Seven books read this month, three histories and four novels, two fantasy, two science fiction.
Bombers & Mash — Raynes Minns
A social history of the British homefront during World War II as experienced by British women in all walks of life.
the Mad God’s Amulet — Michael Moorcock
The sequel to The Jewel in the Skull, another slab of sword & sorcery.
Bitter Gold Hearts — Glen Cook
The second of Cook’s Garrett, P. I. mix of hardboiled detective and fantasy novels.
Once a Hero & Rules of Engagement — Elizabeth Moon
Two of Moon’s largely enjoyable if lightweight military science fiction novels, somewhat marred by me by Moon’s insistence to use rape as a plot device.
The Kaiser’s Battle — Martin Middlebrook
An exhaustive description of the first day of the last German offensive in World War I, 21 March 1918. What made this book were the numerous eyewitness accounts, both culled from the vast WWI literature already existing and taken from interviews of surviving veterans. Originally published in 1978, this was about the latest that a historian could still do this.
Roger II of Sicily — Hubert Houben
A history of the life and reign of Roger II, the founder of the kingdom of Sicily, translated from the German for the Cambridge Medieval Textbooks series.
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