for The Devil's Bridge.

Tucker-Jones mined and scoured the German archives and military records to put together the German side of Operation Market Garden.  He opens with the situation in early September when the German Army was in retreat all along the front lines.  Antwerp has fallen to the Brits, but they had not gained the river ways leading into Antwerp.   Scratch forces were in place at the Albert Canal under General Student.  Model had recently moved his headquarters to Arnhem when the Brits and Americans dropped out of the skies and almost nabbed him.  All the local forces were turned out, no matter their ability, bodies were needed to stem the Allied tide.  And they managed, barely, time and time again.  They could not prevail and turn back the British and American forces, but they slowed their advance enough that the Allied armies never got over the Arnhem bridge until 1945.  It was a heroic action on both sides, but gained the Allied armies little useful ground and continued the whittling of German forces in the West.

If you are looking for the flip-side of A Bridge Too Far, you have the right book in hand!

Not All Roads Are Fun, But Byways Can Be!

Topps, Tim, and Alan Broad.  Yes, Lad, But Byways: A Life Memoir.  Leicestershire, UK:
        Troubador Publishing, Ltd., 2020.

Everyone has a story to tell.  Unfortunately, not everyone can tell a good story.  And even rarer is someone who can make their own life interesting even if they were not a movie star, a politician, or a general.  Tim Topps (born Alan John Broad in 1920s England) is one of those rare folks.  And Yes, Lad, But Byways is most of that tale.

Tim Topps opens his tale with him in his pram in Wimbledon Park, then follows his parents to Africa since his father was in the Civil Service.  So he spent several formative years in Kenya and other postings, acquiring a love of stamp collecting and starting to do a bit of writing.  In 1937, the Broad family returned to England in time for the Coronation of George VI, and Alan to go to Bedford School while his parents returned to Africa.  World War II intervened before they could meet again.  Alan stayed busy in school avoiding sports, doing some writing which included getting a radio drama done on the BBC (it involved a pub and several pickpockets).  After the war and his graduation (he got the Essay Prize handed to him by Field Marshall Montgomery), he spent a stint in the Army, and then off to college.  There he got an idea for selling insurance to students that turned into a national business and kept giving him headaches for most of the rest of his life.  Well, that, and his wandering eye.  In the end, he has managed to be satisfied and reasonably happy at the age of 92.

The charm of Yes, Lad, But Byways is Tim Topps deft way of writing as though he was in conversation with you.  He wanders about the topic, returning to his main story line, but as he mentions in the opening, this is a book about his wanderings in life, not a straightforward biography.  And it is the strange twists, the rants, the asides that really bring the book to life for the reader.

Definetely a Florida Story!

Pitman, Craig.  Cat Tale: The Wild, Weird Battle to Save the Florida Panther.  Toronto: Hanover
          Square Press, 2020.  ISBN: 978-1-335-93880-0

Cougar, mountain lion, catamount, puma, and panther - different names for basically the same beast - an agile, wily, ambush hunter who roams where he or she wants.  Or at least that used to be the case until humans built homes, stores, farms, and especially roads in the panther territory.  And kept on building until panthers were squeezed into swamps, and few remained alive.  That was the situation at the beginning of Cat Tale, but the book tells the rest of the panther's story.

Craig Pittman brings the reader along on a ride through the recent history of the Florida panther, its downfall, almost extinction, and finally its rebirth.  This being Florida, of course weirdness comes along for the ride.  The Skunk Ape makes an appearance, greedy land developers play a part, noble hunters, intense scientists, whistle blowers who expose phony science, and then of course the panthers themselves.  Not all the villains are nasty and not all the heroes are true, but they all can be entertaining in their own way.

So if you want to read a tale of fortitude (on the part of the panthers and some humans), dastardly deeds done in the name of science, and a roaring good tale, pick up Cat Tale, sit back, and enjoy reading a true tale of how the Florida panthers not only survived but are now thriving and spreading!

Music Trivia

Dever, Tamara.  I Like Big Books and I Cannot Lie: Old-School Rock-and-Roll Like You've Never   
          Read Before!  Austin, TX: Narrow Gate Books, 2020.

So you like music!  And you like books?  What happens if someone molded/mashed/melted everything together in a book?  Would you buy it?  Well here is your chance with I Like Big Books and I Cannot Lie.

Tamara Dever takes her love of 1970s and 1980s rock-and-roll music and combines that with her love of literature (small l) to create a fun book filled with trivia, quizzes, brainteasers, crossword puzzles, and more things to fill up your time.  And the fun thing is that you can do this on your own or you can invite friends over to help your memory along.  For example, did you know that Billy Joel's song "We Didn't Start the Fire" mentions ten book titles or author's names?  Plus you have the opportunity to sing new lyrics to familiar songs.  Here is a link that has sample pages - https://tlcbookdesign.com/i-like-big-books/ . 

So if you have time to fill or to kill, why not invest that time in I Like Big Books and I Cannot Lie!  See you in the stacks!