The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon , Grann - B

                                              This book tells the story of, and the much later search for, Colonel Percy Harrison Fawcett, considered the last of the great explorers of Victorian England. He was the 'David Livingstone of the Amazon' and a recipient in 1916 of a Royal Geographical Society Founder's Gold Medal. He vanished in the Amazon in 1925 at the age of 57. His objective was the lost City of Z, the famed El Dorado, the search for which had been claiming the lives of Europeans for centuries.  In the 1920's, the Amazon basin remained a vast, unknown wilderness capable of punishing and killing all who entered. Fawcett embarked with his 21-year-old son Jack and Jack's best friend, Raleigh Rimell. They sent five months of dispatches back and then were never heard from again.
Fawcett's Amazon career had begun in 1906 when the RGS sent him on a mapping expedition that involved descending from the Bolivian Andes to the floor of the jungle and transversing it for almost a year. He had an amazing genetic makeup that kept him healthy in one of the the planet's most inhospitable environments. It was as if he prospered in the jungle, where he went year after year. He was widely acclaimed and known throughout the world. He spent most of the Great War in the trenches as an artillery officer and was back in the Amazon in 1920. Financing a second post-war expedition required assistance from American journalists, financiers and philanthropists. On April 20, 1925, the three-man party departed Cuiaba, Brazil. It is now generally accepted that Indians killed the them soon thereafter.
                                             The author's 2005 pursuit of the Fawcett trail was the most recent but not the first. Fawcett's disappearance was front page news, and over the years, an estimated one hundred people have died trying to find his trail. Much of what had been the deepest jungle 80 years before has been cleared and is now part of civilization, very remote, but reachable by a four-wheel drive truck. Grann went to Xingu National Park, where he heard the local oral tradition of the death of the three men. He also met a University of Florida archaeologist who found and showed him the foundation of the lost City of Z.
                                             This book has been a best-seller, and a major motion picture based on this book was released to critical acclaim last year. I'd rate the book as very well-written and a fine summer, beach non-fiction read.

The Late Show, Connelly - B +

                                                Connelly's latest has been met with universal acclaim. The author is one of, if not the most successful writer of crime fiction in America. He's been selling books for the last quarter  century. His Harry Bosch series has become an institution and there have been three seasons of 'Bosch' on Amazon Prime. Bosch's half-brother, Mickey Haller, was featured in 'The Lincoln Lawyer', a best-seller made into a major motion picture starring Matthew McConaughey. Prior to that, Clint Eastwood starred in and directed Connelly's 'Blood Work'.
                                               To his credit, the author has taken a major leap here in his creation of a new character. Sgt. Renee Ballard has the misfortune of working the 11pm to 7am late show. She was banished after filing a sexual harassment complaint against her lieutenant. She latches onto two cases and, ala Harry Bosch, cuts corners left and right. One  case involves a badly beaten transvestite and the other the murder of a policeman.  She works both of them and pushes up against a particularly vicious man and the institutional indifference/hostility of the department and its supporters. Since I know a few folks will read this, I'll leave it at that. Ballard could be a fun new LAPD platform for Connelly. This is a must-read.

The Man From Berlin, McCallin - B

                                               This is the first novel in a series that has three so far. It's very similar to Phillip Kerr's books in that it is also focused on a Kripo detective in field gray, working his way through WW2.  This book does a much better job setting the scene and exploring the military issues and the cultural clashes in an occupied country. The setting is Sarajevo, where the Nazis share duties with the Croatian Ustase, an organization capable of making the SS look like boy scouts. The author is extraordinarily well-informed and this is a classic historical novel filled with edifying detail. The principal, Gregor Reinhardt, is a WWI combat veteran estranged from a Hitler Youth son who has apparently been lost at Stalingrad. This is an all around excellent effort. But, like so many others, it is simply too long. I do not think there's enough here to merit 433 pages.

