Planning for Overlord

Symonds, Craig L.  Neptune: The Allied Invasion of Europe and the D-Day Landings.  New York:
        Oxford University Press, 2014.  ISBN: 978-0-19-998611-8

Craig L. Symonds opens Neptune with President Roosevelt receiving word about Pearl Harbor.  He closes the book with the capture of Cherbourg and a summoning up of major personalities.  In between, he documents Operation Neptune which covers the planning and execution of the Allied invasion of continental Europe, specifically France.

Symonds provides the  documentation in this readable account of the planning that ended with Operation Overlord without overwhelming the reader.  He traces the evidence that shows how the "Germany First" objective was established.  He then demonstrates how the need to do something lead first to Operation Torch, and then the invasions of Sicily and Italy before Operation Overlord would take place.  He uses quotes, personal narratives, official documents and newly declassified material to provide the reader a sense of the decision making and planning at all levels that lead to the invasion of France on June 6, 1944.  He briefly covers the training for D-Day and the fiascoes that ensued.  He ends the book with a brief examination on how the planned operation compared to the actual operation (with more emphasis on events on Utah and Omaha than on Juno, Gold, or Sword).

In the final analysis, Symonds writes a very credible popular history of the back story of Operation Overlord.  Readers will appreciate the care Symonds used in crafting this book.

Google and the Librarians

Palfrey, John.  Biblio Tech: Why Libraries Matter More Than Ever in the Age of Google.  New
        York: Basic Books, 2015.  ISBN: 978-0-465-04299-9

John Palfrey channels passion and desire in making his case as to why libraries are relevant and more needed in this age of Google then ever.  He works on presenting a rational, yet passionate plea for the role libraries played in America's past and the part he thinks it needs to play in the present and future for the betterment of society.

Palfrey provides a list of what he considers the problems facing today's libraries: public use (and understanding of libraries); physical space versus virtual space; a desire to change libraries from locations to platforms (although he does acknowledge that hybrid libraries will be a necessity for the near future); networking for collection and preservation; and a decent chapter on copyright.  He ends the book with a ten item list of what he thinks need to be done to make libraries relevant in the future.

Despite his dry, passionate arguments, Palfrey's list strike this reader (a veteran librarian for 30 years) as well meaning, overdone, and often contradictory.  They resonate with similar calls of action that have rung out over the years, been applauded by librarians and done little but deforest the land.  Despite all the pleas and posturing, I foresee libraries continue to astound critics and supporters in the future despite all the grandiose plans made by library honchos because of the front line librarians' impact on students and patrons. 

It all started with Sabrina!

Epstein, Edward Z.  Audrey and Bill: A Romantic Biography of Audrey Hepburn & William 
       Holden.  Philadelphia, PA: Running Press, 2015.  ISBN: 978-0-7624-5597-3

The Introduction to Audrey and Bill clues in the discerning reader that Epstein is providing a biography of the "romance" of Audrey Hepburn and Bill Holden rather than a complete biography of their entwined lives.  Epstein using published accounts and interviews then proceeds to document how their shared connection affected the rest of their lives.

The movie Sabrina served as the catalyst for bringing Audrey and Bill into each others lives.  Some of the romance played by their characters bled into real life, or maybe it was the other way around.  And as in the movie, Bill did not get Audrey in the end.  But that fact did not end the connection between the two.  Epstein takes sixteen more chapters to tell how Audrey and Bill found other arms to comfort and support them.  They even worked together on another movie, but the spark found in Sabrina could not be flamed back to again as too much time and experience had shaped each of them. 

Epstein wrote a very readable account of the entwined lives of Audrey and Bill, providing plenty of stories, movie details, and glimpses of Hollywood life all through a rose-colored filtered lens of romance.  The book starts with the filming of Sabrina with little backstory on how Bill Holden and Audrey Hepburn arrived at that point in history.  The tale continues through the romantic lives and movies of each person ending with their death, followed by a brief look at their place in movie history.   Audrey and Bill works best for readers interested in the interaction of stars and their movies who do not expect too much analysis on the way.

Scholars on Comic Book Movies

Burke, Liam.  The Comic Book Film Adaption: Exploring Modern Hollywood's Leading Genre. 
        Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2015.  ISBN: 9781628462036

Liam Burke brings an academic's focus to the study of comic book movies.  In five chapters, he mines adaption theory in light of comic book film studies, surveys audiences in Ireland regarding their knowledge of comic fandom, studies how the Marvel Way of Comics has influenced comic book movies and many other topics.

Each chapter is self-contained, but mentions discussions found in other chapters.  Chapter titles include The Golden Age of Comic Book Filmmaking, The Comic Book Movie Genre, Fans, Fidelity, and the Grammar of Value, A Comic Aesthetic, How to Adapt Comics the Marvel Way, concluding with The Future of the Comic Book Movie.  Burke also includes in an appendix the North American Box Office Totals for Comic Book Film Adaptions (in dollar amounts not weighted for inflation).

Burke develops well his thesis for each chapter, providing plenty of scholarly detail and notes to other studies.  He makes his points accompanied by illustrations where appropriate, but never really provides a coherent theme or scope for the book.  Rather he seems to have taken ideas that did not make it into published articles and crammed them into one disjointed book.  However, if you are interested in film adaption theory and comic books, you could mine this book for your own pleasure.

