5 comments about The True Intrepid.

1. Bill Macdonald has contributed valuably by sleuthing some of the past of the mythic character, Sir William Stephenson.
   
   Macdonald is a journalist from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, who on hearing of the death of Stephenson in 1989, decided to investigate the past of a man who hailed from Winnipeg and was entrusted by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill with serving as his intelligence czar in North America during World War II.
   
   Fortunately for history, Macdonald was able to uncover glimmers of the truth of Stephenson's humble origins; his move to Britain during the 1920s and 1930s; and his businesses. One was steel; through the steel industry, Macdonald may have come to appreciate the Nazi commitment to expanding its military. Churchill became prime minister after the British debacle at Dunkirk. He promptly dispatched Stephenson to the U.S. Based at Rockefeller Center, Stephenson established an aggressive intelligence program and helped advise the U.S. in formation of what became the O.S.S., predecessor of the CIA. Macdonald interviewed a former Univ. of Toronto professor who directed the vital communications links conveying Nazi communications intercepts among British, Canadian, and U.S. codebreakers.
   
   Behind the stories and myths surrounding Stephenson, Macdonald has shone light on some important, classified aspects of World War II. When I read the first edition of this book, I found the story somewhat hard to follow and strange, though also strangely plausible. For the paperback edition, a former CIA staff historian has offered an introduction, probably because he would have had the same reaction.
   
   I am reminded of another recent book (The Secret of Hut 26) reporting how the U.S. developed computers in Dayton, Ohio for attacking Nazi codes. The story was revealed by veterans of this endeavor wishing to report their contribution, 50 years later. Similarly, interesting stories and people, can arise from Winnipeg. Owing to the highly original investigative reporting, I give this book 5 stars.



2. MacDonald has successfully revealed much of the often clouded life of Intrepid, a man whose primary career goal was - of course - to remain in the shadows. The immensely likeable and non-descript Stephenson (Intrepid) was the penultimate spy: you wouldn't notice him in a crowd and if you did, you'd find yourself charmed and at ease. This side of the man has been overlooked in past books, but MacDonald reveals just how significant this particular trait is to an effective intelligence officer. In Stephenson, readers will learn how charm hid the great depths of intelligence, honor and violent resolve that made Intrepid a name to admire in the history of his profession. MacDonald also offers a highly-readable, compelling look at the events of Intrepid's life, keeping an admirable balance between objectivity and the thrills of a good story. David R. Bannon, Ph.D.; author "Race Against Evil."



3. If the 20th century was to be represented by 4 or 5 individuals, William Stephenson would have to be one of them. By this I mean that his life was incredible. He would be worthy of an interesting biography in any of the lives that he led: a scientist, a businessman or a spymaster.

   The book goes into much more detail of Intrepid's life, as well as those of some of his associates than the famous Man Called Intrepid book (which is worth reading as well!). This book will inspire and awe anybody! Well researched and well enough written.




4. A thoroughly researched and well documented account of the quintessential North American spymaster William Stephenson. New information dispels past myths about a fascinating man who, with the help of his "unknown" agents,played an crucial role influencing the events of the Second World War.



5. This book researches and chronicles in great detail the life of one man who, while obscure and unknown, played a pivotal role in the unfolding of World War 2. This book tells an important history and heightens my appreciation of some of our stories that has never been adaquitely told.

No comments about John Franklin: Traveller on Undiscovered Seas (The Quest Library).

No comments about Robert Whyte's 1847 Famine Ship Diary: The Journey of an Irish Coffin Ship.

2 comments about 100 Days in the Jungle.

1. The airport at Quito is not that wild...does it need some order, yes? Are people getting hit by police? NO! That is absurd.

   I find the story intriguing, but craziness like the airport story, locals not telling the police about guerrillas, and the mere fact that the spanish used in the book is atrocious. Vamos means "Let's (we) go." Not "Vamoose" like Yosimite Sam. Also, Joto is called Hoto many times...where was the editor? There are other ridiculous translations and misuse of Spanish. It did not seem to be intentional because when the oil workers used their spanish it fit the situation...the other misuses did not fit.