The Weapons Wizards: How Israel Became A High-Tech Military Superpower, Katz and Bohbot - B

                                               The authors are journalists who cover the military and have served in the IDF. They believe it is the country's universal military service, non-hierarchical institutions, and education systems, along with its constant existential threats that have led to Israel becoming a world-wide leader in military technology and now, a leading exporter of the same.
                                                Israel's first major step into military know-how was a business that repaired airplanes in the first decade of the state's existence. In the late 60's, Israeli engineers used toy American hobby planes to provide observations of the enemy over the horizon, and  they have since created the finest drones in the world. They were the first to develop UAV's, and America's activities piggy-backed on the Israelis. Today, Israeli equipment constitutes 60% of worldwide drone sales. As they are often the first western state to face battlefield threats, the Israelis must be the first to adapt. In the late 1990's, they were attacked with the most recent Soviet/Russian anti-tank weapon and now have created cutting-edge  defensive and offensive systems for their tanks. Similarly, with satellites, rockets, A.I. and stuxnet, the highly motivated Israelis lead the way. The informality sounds almost pre-industrial, but it works.
                                              Today, Israel no longer faces a frontline state with a traditional military. Rather. its challenges are asymmetric and its opponents, Hamas and Hezbollah are non-state actors. Future wars will be a collage featuring traditional, terror and guerrilla tactics. The authors are certain they will be ready. I suspect they are correct.

House Of Spies, Silva - B +

                                            There are many reasons to love this series, but I've concluded that the cornerstone of it is Gabriel's commitment to his family, his people, their state and their history.  At long last, he is ensconced in the corner office at King Saul Blvd.  ISIS is the threat and the man in charge uses the nom de guerre of Saladin. Gabriel orchestrates a combined op using American, British, French and Israeli assets. Needless to say, all's well that ends well.  Gabriel spends most of the novel in the field and not at all acting like the Chief. Perhaps more than in any of his other books, Silva pulls off a tale with an incredibly current set of Middle East circumstances as background. It feels as if it was written yesterday. Also more so than usual, Gabriel's team feels like family. This is the seventeenth book in the  series. I hope there are many more as it is as vibrant, relevant, and as much fun as it has ever been.

The Shores of Tripoli: Lieutenant Putnam and the Barbary Pirates, Haley - B+

                                               I can't say enough about this fabulous historical novel. The author is an acclaimed historian who has turned to creating a naval series that is off to a fine start. Bliven Putnam, his intended, Clarity Marsh, and his bunkmate Sam Bandy are the only fictional characters. Everyone else in the infant navy are actual men who sailed and fought in America's first overseas adventure. The story is well-told and focuses on the history, as opposed to the Patrick O'Brian novels which emphasized the nautical aspects of the large and powerful sailing ships of the era. There is a second book about the War of 1812 coming soon and I am looking forward to it.

Testimony, Turow - Inc.

                                            Chicago's own, practicing lawyer and creator of many Chicago-like Kindle County stories travels very far afield here. Bill Ten Boom leaves his Kindle County law practice, moves to the I.C.C. in the Hague, and investigates a war crime committed against Roma in Bosnia in 2004.
                                           At about the half-way point, I gave up. I'm not certain if it's the book or my inability to move from domestic legal matters to Europe. The Times reviewer did say it "lacks the tautness of Turow's earlier thrillers, and one senses, a midlife author attempting, like his midlife character, to find meaning...." It did not work for me. And I might add that, unlike the latest from John Grisham, and Daniel Silva, it's nowhere on the best-seller lists.

HHhH, Binet - B

                                               The title of this very hard to characterize novel means 'Himmler's brain is called Heydrich'. In German, it was 'Himmlers Hirn heist Heydrich'. There are many books about the May 1942 assassination of the man called the 'Hangman' and the 'Blond Beast'. Operation Anthropoid was initiated in London by the Czech government-in-exile, led by President Benes. The Czechs felt that they had to do something and they pulled off arguably the most successful act of resistance of the war. Teams were parachuted into Czechoslovakia. They were assisted by the Prague Resistance and three men, Sergeants Josef Valcik, Jan Kubis and Josef Gabcik  achieved immortality, fame and an early death that spring. Unfortunately, thousands upon thousands died as retribution for their actions.                
                                                This book is a free-flowing story about the French author's interest in WW2, his fascination with the assassination of the Protektor,  a ramble through the life of Heydrich and the Third Reich, and the story of the action in Prague. There is a wealth of information provided here, but the format and approach are too unorthodox for me. Notwithstanding my observations, the book was highly acclaimed. This topic has garnered significant attention on film and this iteration of the tale is no exception. 'The Man With An Iron Heart' has already been released in Europe and will be in America shortly.