York and Lancaster equals Tudor

Weir, Alison.  Elizabeth of York: A Tudor Queen and Her World.  New York: Ballantine Books,
          2013.  ISBN: 978-0-345-52136-1

How well do you know your English history?  Can you name the Princess of the House of York that united with the House of Lancaster to help found the Tudor dynasty?  If you can't or even if you can, you will enjoy Alison Weir's telling the tale of Elizabeth of York.  One caveat, the subtitle is key to the book.  This is not just a biography of Elizabeth, it is a telling of her story in the world she lived in.

Alison Weir writes precisely the tale of Elizabeth, providing plenty of background on the time and locations.  She details and documents settings, costs, clothing, food, and actions.  She speculates in relation to Richard the III in regard to his motivations and actions, but appropriately labels what is known and what may be inferred from the evidence.  She is not afraid to discuss controversial material, specifically regarding the Princes in the Tower of London, although she does follow convention in regard to the description of Bosworth Field. 

Overall, this birth to death examination of Queen Elizabeth produces a rounded picture of a woman that helped launch the modern world by bringing legitimacy to Henry VII, birth to Henry VIII, and giving a name to two English monarchs.  Enjoy reading Elizabeth of York: A Tudor Queen and Her World.

Are you bad at math?

Bennett, Jeffrey.  Math for Life: Crucial Ideas You Didn't Learn in School.  Updated Edition.  
        Boulder, CO: Big Kid Science, 2013.  ISBN: 978-1-937548-36-0

Do you consider yourself "bad" at math?  Did you do well in math while in school?  Well, it does not matter what answer you give to those questions as Jeffrey Bennett demonstrates in Math for Life.  You are using math in your daily life whether you realize it or not, although it is generally not algebraic equations.  Dividing a pie evenly, cutting a pizza to fit the number of folks around the table, baking with its use of proportions, etc. all these tasks have you using math unconsciously. 

What Jeffrey Bennett does is have you think about math outside the classroom.  The best chapters are the early ones ("Thinking with Numbers" and "Statistical Thinking")  which concentrate on your interaction with numbers in the real world (not the artificial world of the classroom).  Later chapters focus on money, taxes, deficit spending in the USA, energy, politics and growth.  These later chapters get more esoteric in their focus and reveal authorial bias (conscious and unconscious) in regard to the premise of the question asked or the answers he suggests as correct.

Overall, despite issues with regarding authorial leanings and suggestions in various chapters, Jeffery Bennett does provide sound advice in regard to the importance of math in everyday life and gives generally sound advice on how to improve.  Just remember to ignore advice with which you disagree.

Why Verdun?

Jankowski, Paul.  Verdun: The Longest Battle of the Great War.  New York: Oxford University
        Press, 2014  ISBN: 978-0-19-931689-2

Many books are written about individual battles in World War I, especially Verdun. For a variety of reasons, Verdun is emblematic  of the fighting on the Western Front in the Great War.  However, Paul Jankowski has not written a normal battle history in Verdun, but rather a meditation  on what many consider the longest battle of World War I.  Rather than a detailed description of the action tracing units involved, personalities, terrain, etc., he opens with a discussion on the place the battle holds in the memories of Frenchmen, Germans and historians.  He explores why the German forces attacked at Verdun, then why the French decided to make a hold-at-all-cost defense there.  He examines the evidence regarding what part the concept of offensive tactics  and rates of attrition played in the battle and how prestige (French and German) controlled the length of the battle.  He looked at what French and German troops thought of the battle and how they viewed each other.  The other major area he covered is why the forces involved continued fighting this battle.

If you are looking for action, consider other titles on Verdun. But if you want a revisionist synthesis on why the battle happened, read on.

One of the Lesser Known Panzer Generals of WWII

Bagdonas, Raymond.  The Devil's General: The Life of Hyazinth Graf von Strachwitz, "The Panzer  
       Graf".  Philadelphia: Casemate, 2013.  ISBN: 978-1-61200-222-4

If you go looking online, you can find tidbits of Hyazinth von Strachwitz's life and career, but not much, so the military history readers will find The Devil's General  a treat.  Raymond Bagdonas provides a life story, not just a World War II tale.  He brings out what details he can uncover of Graf von Strachwitz background and education, early military career, First World War experiences, and the interwar years before concentrating on his Second World War service and finishing with his life after the war. 