   If you want to read a kidnap tail...read this. If you want to read about the real Ecuador...go to another source.




2. I do not doubt that the individuals characterized in this book had a harrowing and dangerous experience, but the accuracy of their adventure is brought into question by the obvious inacuracies of their discription of life in Ecuador. I found their description of the airport almost laughable. Airport Security Guards beating poor destitute locals with a stick!! I have lived in Quito for the last 5 years and have traveled through the airport many many times and have NEVER seen anything like what was described. I have also worked in the area they were captured. I agree that a certain danger exists in this area and one needs to be very careful. However, I have a hard time believing everything else when I found so many obvoiusly incorrect details. I think that the naritive would have been just as good and even more interesting had there not been inserted all the incorrect details to supposedly make the story more interesting. There a enough interesting stories here in Ecuador without all the literary license.

   Reader: Please take with a grain of salt all the violence and "agressively" poor people. I sincerely hope that the rest of the books narritive of the 100 days in the jungle is much more accurate that thier description of Quito. Despite all of this I found the book interesting and recommend it.

5 comments about Bobby Fischer Goes to War: How the Soviets Lost the Most Extraordinary Chess Match of All Time.

1. "Bobby Fischer Goes to War" revisits the Cold War showdown between Soviet World Chess Champion Boris Spassky and American enfant terrible Bobby Fischer in Reykjavik, Iceland in the summer of 1972. Billed by the press as an ideological duel between Western individualism and the Soviet chess machine, the match inspired an unprecedented interest in the game in the U.S. and ultimately rejuvenated the Soviet chess program as well. BBC journalists David Edmonds and John Eidinow propose that the greatest battle was not on the chessboard. This is a chronicle of the drama behind the scenes, among the American and Soviet teams and their Icelandic hosts, that makes the battle on the board look tame.
   
   Background information about the two competitors, their personalities, how they got to this point, and an attempt by the authors to explain how a chess player's mind works bring us up to the negotiations for the World Championship match. If it seemed that getting everyone there was a feat, matters only got worse once the match started. It was to be two months in constant crisis, due mostly to Fischer's unrelenting, bizarre demands. The authors provide a blow-by-blow account of the confrontations on and off the chessboard, as the organizers tried to deal with Fischer, Spassky dealt with the stress, the Soviets with the prospect of losing, and paranoia on both sides that the players were victims of espionage.
   
   "Bobby Fischer Goes to War" is a snapshot of a symbolic event in a particular political climate which, not surprisingly, does not seem to symbolize what it was made to at the time. Boris Spassky was hardly a Soviet loyalist, and Bobby Fischer was a poor representative of the Free World, hated by the U.S. State Department. Yet, these two men at this juncture in the Cold War fought "the most notorious chess duel in history". This is a very readable, engaging account of that event and its cast. I am puzzled, however, that no one suggests that Bobby Fischer suffered from some degree of autism, which, combined with a domineering and self-important personality, explains his behavior. He is demonized a bit too much considering that he clearly had a neurological disorder.



2. As someone with a moderate curiosity in chess, and wanting to be drawn into its world through enlightening analysis, this book is simply atrocious. To my way of thinking, the purpose in reading about this game would be to illuminate the relationship between psychology and complex strategy on the board -- if you're going to write this book than you have to get a handle on making that angle interesting or forget about it. A tabloid study about a irrritating egoist is not what I want. I cannot finish this.



