9.28.2021
Double Agent, Bradby - B
The Foreign Minister, whom all suspected of being in the pay of Moscow Centre, but could not prove, is now at 10 Downing Street. Some desperate Russians, now on the wrong side of the President, offer kompromat on him in exchange for freedom in the West. MI6 bites and flies off to Georgia to take in the the defecting Russians. It all falls apart, the PM is secure and Kate resigns from the Service, knowing everything is wrong but powerless to change it.
Triple Cross, Bradby -B
Once again, the Russians undermine the PM by releasing information of his relationship with a known pedophile. Facing a challenge for the leadership, he must find the mole and makes Kate an offer she has to accept. She begins the search and continues to focus on the current and former Chief of MI6. Dangerous trips to Berlin and Moscow follow, and she manages to find the traitor.
Most of the British reviewers mention LeCarre when considering these three novels. Clearly, this author does not match the late David Cornwall in degree of complexity or plot development. But the topic is, and has been, at the heart of British society for almost a century. The young men who betrayed the UK to the USSR were recruited in the 30's and exposed in the 50's and 60's. The existence of the Cambridge Five has haunted the security services, and provided the material for some of Britain's greatest novels. Finding the mole was the essence of 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy', and the two ensuing George Smiley books. Tinker has been made into an extraordinarily successful mini-series and a great movie. And for me, it has been the connection to Smiley and the pursuit of the mole that drove me to read these three books in less than a week.
The Killing Hills, Offut - B
"Death begat death" is an apt assessment of this murder mystery set in some forsaken nowhere in the middle of Appalachia. An Army CID agent is on leave and helps his sister, the local sheriff, sort out a murder. A few insights into the life of the poor in Kentucky, but that's about it.
9.22.2021
Ridgeline, Funke - A*
This is a fabulous historical novel penned by the same man who wrote 'The Revenant.' It is set in the Powder River Valley in the summer of 1866. As America expanded west, the US Army was tasked with building a fort, which was named after Gen. Phil Kearny. The army was intent on establishing a permanent settlement and brought along women and children. For the Sioux, this was a major transgression right in the middle of their hunting grounds. A Sioux chief, Red Cloud, decided to attack, and uniquely gathered together the Lakota and Ogalala Sioux, the Cheyenne, Minnicoujou, and Arapaho. The battle plan was designed by Crazy Horse, and implemented on December 21. Approximately 30 Sioux attacked the daily wood cutting party, knowing full well there would be a response. Both the cavalry and infantry fell into Crazy Horse's trap, which had over a thousand Indians waiting to pounce. The result was 81 dead American soldiers. The author's descriptive powers encompassing the characters involved, and the land in what is now Wyoming is extraordinary.
In the historical notes, it is pointed out that in 1868, the US withdrew from the Valley, abandoned the fort, and recognized the Indians sovereignty over parts of Wyoming, Montana, and South Dakota. Six years later, gold was discovered in the Black Hills and the US offered Red Cloud $6M. He declined, war ensued, the combined tribes defeated Custer in a Pyrrhic victory. The end of the Indians freedom soon followed. Before Red Cloud died at 87 in 1909, he said "They made us many promises, more than I can remember. But they kept one. They promised to take our land...and they took it."
Lincoln On The Verge:Thirteen Days To Washington, Widmer - B-
Lincoln's victory was known throughout the nation on election night thanks to the wonders of the telegraph. Four years earlier, it had taken ten days. The reaction in the South was immediate, visceral, and hostile. A Southern paper predicted Republicans would "distribute the white females amongst the negroes." There were four long months between election and inauguration days. There was concern that the capital would be captured by the Confederates. With only a single railroad line into Washington through Baltimore, the largest slave city in the country, plans to kill Lincoln when he traveled between the two cities abounded.
His train left Springfield on February 11, 1861. The day before, he had told his law partner of sixteen years, William Herndon, that if he lived, he would come back, and they could practice law again. However, he affirmed that he did not expect to survive the presidency. The Special traveled to Indianapolis where 50,000 awaited in and around Union Station. The entire day had been one of multiple stops, many speeches and hordes of people. Cincinnati turned out 150,000 on the 12th, and the next day the destination was Columbus. The 13th was a critical day as the Congress met amidst threats and a heavy guard to confirm Lincoln's election. Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Buffalo followed as the Special zigzagged east. In the South, Jefferson Davis was traveling from his Mississippi home to his new capital in Montgomery, Alabama. Each day, Lincoln received communications from his security advisor, Allan Pinkerton. Pinkerton and his men were undercover in Baltimore, where there were so many different assassination plans that local barkeeps were taking bets on whether Lincoln could pass through the city. On the day Lincoln reached Albany, Feb. 18, Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as president of the CSA. New York would be the only city where he would stay two nights. While there, he received innumerable visitors, including one of Pinkerton's spies. A full report on the many plots against him was given to Lincoln. On his way to Philadelphia, he spoke to the legislature in Trenton. Regarding the secessionists, he said "I fear we shall have to put the foot down firmly." Pinkerton met him in Philadelphia to work out a plan to avoid the Baltimore plotters. He spoke at Independence Hall on Washington's birthday. He spoke admiringly of the Declaration of Independence and equality for all. Later that night, Lincoln, Pinkerton, and Lincoln's bodyguard, Ward Lamon, boarded the last regular train for Washington. They passed through Baltimore in the middle of the night. He arrived unobserved, and proceeded to the Willard Hotel. He had traveled 1904 miles, had been seen by millions, and "restored America's flagging belief in her institutions." Nine days later, he was inaugurated.