Raymond Bagdonas does a credible job of documenting sources when he finds them available.  But as he admits in the introduction,  some things are unknowable since Graf von Strachwitz did not keep a diary that survived, write a memoir or give many interviews after .  This lack of evidence leads to Bagdonas speculating without confirming evidence on why von Strachwitz joined the Nazi Party in the 1932.  He can only argue on what he thinks is the likeliest explanation.  He runs into the same problem in regard to von Strachwitz's joining the plot to overthrow Hitler, lack of documentation.

Overall, the reader of military history, especially those interested in the Eastern Front in the Second World War will appreciate The Devil's General. 

Cuba vs South Africa: A Hot Battle in a Cold War

Polack, Peter.  Last Hot Battle of the Cold War: South Africa vs. Cuba in the Angolan Civil War.

         Philadelphia: Casemate, December 2013.  ISBN: 9781612001951.

In The Last Hot Battle of the Cold War, Peter Polack offers the military aficionado a short examination of the Cuito Cuanavale campaign between the FAPLA/Soviets/Cubans and the UNITA/South African factions during the Angolan civil war.  Polock provides an overview of the campaign, but concentrates on the confrontation between the South African Defense Force and the Cuban Army "volunteers" at Cuito Cuanavale siege.    

Polack opens with short, detailed overview of the opening fight to set the stage.  He then introduces the various factions, providing units, commanders, etc. and what role each played in the battle and beyond.  The latter half of this short book covers the Soviet led FAPLA attack that failed disastrously, the UNITA/ South African advance that led to the Cuban sealift for the defense of Cuito Cuanavale with its bridges and strategic location.  The siege is covered in a single chapter that discusses some of the tactics along with any losses from the South Africans or Cubans as they occurred.  The results of the campaign are summarized along with a list of casualties (dead, wounded or prisoners).

Overall, The Last Hot Battle of the Cold War started out quite interesting, but went downhill due to many extraneous details that could have been covered in footnotes and/or appendixes rather than in chapters interrupting the flow of the campaign.  It does cover all aspects of the campaign and is one of the few titles on this topic, so it receives tentative approval.

Sing Songs of America

Shaw, John.  This Land That I Love: Irving Berlin, Woody Guthrie, and the Story of Two 
          American Anthems.  NY: Public Affairs, November 2013.  ISBN: 978-1-61039-223-5

John Shaw masterfully entwines the lives of two songwriters (Irving Berlin and Woody Guthrie) and two of their most famous songs (God Bless America and This Land is Your Land) in This Land I Love.  He explores a number of parallels in their lives in regard to poverty stricken early life, early success, etc.  He also contrasts their differences in background, politics, and success in life. 

However, not satisfied with entwining the songwriters, Shaw also compares the songs, looking into the textual history of each, tracing the myriad changes until we arrive at the finished product that we listen to or sing.  Shaw provides the context that shaped each song, taking the reader on an exploration of American musical history that deepens our appreciation of each song.  Shaw also kindly provides a recommended list of Berlin's and Guthrie's works.

If you enjoy exploring musical history or just American history, This Land That I Love will provide plenty of pleasure.

Why She Reads Seriously.

Lesser, Wendy.  Why I Read: The Serious Pleasure of Books.  New York: Farrar, Straus and
          Giroux, 2014.  ISBN: 9780374289201

Wendy Lesser attempts to explain in her latest book why she considers reading books a pleasure in seven short chapters.  She hits the usual categories such as character, plot, and novelty of setting.  She also considers issues of grandeur, authority, intimacy and genre fictions (mystery, science fiction and fantasy).  She talks quite at length about the interaction of the author and the reader.  She also provides a list of books to be read for pleasure.

The major issue I have with the book is that the author spends more time discussing literary studies issues (plot, author/reader interaction, etc.) rather than why she likes to read.  Reading the book, you can see that she loves spending time in books, but it is not until the Afterword that she directly addresses the pleasure she has in holding, smelling, and immersing herself in books.   Thankfully, the list of books Wendy Lesser provides is not prescriptive, but rather a launching point for the reader to explore the authors/titles she enjoys.  

If you are looking for a book that discusses how reading can be a pleasure, read on.  Just do not expect a complete answer.