3. Prior to the match Boris Spassky said that regardless of the results the events in Reykjavik would be a "celebration of chess". Bobby Fischer on the other hand, was going to war and wanted "to crush the Soviets". Two thoughts on Fischer come to mind after reading this book: What a jerk, and what a shame. He pretty much flushed his career down the toilet after this match by refusing to defend his title against Karpov in 1974, and for the most selfish of reasons - he couldn't handle losing - and he went out on top. How convenient. While his chess games are incredible to follow (and I highly recommend you take the time to do so) the fact is that he lost in life; while Spassky, whom he beat over the board, won (some observers even say that Spassky should've won the match based on pure chess skill and preparation; regardless of the results, his best games are as well worth studying as Fischer's). Fischer's absence throughout much of the 70s and all of the 1980s is lamentable, and like so many of his acquaintances, the more I find myself making excuses for his ridiculous behavior. "Bobby Fischer Goes to War" depicts this paradox and phenomenon pretty well and anyone interested in Cold War history might really enjoy the bizarre and intriguing events in this little corner of the wider, global show-down between communism and capitalism. Nevertheless, I have a few reservations about this book.
   
   Despite its being a well-researched, compelling and easy-to-read account of the off-board, behind the scenes battles between Fischer & the Russians, it has several short-comings, the foremost of which is a lack of chess. Sure, the authors make some token efforts to summarize certain highlights of a few games, but the focus is on Fischer's antics rather than his moves (or, if you're a Fischer apologist, his "off the board brinksmanship") and this seems unfortunate to me. By having the games interwoven into the main storyline the peripheral hoopla of the match would have its proper context. Not only this, but it would relieve the tedium of some 300 pages of some rather petty and exasperating behavior, and ultimately, would redeem the man himself. Reading about Bobby Fischer without his chess games is like, well, try imagining Mike Tyson without boxing. Additionally, I'm not sure how this book is any different from "The Russians vs. Fischer" (D. Plisetsky & S. Voronkov, Everyman, 1994, 2005 2nd ed.)? Not having been able to read it I can't say for sure, but from what I can tell it contains more interviews from the Russian side (the authors apparently utilized the same "unpublished U.S. & Soviet records" so prominently advertised on this book's jacket) and the games themselves. These two factors alone make me suspect that I bought the inferior product, and so I recommend you compare the two.
   
   Other criticisms:
   
   A complete absence of reference notes for any of the some 150+ sources for this book make it difficult, if not impossible to locate the sources for a large amount of curious material. Have these guys ever heard of plagiarism?
   
   The authors, who are journalists, write in the typical "play by play" style of their profession, which works well in pithy newspaper or magazine columns (or for John Krakauer & Mark Bowden), but wears thin in a full-length narrative about a chess match without any real chess.
   
   The coverage of the 1992 re-match is given short-shrift and conveniently written off a "a bad sequel".
   
   In the end I wanted to hear more from Spassky and Fischer themselves. There are a lot of secondary viewpoints and great sources of information here, but how much better could the text have been had the authors solicited or used more direct quotes from the participants themselves - especially Spassky since he seemed most willing to talk? Recently I discovered "B. Fischer: The Wandering King" by H. Bohm & K. Jongkind (Batsford, 2005) which looks to be fill this gap.
   
   The one thing that redeems the author's decision to focus on the non-chess related action in my mind is that it does illuminate something important that I don't believe they intended; namely that, despite their extreme differences, both chess masters managed not only to play some great chess, but refused to be manipulated by their respective political systems. That is, regardless of Fischer's obsession with control and the fiasco he made of this match - not to mention the ass he made of himself - it seems to me that the "celebration of chess" Spassky envisioned came about in-spite of all this, and in no small part due to his own tolerance, patience and ability to challenge Fischer on the chess board. For it was these two individual chess-artists who not only enriched and popularized the game worldwide through their immortal play, greatly benefiting their fellow players through larger purses future tournaments, but most importantly, their outmaneuvering of systemic powers that sought to constrain them for narrow-minded political propaganda.



