Dan's 2013 Books

11. In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Overall, not a bad book. And I learned many new things about pre-WWII Berlin/Germany/Hitler that were interesting. The book focuses on William E Dodd, a college professor who became US Ambassador to Germany in the time period just prior to WWII (late 1930's). I knew nothing of Dodd or Germany between WWI and WWII, so this book had some interesting insights into the rise of power of Hitler and the Nazi regime. I wouldn't say it was a hot best-selling page turner, but not too boring either. Three stars for me - I don't plan to read it again, but it was worth a listen.

10. Lost Empire by Clive Cussler
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Though this book is certainly a page turner, it wasn't my favorite Cussler novel. It seemed to lack some of the high seas adventure that I have found so intriguing in his other books. It was fun to see how he wove actual historical events into a fiction novel to create an amazing story.
No real big surprises or anything particularly unusual about the book. If you have read other Cussler novels and enjoyed them, you will enjoy this one too. Maybe a little blase and more of the same for me, so it didn't get that strong of a rating.



9. Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure by Tim Harford
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book was a little too slow and scholarly to hold my interest too intently. It had some good points that were interesting, but I thought there were only a few very novel ideals in the book and they were mostly things that we intuitively probably already know anyway. From an entertainment factor it just didn't have the same pizazz that some similar books have for me, like Blink or Freakonomics, so I didn't give it a stellar rating. I wouldn't discourage anyone from reading it though.




8. The Minding Organization: Bringing the Future to the Present and Turn Creative Ideas Into Business Solutions by Moshe F. Rubinstein
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

While I borrowed this book from my boss over a year ago, it really isn't that bad or that long! I just never made it a priority to finish it. You could probably read it in a day if you had a long time to ready. This is a typical organizational improvement book, though Rubinstein does a good job of illustrating several areas where people tend to fail when running strictly on common sense. I enjoyed what I learned, though I would not recommend reading it over such a long time frame since you kind of forget what you read previously. :-) My own fault.

7. Two Years Before the Mast: A Sailor's Life at Sea by Richard Henry Dana Jr.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is an autobiographical adventure of the life of Richard Dana and how he was a crew member sailing from Boston to the West Coast of America (San Fran to San Diego) in the early 1800's. Tells of trials at sea as well as time spend on land in the trading business.

I was interested in this book because David McCullough mentioned how it had inspired him as a child to read and learn about adventure. I enjoyed the second half of the book better than the first, but I admit that there were so many sailing terms in the book that sometimes I had a hard time understanding what exactly was going on with the ship. Overall the adventure was pretty good considering how long ago the book was written, but if you're not into sailing or early 1800's life, it probably is not one you're going to get sucked into.

6. The Life of Abraham Lincoln by Henry Ketcham
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The content of this book was good, but for whatever reason I had a hard time getting into it. I think Ketcham wrote this book forever ago, so some of that may have been an old style, and I listened to it on mp3 as well, but I didn't really look forward to listening to the book. Therefore I probably couldn't recommend it as one to read if you are looking for a Lincoln biography. Contentwise it was pretty well written, though in 40 chapters I don't think the author had one bad thing to say about Lincoln, so he may have been looking at him through rose colored glasses a little bit.


5. Blood and Thunder: An Epic of the American West by Hampton Sides
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was looking for a book about the life of Kit Carson and this one seemed to have the best ratings. I was pleased to learn so much more about the settling of the West than I expected to. The book was filled with some amazing stories of taming the West, working with the Native Americans (particularly Navajos, but Comanche's and Apaches were talked about too), and of course, Kit Carson too.
I rated the book highly because I enjoyed it very much. It made me want to go visit many of the places in the vicinity of Tucson (where I currently live), though not much of the book actually happened locally around Tucson. Much more happened near Santa Fe, NM.
The other part of the book that I learned about was the territorial expansion of the US and how they managed to get California and all of the Southwest from Mexico and Spain. Very interesting stories there, one involving Kit Carson sneaking around at night and making a 20 mile journey barefoot to get to reinforcements in San Diego. Amazing stuff. He has some good blood and was the epitome of true grit. If you like historical books, particularly about the West, this one should not leave you wanting.

4. Mornings on Horseback by David McCullough
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Though I am a big David McCullough fan, this was not my favorite book. I think the biggest disappointment was that the book ended prior to his presidency. What is a book about Teddy Roosevelt that doesn't talk about him being the president? Anyway, it was interesting to learn about his background and where he came from. Good to hear about who the Roosevelts were and why they were important, and to hear about his aristocratic background, but it just left me with something to be desired still. I don't feel bad I spent time reading it, but will not ever read it again.

3. The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

So perhaps this book was so interesting because I really got into the details of the flood and how it all happened, the destructive path it took, why the dam failed, etc, but for whatever reason, I found this to be a captivating book. It is interesting that this major catastrophe has never cropped up significantly in my past to have made any impression (if I've even heard of it at all), so reading about it now was just like hearing the story for the first time. I think similar tomes could be written about the Teton Dam flood in the early 80's in Idaho, but this one was significant because of how long ago it was, who was involved, and how many lives were lost. Tragic story. Very interesting to hear how all the pieces came together in this "perfect storm". Read it. I think you'll like it.

2. Rocket Boys by Homer H. Hickam
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is by far the best book I've read in a long time. Admittedly, I have some bias toward the topic, but Homer Hickam did a great job with this work. He has an amazing way of bringing out the fun things in his childhood and making them interesting, even growing up in a podunk place like Coalwood, WV. You really grew to want to see Homer succeed in his school, life, and especially rocketry. It is no wonder to me that they made a movie of this (October Sky) and require it as reading in many high schools.
The plot is about a young man struggling against his destiny to end up working in the coal mines like his father. The man is inspired by the US Space program (eventually NASA) and wants to be a part of the age of Space exploration. Through amazing adventures and difficulties Homer makes his way there.
I'd recommend it to anyone. Some swearing. A little implied sexual contact, but nothing to get too uncomfortable with.

1. Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War by Nathaniel Philbrick
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Interestingly enough, this book is not really all that much about the Mayflower itself. Rather, the book covers the 50 years from when the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth to the end of the (not well known) King Phillip War. It was an interesting subject and fairly well written, but i didn't personally like it as much as some of the other Philbrick books I've read. Perhaps it is because I have little personal connection to the area or characters in the book. I did enjoy reading about the Indian of New England as I know so much little about them compared to the more popular cowboys and Indians tribes of the West, perhaps with the exception of the Mohicans, which play a minor role in this book as well. It was sad to hear about the annihilation of the Indian cultures, which dies as much from European disease as they did from European war.

Overall, a good and interesting book, particularly if you have ties to New England or interest in the roots of modern American civilization, but not one I will re-read in the future.