South Brunswick, NJ: A. S. Barnes, 1975.
I have a longstanding interest in military history, but since it focuses on Europe, or at least the Western world, I’ve never paid much attention to China. In rereading Keegan’s A History of Warfare, however, I came across his discussion of the military reasons behind the piecemeal construction, over a period of a thousand years or so, of the Great Wall, the most massive construction in the history of Man — roughly 4,000 miles, total.
NY: Random House, 1956.
This was the first of Renault’s historical novels set in the classical Greek world, and it’s still arguably her best, encompassing life in Athens and in the Aegean during the latter stages of the Peloponnesian War.
NY: Berkeley, 2010.
Okay, so it’s late in 1932 and Lady Georgiana, living on tea and toast because her family’s broke and she has no way to earn a living, gets drafted by her cousin, Queen Mary, to go and represent the family at a royal wedding in a castle in Transylvania.
NY: Bantam, 2008.
The entry before this one I thought was rather weak and overwritten, but the author has bounced right back in what I think is one of the best in the series about Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James, two London homicide cops who work very well together professionally but who also have a so-far-successful blended family together.
NY: Baen, 2012.
As the many fans of the adventures of Miles Vorkosigan know, Miles has reached the age of forty (in Cryoburn) and is about to enter upon a new and very different phase of his life. (No spoiler details for new readers, sorry.) His days as the Little Admiral are far behind him and probably even his work as Imperial Auditor is going to be affected. But, of course, Miles isn’t the only inhabitant of the dozen or more novels about him.
NY: Facts on File, 1994.
Reference librarians are very familiar with this publisher, which has put out a long, long string of useful ready-reference volumes on an impressive array of topics. Because of my long-term interest in classical history, this one has a prominent spot on my own shelf, and it’s been heavily thumbed over the past fifteen years.
Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1996.
Back in the 1950s, a series of useful volumes began to appear under the uniform series title “Everyday Life in [name your period or culture]” which were designed for high school readers, though they were popular with anyone wanting a quick, accessible introduction to a given slice of social history.
NY: HarperCollins, 2001.
Bujold is best known for her fast-paced and hugely entertaining space opera series featuring Miles Vorkosigon — but when you’ve read all of those, what can you do? You can turn immediately to this first volume in her first trilogy of fantasy. And even if you’re not normally a fantasy sort of person, don’t worry — this isn’t dragons and witches with broomsticks. Like all her books, this is about people. Bujold couldn’t do bad characterization if you held a crossbow to her head.
NY: Orbit, 2009.
The author’s “First Law” trilogy crashed onto the noir fantasy scene like a mercenary’s battle ax and if you enjoyed that — and I did, very much — you’ll be right at home with this one. We all know what’s “best served cold” and vengeance in all its forms is very much the theme.
NY: Viking, 1977.
Like Waterloo and Gettysburg, the Battle of Hastings has been the subject of hundreds of volumes of history over the centuries. The date “1066” is one of the first things a young British student learns (or used to), like “1492” or “1776” in the U.S.
As a retired public librarian (very large system in a very large city), I've been writing book reviews for the consumption of other people for more than 40 years. Since 1999, I've been posting my reviews to a personal website, but I'm now shifting my reviewing jones to this blog.
I have been a semi-professional genealogist since the 1960s and I have another blog of book reviews in the field of family research! To read those, go to BookSmith's Genealogy Book Reviews.