4. BOBBY FISHER GOES TO WAR is a well-researched book, using, among other sources, recently opened Soviet files on the match. The authors (Edmonds and Eidinow) fill in the background leading up to the match, including bios of the lives of Fisher and Spassky, the two combatants in "the chess match of all time". However, the story lacks for sustainable drama; things poke along, the authors obviously stretching out a long magazine piece into a book. This is fine for chess fans but the general reader may feel too bogged down. On the other hand, there is little analysis of the games played in the match, which might frustrate a chess buff who has not yet read any of the analytical books on the match. BOBBY FISHER GOES TO WAR is probably more a political book than a sports book as all the negotiations, psychology, and behind the scenes manuvering are spelled out as well as the actions of the Soviet Communist party machinery regarding the match and very little on the games itself. Fisher comes off as brilliant but insane and this reader had little sympathy for his pathological behavior or the chess authorities caving into his ridiculous and nuerotic demands. All of that is covered in detail in the book. Ultimately, this is not the story of an American hero but of a pathetic, spoiled, ungrateful boy in a man's suit.



5. really wondeful. the appendix chapter his mother is, in my opinion,
   even more interesting than the book. book, of course, is a fantastic read.

2 comments about The Dionnes.

1. The true story of the Dionne Quints, and how their life was not a story-book one as painted by the media and the Canadian government. What these women went through is tragic.

   A book to finally set the record straight!




2. Tescher's interest is not the happy-go-lucky little girls that adorned newspapers and goods in the 1930s but the adult Dionnes, ill-equipped to function in the real world. Until their recent financial settlement with the Ontario government they knew terrible poverty and have been marked their entire lives by their famous birth. An unusual angle to a fascinating subject.

No comments about The Green Trees Beyond: A Memoir.

5 comments about No Man's River.

1. It has been a long time since i have enjoyed a book as much as those written by Farley Mowat. His respect for native cultures and his skill at describing their environment are what make these books so enjoyable and interesting. I will read all of his works--it is well worth the time.



2. No matter how many books he writes, Farley Mowat continues to amaze his fans. His non-fiction is never dry or uninspiring, though he's a talented fiction writer as well, and this faithful reader of his work is certainly not disappointed. Thank you again, Mr. Mowat for your great writing. It is truly appreciated!
   Chrissy K. McVay



3. A book I could not put down. It is a well written insight into a world that none of us will ever experience. Mr. Mowat is a great story teller and a national treasure. Anyone who is interested in the least about people and lands of the north must read this book.



4. Farley Mowat has been one of my favorite authors since I was in 6th grade in the early 1960s. I ordered a copy of "Two Against the North" from the Arrow Book Club and read it over and over. The story of two boys from different cultures trying to survive winter in the barrens was riveting to me, a gal firmly stuck in the suburbs. Mowat's descriptions of glacial landforms in that book remained with me and were recalled with every earth science and geology lesson I ever took. (The book can be found in some libraries under the title "Lost in the Barrens"--a great read for a middle schooler curious about the world outside familiar places.) Part of what I loved about No Man's River was that the journeys described were clearly the basis for many aspects of "Lost in the Barrens"--kind of like an echo of an old favorite. Mowat is the consummate story teller--reading his books makes you want to sit around a campfire with him for several hours hearing spin his yarns. One of my favorite quotes comes from him--"Never let the facts get in the way of a good story." No Man's River has jaw-dropping adventure as well as thought provoking commentary on the clash of vastly different cultures. Enjoy!



5. Readers can count this book as one more captivating true tale of Canada's far north, told by its best-read authority. The young Farley Mowat, returning disillusioned from the War in 1947 and thinking to become a biologist, joined with a taxonomist on a collecting "scientific" expedition into the Barren Lands of Northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The headstrong 26 year old was improbably paired up with a disciplined naturalist of the old school, who killed and skinned every animal he could shoot, poison or trap. After a while, Farley, having seen enough killing in the war, became disillusioned with this approach to appreciating the wonders of nature, and deserted his post in favor of exploring the largely uninhabited territory in the company of an Indian half-breed, Charles Schweder. His real desire was to contact the "People of the Deer," the Imhalmiut. These people came to be idealized in Farley's mind as a people "uncontaminated with the murderous aberrations of civilized man."
   