Forty-nine months later, Lincoln's funeral train returned to Springfield by almost the same route he had traveled to the capital. Once again, millions saw it pass. In NYC, an estimated million-and-a-half people lined Broadway for a parade. He was buried in Springfield on May 4th.
Find You First, Barclay - C
This thriller is about a very wealthy man who learns he has Huntington's Disease, and decides to find however many children his sperm donation decades ago may have led to. When he ascertains who the offspring are, he's sidetracked by the fact that a few of them have disappeared recently. Someone else is also tracking down the same offspring for an entirely different reason. This is a mishmash of ridiculous plot twists, 180 degree turns and flat out silliness.
9.09.2021
Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig, Eig - A*
Henry Louis Gehrig was born to German immigrant parents in Manhattan on June 19, 1903. He was the only one of four children his mother, Christina, gave birth to to survive infancy. "The Gehrig family had been pounded by poverty and wrecked by disease, but Christina emerged as a hero to her only surviving child." He would be attached to her for his entire life.
At Commerce High, Lou played soccer, football, and excelled at baseball. He went to Columbia on scholarship, and in April 1923, he signed with the Yankees. He spent 1923 and '24 with the Hartford Senators. The Yankees called him up in September of 1924. The following June, with Wally Pipp struggling at the plate, Gehrig started at first base. It would be fourteen years and 2130 games later that the 'Iron Horse' would take himself out of the starting lineup. The 1926 season saw Gehrig established at first base, and the Yankees win the pennant only to lose in seven to the Cards. The following year he had a phenomenal season for 'Murderers' Row', the most famous team in baseball history. The 1927 New York Yankees have been the hallmark of excellence for almost a century. Everyone in and around baseball loved home runs and the Yankees provided 158, more than one per game. At the midway point of the season, both Lou and the Babe had 25. The battle between Ruth, the 'sinner' and Gehrig, the 'saint' for home run supremacy caught the nation's eye. They both had 44 on September 4th. The Babe finished with 60, 164 RBI's and .356. Lou had 47, 174 RBI's and .373. They swept the Pirates in the Series.
In those days, the baseball season was extended by a month, sometimes more, by barnstorming. Teams traveled the country playing anyone and everyone for some pretty good earnings. The 'Bustin Babes' and the 'Larrupin Lous' hit the road in early October. The Babe made $30,000 for a month of work, and Lou made $10,000. The Yanks repeated in 1928 and swept the Cardinals. They faltered badly in 1929, and their manager, Miller Huggins, died. The stock market crashed and the Great Depression began. "While everything seemed to fall apart during the Depression, baseball carried on, led by some of the greatest heroes the game would ever see, providing welcome entertainment to a nation soaked in gloom...No one would play better baseball in the 1930's than Lou Gehrig. If Babe Ruth was the perfect hero for the glorious days of prosperity, Gehrig - durable, dependable, and dignified - was the man for hard times."
In 1930, both the Babe and Lou had excellent seasons, but the Yankees' pitching could not keep up with Philadelphia. The same thing happened in 1931 when Lou broke his own American League RBI record with 185. In 1932, the team found its groove, won the pennant, and swept the Cubs. During the Series, Lou met a 28 year old woman named Eleanor Twitchell in Chicago and struck up a conversation. The following spring, the 30 year old who still lived at home with his mother asked a woman he hardly knew to marry him. Toward the end of the 1933 season, they married in New Rochelle. Christina and Eleanor would never get along.
The 1934 season saw Lou win the Triple Crown and the Babe begin to fade. Lou no longer played second fiddle to Babe. The Yankees traded Ruth at the beginning of the 1935 season. He was soon out of the game. The beat writers for the Yankees missed the Babe, and Lou proved a bit too boring to keep them enthused. Thankfully, 1936 saw the emergence of the 21 year old rookie, Joe DiMaggio. Lou was MVP of the season and the Giants fell in six. In 1937, they beat the Giants again. Lou got his 35th world Series RBI. No one could imagine that it would be the thirty-four year old slugger's last Series RBI.
Sometime in 1938, the indestructible Lou Gehrig contracted amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Spring training was a struggle. His hands ached, his timing was off and his legs felt wobbly. After the first few weeks of the season, he had the lowest batting average in the AL. He started to hit in May, but the power wasn't there. The muscles in his legs, arms, and shoulders began to atrophy. He finished the season with a .295 average. The Yanks swept the Cubs, but Lou was not a factor in the Series. The following spring, a smaller Gehrig went to spring training and could barely play. He started eight games in April, the last one on the 30th. He spent a week at the Mayo Clinic in June and was told he had ALS. Exactly what he was told about the disease is clouded in mystery, because he told his wife he'd need a cane in 10-15 years. Yet, ALS was known to be 100% fatal. Throughout his decline, his lead doctor did offer him hope. On July 4th, the Yankees hosted Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day and the quiet, shy Lou Gehrig spoke words that have resonated for decades. "Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." I suspect those are the most well known ever spoken by an athlete in America, if not the world.
