Category Archives: Review

Book Review: H H Kirst The Revolt of Gunner Asch (Translator: Robert Kee) (1955)

Posted on August 31, 2020 by odeboyz

Kirst is best known for Night of the Generals, which became a terrific film (1967) starring Peter O’Toole and Omar Sharif. Kirst can be counted as an unlucky German. He was born in 1914 and was 19 when Hitler took … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Ruth Harris ~ The Man on Devil’s Island: Alfred Dreyfus and the affair that divided France (2010)

Posted on August 17, 2020 by odeboyz

This biography is more than a Life. Ruth Harris’s meticulous study of French politics, the Roman Catholic church, the Army, Anti-Semitism and human drama is stunning. She reveals intellectuals who took up the cause of a Jewish army officer: the … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Walter Mosley ~ Fearless Jones (2001)

Posted on August 10, 2020 by odeboyz

The Black Lives Matter campaign changed my re-read of this book. Mosley writes about the period before mobile phones videos but in such a vivid way that his images last a long time. Videos however are easy to disseminate and … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Philip Kerr ~ Hitler’s Peace (2005)(2020)*

Posted on August 3, 2020 by odeboyz

Sometimes an author strikes lucky and invents a character which is utterly compelling and becomes the motif of their entire career. Lee Child’s Reacher, Ian Rankin’s Rebus are excellent examples. The reader looks forward to the next Reacher novel almost … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Ted Lewis ~ GBH (1980)

Posted on July 27, 2020 by odeboyz

Until I’d read this book I hadn’t appreciated how tame police procedurals novels are. The maverick Detective Inspector heroically cuts corners. There’s always a common-sense explanation, which everyone except the bureaucratic Assistant Chief Constable accepts. He’s standing in the way … Continue reading →

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Book Review: James Hawes ~ My Little Armalite (2008)

Posted on July 20, 2020 by odeboyz

I wrongly believed that this would stand in the tradition of Tom Sharpe and so looked forward to slap-stick humour. It isn’t Sharpe it’s a biting satire with lots of black humour. John Goode is a 45 year old university … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Michael Dobbs ~ Goodfellowe MP (1998)

Posted on July 13, 2020 by odeboyz

If you like politics nasty, sinister, corrupt and Machiavellian then a Michael Dobbs novel is just for you. He learned his trade as an advisor to Margaret Thatcher before realising that that cesspit could be monetised. From that insight was … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Tim Harford ~ Messy: How to be creative and resilient in a tidy-minded world (2016)

Posted on July 6, 2020 by odeboyz

Britain had a TV show whose catch phrase was, ‘The computer says no’ and it reflected a stifled uncreative world. It satirises the mechanistic attempt at deleting risk from everyday life looking for monochrome ‘perfection’. A hideous uncreative world doomed … Continue reading →

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Book Review: E M Delafield ~ The Diary of a Provincial Lady (1930)

Posted on June 29, 2020 by odeboyz

Through the magic of Amazon’s pricing policy this costs 99p on Kindle. On the other hand if you wish to buy all five of the ‘Provincial Lady’ series you pay only 49p! Obviously it’s your decision but I risked 49p … Continue reading →

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The Treacherous King Edward VIII

Posted on June 8, 2020 by odeboyz

  Source https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/books/563824/New-book-reveals-fascinating-relationship-Edward-VIII-Adolf-Hitler  

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