   Mowat gives a clear picture of the hardships encountered by the few inhabitants of this harsh landscape. By the time of the expedition, the Imhalmiut had dwindled to only a few scattered bands, having been nearly wiped out in a succession of epidemics. Farley tells of the well-intended but sporadic and largely ineffectual aid given to them by the Canadian government and its minions, and how Schweder had been traumatized by his experience in a partially successful rescue attempt he had made the year previous. His rescue of a six year old replacement for his child bride, dead of starvation, presents the reader (and Mowat) with a thought- provoking moral dilemma. So much for the myth of the noble savage...
   
   For me, though, the message of the book was how uncaring and ruthless "Mother Nature" really is, and how down and dirty a bare-handed struggle it is. He, Thoreau-like, at one point meticulously gives a complete list of the things they chose to carry on their epic trip down an unmapped river system: guns and ammo, flour, sugar, baking soda, canned food, gasoline and oil for their outboard motor, tarps and tents. Even with all these products of Western technology, their trip was hair-raising and nearly disastrous. And the bugs!
   
   For such a rough subject, this turns out to be an engrossing tale and hard to put down. On the other hand, the map requires a magnifying glass to read and there are no illustrations. I really appreciated, though, the last chapter, in which he follows up on the fate of the characters he encountered, giving the reader some "closure" as it is disgustingly called these days.
   
   I found it a little curious, though, that Mowat felt the need to apologize in a postscript for his use of some now politically incorrect words, such as Indian, half-breed, and Eskimo. This is largely a story of the encounters of people with different cultures, of different races, viewed through eyes that are quite a bit more honest than is usually tolerated by the demagogues and girly-men of our sensitive time.

5 comments about Gordie: A Hockey Legend.

1. Gordie a Hockey Legend is book is a great book for anyone who knows about hockey and what the sport is and how it has evolved for its early stages with the popular players like Gordie Howe, He really set the bar in hockey back in his days. He held the NHL scoring title with the most goals in his career with 801 goals until "The Great One", Wayne Gretzky passed him in April of 1993.Gordie is really a Hockey legend.
   
   Gordie is really a legend. He was Known for his ability to be tough anytime during a game, and get the goals, and stand up for his team at anytime needed. This Book was really good in my view. It described his great career, and his life leading up to and being in the NHL.
   
   I would recommend this book to a lot of my friends, especially to my friends that like, and or play hockey. This book really shows the meaning for, and how hockey started to become more popular especially in the United States and in Canada. I really liked this book, and it is one of my favorites, and I would recommend it to anyone. This is truly a great book.



2. Gordie Howe: A hockey legend tells about his whole life. From when he was little kid, to when he made it in the NHL. It tells about how he first came upon hockey as a little kid. It tells about his carrer and the NHL. I thought that this book was ok. Not horrible but not excellent. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn about gordie howe, or wants to read about him.



3. This book tells about Gordie Howe, one of the best hockey players ever, and his career in the NHL.In the beginning, it tells about his first couple of seasons, and then tells more about his great career and facts about him toward the end. I learned a lot about him from this book, for example, I learned that he has played for two teams, the Hartford Whalers and the Detroit Red Wings, and that he was considered one of the greatest players of his time.



4. As a lifetime fan of the Detroit Red Wings, I was overjoyed when I found that there is a recent biography of Howe that is much more up to date than many written in the 60's and 70's. This book gives the reader an inside look at what it was like to get into the NHL in the 50's, and what it took to stay there and become a star. Mackskimming is very candid when talking about the front office's team management "politics" The reader also gets an up-close look at other great stars of the era such as Red Kelly, Ted Linsay, Maurice "Rocket" Richard, and coach Jack Adams. A must read for any TRUE hockey fan.



5. The book starts out covering Howe in excellent detail. Several pages cover his first seasons. Then as if the author lost interest, the decades go flying by. My reasons for reading the book was to find out, why Howe was considered great, how Howe compared to Richard, how the game changed over the years and what it was about Howe that enabled him to play for so long. The book only addressed how Howe established his early greatness.

No comments about Doctor to the North: Thirty Years Treating Heart Disease Among the Inuit (Footprints Series).