Six Weeks That Changed the War and World

Preston, Diana.  A Higher Form of Killing: Six Weeks in World War I That Forever Changed the
         Nature of Warfare.  NY: Bloomsbury Press, 2015.  ISBN: 978-1-62040-212-2

Diana Preston takes three seemingly unrelated events of 1915 to weave a tale that is a thrilling, informative, and interesting history.  Generally the first use of poison gas, the sinking of the Lusitania, and the bombing of London by Zeppelins are examined as singular events, but  Preston demonstrates how these events were catalysts in overturning long-held views on the conduct of war, a flouting of the Hague Conventions rules of war, and an escalation of scientific warfare that continues to resonate today.

In A Higher Form of Killing, each episode is examined in the context of the war and in relation to the other two episodes.  The main characters are introduced, the science behind the weapons is examined and then a recounting of the event using first person perspectives when and where available.  Finally, the author looks at the lasting effects each event had on the rest of the war and on future wars and conflicts.

Preston manages to balance her look at the three separate events by combining these acts of German aggression into an examination of how the world thinks of weapon systems before, during, and after the First World War.  Read A Higher Form of Killing and make up your mind regarding her thesis.

A Higher Form of Killing

Six Weeks in World War I That Forever Changed the Nature of Warfare

- See more at: http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/a-higher-form-of-killing-9781620402122/#sthash.47mGrhTd.dpuf

A Higher Form of Killing

Six Weeks in World War I That Forever Changed the Nature of Warfare

- See more at: http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/a-higher-form-of-killing-9781620402122/#sthash.47mGrhTd.dpuf

A Higher Form of Killing

Six Weeks in World War I That Forever Changed the Nature of Warfare

- See more at: http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/a-higher-form-of-killing-9781620402122/#sthash.47mGrhTd.dpuf

A Higher Form of Killing

Six Weeks in World War I That Forever Changed the Nature of Warfare

- See more at: http://www.bloomsbury.com/us/a-higher-form-of-killing-9781620402122/#sthash.47mGrhTd.dpuf

Not Quite Another Bulge Book

Caddick-Adams, Peter.  Snow and Steel: The Battle of the Bulge 1944-45.  New York: Oxford
        University Press, 2015.  ISBN: 978-0-19-933514-5

With Snow and Steel,  Peter Caddick-Adams adds another volume to the multitude that have been written on the most recognized battles fought by the U.S. Army in World War II.  However, if you are new to the Battle of the Bulge, do not start with Snow and Steel, rather hunt up and read Battle: The Story of the Bulge by John Toland or A Time for Trumpets by Charles B. MacDonald.  Either of these books do a better job of placing events in context across the battlefield. 

Peter Caddick-Adams provides plenty of proof in the  the first fourteen chapters to convince the reader that Hitler started thinking and planning for a West Front offensive as early as September 1944 during the time of Operation Market-Garden and to set the stage for the battle.  He then proceeds in the next twenty-two chapters to narrate the shifting fortunes of the the Allies and the Germans during the course of the battle.  He then finishes the book with two chapters summarizing the end of World War II on the Western Front, followed by a chapter discussing previous Battle of the Bulge books and finishes with a look at the historical reputations of many of the Battle of the Bulge participants.

Snow and Steel gets high marks for the drawing attention to the planning Hitler and his staff did before the offensive.  The book also gets high marks for the use of German sources and narrators.  However, while the setting is superb, the battle description is disjointed with abrupt switches of locations within chapters with little or no transition and  a disturbing habit in listing all battle participants who were famous or became famous (Jimmy Stewart for one, Henry Kissinger, for another) whether they played a relevant role in the battle or not.  This disconnect and the fact that almost half-the book does not deal with the battle is why this book is recommended for those who feel the need to read every book about the Battle of the Bulge or really want to know what the latest theories are related to the battle.  Novices should look elsewhere!

For Whom Doth The Rebels Yell?

Gwynne, S. C.  Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson.  New
       York: Scribner, 2014.  ISBN: 978-1-4516-7328-9

Are you interested in Thomas J Jackson's life and military endeavors?  Then you picked the right book to inform your curiosity, inflame your historical passion and detail a mosaic of "Stonewall" Jackson in a short 600+ pages.  S. C. Gwynne provides a biography that covers the whole life of Jackson but not in chronological order.   

Rebel Yell opens with Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson stealing a march on Union forces as he entrains his army and moves to join Lee outside Richmond in 1862. The author then skips back to the opening of the war and narrates events through the First Battle of Manassas/Bull Run.  Another backward time jump covers Jackson's early life, his Army career including his Mexican War exploits and his tenure as VMI professor.  The narrative then meanders enticingly through Jackson's Valley campaign, his lack-luster leadership before Richmond, his brilliance at Second Manassas and his solid performance at Antietam and Fredericksburg.  The last part (Part Five) covers the Winter of 1863 and Jackson's final performance at Chancellorsville.

S. C Gwynne provides a very solid biography of Jackson without hero-worship that allows the reader access to the military leader and the man behind the reputation.  He combines eye witness accounts, newspaper stories, diaries, official reports and other sources to document the tale of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson.  Rebel Yell is well worth reading for both pleasure and insight.