SAS Leading the Charge!

Lewis, Damien.  Forged In Hell: The Gripping True Story of the Special Forces Heroes who Broke 

         the Nazi Stranglehold.  New York: Citadel Press/Kensington Publishing, 2024.  ISBN 

        9780806542706

 

What do you know about the Special Air Service (SAS)?  Do you know how they ran wild in North Africa behind enemy lines destroying airfields, attempting to capture Rommel, and generally creating havoc?  But what would they do after North Africa was captured?  The after part is what Forged in Hell seeks to tell, at least in part.

 

After an attention grabbing introduction,  Damien Lewis takes the reader to a small eastern Mediterranean village of Azzib where the 1st SAS under Colonel "Paddy" Mayne was training for a particular task - scale a Sicilian cliff in the dead of night to take out guns that would threaten the Operation Husky invasion  fleet.  That was accomplished methodically and with few casualties among the SAS.  After a few days of rest they were invited to invade the town of Augusta which they managed despite not knowing all of the defenses they would encounter.  That invasion was a close-run affair that they survived due to their training and good luck.  Their luck ran out on their next adventure when they helped spearhead the invasion of Italy proper.  The landed on the wrong beach at Bagnara which turned out to be a blessing, but then they got pinned down by German forces as they advanced up the ridge line.  Height means sight, and what could be seen could be and would be shelled.  Thankfully more forces arrived and the Germans pulled back.  After this the 1st SAS ran several small operations behind enemy lines trying to help prisoners escape.  But then they were called on for a quick dash and grab operation at Termoli.  The SAS and other forces were to grab Termoli on the east coast of Italy by sea behind enemy lines and hold it until the British forces could cross the Biferno River and break open the Viktor Line.  Well the SAS and the British Commandos succeeded in seizing Termoli and some of the bridges but before British forces could cross in force, nature intervened with flooding rains that washed out the bridges leaving the SAS and their companions trapped and under siege by elite German paratrooper and panzer divisions,  Here is where the SAS emphasis on training paid off.  Despite extremely heavy losses, the SAS and the Commandos held until bridges were built and British tanks crossed over to relieve them.  Their next stop - England for more training and another invasion.  But that is the tale for another book!

If you are interested in small unit actions, the SAS, and/or the invasions of Sicily and Italy from a British point of view, Damien Lewis's Forged in Hell is a must read.  He carefully tells the story with respect and proper documentation that lets the reader in on the viewpoint and emotions of the participants.  Do take the time to read this exciting tale of heroism in combat! 

                    

        

 

 

Virus vs Bacteria!

Zeldovich, Lina.  The Living Medicine: How a Miraculous Healing Therapy was Nearly Lost -- 

         and  Why It Will Save Humanity When Antibiotics Fail.  New York: St. Martin's Press, 

        2024.  ISBN: 9781250283382

 

So what is a living medicine? And why would you want to take it?  In this title, it is a phage or more properly a bacteriophage which is a virus that attacks specific bacteria.  They are found anywhere there is bacteria and they "eat" that bacteria and leave other bacteria alone.  Plus they can work when antibiotics fail.  That is part of the point Lina Zeldovich  is making in The Living Medicine, part medical discovery, part historical account and part biography.

 

Lina Zeldovich opens the book with a description of the present day and the problem with antibiotic resistant bacteria.  She then jumps back to World War I and the search for cures to infectious diseases such as dysentery, cholera, and typhus.  They had vaccines, but those took time to prepare.  Giorgi Eliava was a doctor in Georgia (the country) who was working on cholera in Tbilisi when he accidentily discovered phages that were eating cholera bacteria in the samples he was testing, not that his microscope was powerful enough to see them, but he could see the results.  Around the same time Felix d'Herelle at the Pasteur Institute in Paris encountered similar action in regard to dysentery.  After the war Eliaya and d'Herelle got together in Paris and worked on refining the process of manufacturing phages that would kill various infectious diseases.  In the 1920's and 1930's they worked on creating institutes in Tbilisi (Soviet Republic of Georgia) and Paris.  Other folks started their own businesses doing the same in other parts of the world.  But capitalism killed phages in the US since there was no governmental regulation and the public did not trust the manufactures.  In the Soviet Union, phage research continued under government scrutiny and sort of thrived.  Phages played a part in saving Stalingrad from the German invasion by preventing a cholera outbreak.  But then there came the end of the Soviet Union and disintegration of many institutions which included the library of phages collected from all over the Soviet Union.  But with the rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria, scientists and the FDA in the United States are more willing to try other means.  So do not be surprised if you get treated with phages in the near future. 

If you are looking for an engaging book dealing with history, science, and medicine, pick up Lina Zeldovich's The Living Medicine!  Your time will be rewarded!