As the season wound down, he accepted a job offer from Mayor LaGuardia to be a NYC parole commissioner. Lou announced the job as "the greatest thrill of my life." Before year end, the Yankees retired his number, and the baseball writers suspended the rules and put him in the Hall of Fame immediately. By the end of 1940, he was in a wheelchair and could barely eat. He died on June 2, 1941. "ALS is a disease of weakness, but Lou Gehrig's disease is associated with strength - the strength of a stricken man who said he felt lucky." The following year 'The Pride of the Yankees' was released and nominated for ten Oscars. The film immortalized Gehrig's farewell remarks. When Gary Cooper did USO tours during the war, he recited the 'Luckiest Man Alive' speech for the GI's every night.
Broken Places, Clark - B-
This novel is a police procedural featuring a cop turned PI in Chicago. Cass Raines is an interesting narrator and the book starts off well. But clearly, in this the first in the series, the author hasn't found her touch and repeats (with minor variations) the same scenarios where Cass just keeps missing the bad guys.
The Volga: A History of Russia's Greatest River, Hartley - C+
At 2193 miles, it is the largest river in Europe, and in a class with the Amazon, Nile and Mississippi. It stretches from the Tver region northwest of Moscow to the Caspian Sea. "Although the river Volga was never the geographical border between Asia and Europe, in many ways the middle and lower Volga does draw a line between the Christian, Russian, European West, and the Islamic and Asiatic East." Its history is an integral part of Russia's narrative.
In 1236, the region was invaded and conquered by the Mongols. They sacked Kiev, Moscow and Novgorod. Over the course of their occupation, they greatly expanded trade from the Baltic to the Black Sea. The Mongol grip slipped in the late fourteenth century, and they were gone fifty years later. By the late 15th century, Moscow was ascendant in northern Russia, and a century later, Ivan IV (1547-84) was the first ruler to be called Tsar of All Russia. Ivan attacked to the south, defeated the Muslim khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan and spread Russian control the length of the Volga. This was the first time non-Russians and non-Christians were incorporated into the burgeoning empire. The Russians established their dominance by sending settlers, establishing local governments, and by building forts and churches. It would take well into the 18th century for the empire to tame the Volga regions. The lower Volga was a lawless frontier for a long time. Throughout the life of the empire, the assimilation of the Muslims there continued to be a challenge for the central government. "By the early twentieth century, the Volga region had undergone significant economic and intellectual development, The process had, however, led to tensions within the countryside and the towns, and within communities, both Russian and non-Russian. It was in this potentially unstable situation that the region faced two enormous challenges: world war and revolution."
"The Volga played a crucial role in the outcome of the Civil War and helped to shape the future Soviet state." By holding the middle Volga, the Bolsheviks were able to keep a White army in Siberia from uniting with a Cossack force west of the river. Food shortages led the urban Bolsheviks to confront the peasants whom they accused of withholding grain and eventually, to declare class warfare against the 'kulaks'. Famine came to the Volga in 1921. Much worse, in the form of collectivization, came later in the decade. By 1930, seventy percent of the lower Volga had been converted to collective farms. Millions resisted and were sent to Siberia. Fewer crops were planted and harvested. Famine returned and killed millions throughout the Volga region, and particularly in Ukraine. A region battered by forced collectivization and mass starvation was visited by war once again. In the second summer of the war, German forces marched on Stalingrad, and the Volga became the front line. With the river at their back, the defenders of Stalingrad fought for months and outlasted the invaders. The 6th Army was encircled and the Germans would only cross the river as prisoners. 'Mother Russia' prevailed in a legendary battle that has been at the center of USSR and Russian Federation myth making for eight decades.
In the post-Soviet era, the lower Volga is very close to the border with Kazakstan, and today there is a greater emphasis on the non-Russians in the historic Muslim territories. The Tatars in particular have established a separate identity from the federation. The Soviet era damming of the river is having major negative consequences today. The change in the river's flow has led to the shrinking and salinization of the Caspian. The dams and the pollution have almost eliminated the famed beluga sturgeon. The environmental movement continues to be stymied by Moscow. My previously mentioned affection for biographies of rivers has been tested by this clunker.
The Royal Secret, Taylor - C
The fifth in this series featuring Cate Hakesby, an architect, and James Marwood, a royal investigator, in 17th century London doesn't compare to its predecessors. The central historical fact is a 1670 treaty between England and France, combining against the Dutch Republic. The story around it focuses on a Dutchman working hard to stop the treaty and committing a few murders along the way. The background information on London and its environs is always strong, but not enough to overcome a weak story.
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