 

Mountain Man Icon

Drury, Bob, and Tom Clavin.  Throne of Grace: A Mountain Man, an Epic Adventure, and the 

         Bloody Conquest of the American West.  New York: St. Martin's Press, 2024.  ISBN:  

         9781250285836  

How much do you know about the Mountain Men?  I mean the men who in the early 1800's who ventured west from St. Louis (MO) to trap beavers for their pelts.  Men such as Jim Bridger lauded by Johnny Horton  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SmZy_b-qlU) among others.  But among this company of men, Jedediah Smith stands out.  He stands out for his bravery, his fortitude, his knowledge and his honesty.  Throne of Grace is his story told in the context of history.

Jedediah Smith arrived in St. Louis (MO) in 1822, having grown up along Lake Eire in Pennsylvania and Ohio.  He joined General William Henry Ashley's fur trading expedition, and headed west up the Missouri River to explore.  But that expedition encountered trouble partway up the river with Madan Indians.  But the fighting he encountered did not deter Smith.  Nor did the hardships of winter weather in the Rocky Mountains, the close encounters with hostile forces (Native Americans, Spanish, or British), or dangerous animals which included a very close encounter with a grizzly bear.  Due to his bravery, common sense, and leadership, Jedediah Smith rose from being one of Ashley's men to a partner in charge in the Rocky Mountain area.  H set up rendezvous points in the spring for the mountain men to gather and trade their pelts for supplies.  He also led expeditions that opened up large sections of the West to  settlers traveling to Oregon and California.  He was know for mapping everything he encountered and kept multiple journals documenting his finds.  He kept this up until he decided to retire.  But he went on one last venture with his brothers leading a wagon train to Santa Fe when he had a fatal encounter with Comanches.

Bob Drury and Tom Clavin did a masterful job of documenting the life of Jedediah Smith in the context of his time using his journals and other sources to pain a picture of the West in 1820's in all its gore and glory.  Take the time to read a tale of a true Western adventure!

The Inside Story of LEGO!

Konstanski, Daniel.  The Secret Life of LEGO Bricks: The Story of a Design Icon.  n.p.: Unbound, 

          2024.   ISBN:  9781464234415  

Have you ever played with LEGO bricks?  Watched The LEGO Movie?  Bought a set just for yourself, not for some child in your life?  Then you are likely a LEGO fan and can appreciate the work Daniel Konstanski put into The Secret Life of LEGO Bricks!

 

In eleven chapters and 300+ pages, Konstanski takes the reader through the history of the LEGO company from its beginning as a wooden toy company to the concept of building with plastic bricks to the powerhouse company it is today.  Along the way the reader gets to see part of the patent for that first plastic brick, then follow the process on how sets are designed, storyboarded, prototyped, and manufactured.  The reader follows the evolution of the LEGO brand from sets being designed for kids to free build their imagination to sets to create familiar setting such as homes, fire stations, police stations to more exotic setting such as castles, pirates, and space travel.  Then along came Technic and Bionicle along with licensed sets such as Star Wars, Harry Potter, Avengers, and the like aimed for adults as well as children.  Along side that LEGO developed its own intellectual properties with Ninjago and its related TV series and stuffed toys which led to The LEGO Movie and its spin-offs.

 

So if you are interested from hearing from the people behind the LEGO products you love, read  The Secret Life of Lego Bricks!  You will not regret it!

What makes you curious?

Mahnke, Aaron, and Harry Marks.  Cabinet of Curiosities: A Historical Tour of the Unbelievable, 

         the Unsettling, and the Bizarre.  New York: St. Martin's Press, 2024.  ISBN: 9781250291202

 

Have you ever wandered through a person's personal library or living room and noticed a variety of strange objects that are displayed?  Those are often called conversation pieces in that they generate questions that lead to discussions.  Aaron Mahnke thinks of The Enlightenment Room at the British Museum as a wonder room or cabinet of curiosities   - in essence a collection of objects gathered by the British from around the globe that they saw and went "huh" about.  In Cabinet of Curiosities, Mahnke and Marks have gathered some 160 of the stories that have appeared on his podcast arranged by topic.

 

Mahnke and Marks have gathered an interesting collection of tales that makes the reader wonder, go "Huh," and/or say "What!" in this collection of short tales.  The first topic is Curious Americana with 10 tales (Time Traveler about a 124 old gentleman is one).  The second topic is Wild Coincidences with 15 tales - "Luck of the Irish about a Irish girl working on the Titanic and other ships makes the reader question the concept of luck.  The third topic is Fantastic Beasts with 12 tales - here you find tales of bears, horses,  whales, and a lock-picking orangutan.  Unbelievable Stunts is topic number four (9 tales).  Among these tales is that of Walter who seemed to attract lightening and Ernie who survived plan crashes and 9 major concussions!  Topic five is Bizarre Events with 11 tales that include the time South Carolina had an atomic bomb dropped on it and the time British Airways managed to loose a pilot mid-flight (well almost loose him)!  Strange Literature with 12 tales is topic six.  One such tale reads like a murder mystery while another dealt with a death prediction!  Topic seven is Remarkable Inventions with 9 tales that lead to the creation of Braille and a chess playing robot in 1770 among other things.  Eerie Mysteries is topic eight with 13 tales which include glider models found in Egyptian tombs and the locked-room murder of the King of Bridge.  Topic nine delves into the Baffling Origins of 10 items such at the croissant, the Pinkerton Detective Agency, or Beauty and the Beast.  Uncanny People is topic ten with 16 tales of poisoners, Chinese ladies, or folks who make music with rocks!  Topic eleven takes the reader to Peculiar Places with 8 tales of the Crypt of Civilization, hidden chambers in France, and a very windy city in Iran.  More than Human is topic twelve with 8 tales of folks doing the seeming impossible such as Carl who played the violin with his feet or folks that can remember pretty much every moment of their lives.  Topic thirteen drops the reader int Puzzling Crimes with 11 tales of forged art, fake ghosts, and con artists.  Wartime Wonders is the fourteenth and final topic with 15 tales about a game that brought the FBI to the game company's headquarters, soldiers running away from a horde of hares, and a cursed plane.

Majnke and Mark's Cabinet of Curiosities is a book to keep around and delve into when you just want something to entertain yourself without having to think too hard.  Each tale is short, entertaining, and designed to make your wonder.  And the nice thing about having these tales in written form is that Mahnke and Marks provide their sources for each story so the reader can follow up those that really catch their interest! 

 

 

A Video Game and American History!

Olsson, Tore C.  Red Dead's History: A Video Game, an Obsession, and America's Violent Past.  

        New York: St. Martin's Press, 2024.  ISBN: 9781250287700

Do you play video games?  Are you into American history?  What about a video game that is set in a particular time period in American history?  If so, Red Dead's History would be an enjoyable read as Tore C. Olsson explores 1899 America via Red Dead Redemption II.

Olsson opens with an preface that outlines the origin of the book (blame Covid since it drew him back to gaming) which developed out of a class he taught at the University of Tennessee in 2021.  Then, in the introduction, he provides a blueprint for how he approaches history in relation to the game.  He also lays out his views on the accuracy of historical events and settings found in the game.  The rest of the book covers The West, The Deep South, and Southern Appalachia and finishes with an epilogue.

In Part I: The West, Olsson has seven chapters that explore what do we mean by "The West,"  Indian Wars, trains, cowboys, gunslingers, the Pinkertons, and outlaw gangs.  In Part II: The Deep South, Olsson dives into the paradox of race relations, the transition from Old South to New South, the Ku Klux Klan, chain gangs, field work, Jim Crow, the myth of "the Lost Cause," New Orleans, and suffragists in 10 chapters.  Part III: Southern Appalachia has three chapters that explore the myth of Appalachia, the resource scrambles that have shaped Appalachia , and blood feuds in Appalachia. The epilogue has Olsson's personal reflections on the game, American history, and all the fun he had on the way.

If you have played Red Dead Redemption II, this is a book for you.  If you enjoy American history and pop culture, Olsson's analysis of the game and its juxtaposition between American history and American historical myth makes for an interesting read. 

Russia and the world!

 Giles, Keir.  Russia's War on Everybody: And What It Means for You.  London: Bloomsbury 

         Academic, 2023.  ISBN: 9781350255081

Everyone not living in a cave has become aware of Russia's actions on the world stage.  If you are interested in some of the details of particular cases and likely reasons why, then read Gile's Russia's War on Everybody!  

 

Keir Giles in eight short chapters provides a wealth of documented information on how Russia seeks to influence people and events around the world for their benefit.  He starts by providing context on what makes Russia so different and strange in comparison to other European countries.  The next chapter examines how the concept of politics as warfare by other means plays out in the Kremlin and Russia at large.  There is a chapter discussing Russia's role in Brexit and Trump's 2016 campaign among other issues.  Then the role of the Russian military in influencing global politics comes to the fore.  Chapter 5 does a deep dive into how Russia's actions affect individual people.  Chapter 6 discusses the role of bribery, wealth, and "willing accomplices" allow Russia access and leverage.  The next to last chapter show how Russia has intertwined business, statecraft, and crime for its own benefit.  Giles finishes the book with a warning on what might come next.  He also provides a list of selected readings and documentation for his arguments.

If you are interested in understanding current geopolitics, Russia's War on Everybody would be a good title to read..