Book Review - Strongman, The Doug Hepburn Story

I participate in the 5th Annual Canadian Book Challenge, which is run by John, way up in the North-West Territories. who challenges readers to read 13 books set in Canada, about Canada or by Canadian authors in one year. There are no prizes but it is an interesting challenge as people post links to their reviews and tallies are kept.

Every once in awhile he does post a monthly challenge where a prize is awarded. A couple of months ago I won the monthly prize and received Strongman, The Doug Hepburn Story by Tom Thurston.

Tom Thurston has written the first biography of one of Canada’s athletic legends, Doug Hepburn. Born in Vancouver with a club foot and a severe alternating squint, Doug decided as a boy to surmount his disabilities by training with weights, setting his sights on becoming the world’s strongest man. And this he achieved. Doug is now known as the grandfather of modern “power weightlifting.

For those interested in building a super-strong body that will last well into old age, Doug’s complete, drug-free training secrets are revealed in a way that are easy to understand and employ. For those looking for the inspiration to tackle some of their own goals, Doug Hepburn presents a fine role model. For all Doug’s successes as a strongman, his life was filled with much sadness, many setbacks and even, at times, poverty. Thurston’s biography does justice to all aspects of Doug’s life, illuminating the fortitude with which he met his many challenges. A truly splendid biography with many black and white photographs.

It is a very interesting story. Doug did set out with disabilities with an incredible goal in mind. It was discipline and determination and willingness to accept help which took him to Stockholm in 1953 for the World Weightlifting Championships which he easily won.

When he did not get the adulation, fame and riches back home in Canada, which he felt he deserved, he gave up and went on a long spiral downward. A note here is that in Canada if you are not a hockey player, figure skater or the winner of the 100 yard dash, international successes are not generally heralded or even much publicized as they should be.

Doug Hepburn could not accept this, it seems.

His struggle to dig himself out of the hole he had dug for himself is good reading. The story was dictated to Tom Thurston at nights.

"Mighty Doug had found that by leaning back in an easy chair with the lights out and his little black cat, Cupcake, curled on his chest, he could close his eyes and experience his past as vividly as if he were back in time."

He does lay it all out, the good and the bad. I found Doug Hepburn to be a good person inside but a very screwed up individual.

It is a quick, very interesting read. Glad I won this prize. The book is worth reading.

Book Review - Mary Pickford, Canada's Silent Siren, America's Sweetheart

"Mary Pickford's ambition, passion, innate talent, and savvy business acumen sent her career into the stratosphere and set the blueprint for the modern movie star. Born Gladys Louise Smith in 1892, Pickford was raised in a house on University Avenue in Toronto and began her acting career on the stage. However, her determination led her to the new world of motion pictures, where she not only revolutionized acting method but negotiated her own terms for the highest salary for any actress and complete creative control over her films -- unheard of behaviour for a woman of that period.

Pickford co-founded United Artists in 1919 with Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin, which turned the existing studio system on its head. The actress’s subsequent marriage to Fairbanks incited a fan frenzy comparable to today's obsession with couples like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. Although Pickford's star faded with the advent of talking pictures, she was the catalyst for the culture of Hollywood celebrity that enthralls us today."

I was going through the new non-fiction books coming into the library and this book caught my eye. I knew Mary Pickford was from Toronto and a huge star in the silent picture era but really knew nothing else. It was time to find out.

Mary Pickford: Canada's Silent Siren, America's Sweetheart was an enjoyable and easy read. The author, Peggy Dymond Leavey, has been nominated or won many awards for young or juvenile readers. I sensed this in the style as read the book but in no way did this take away from the subject matter.

I could also tell in the way she wrote that she is a huge fan. Once again, there is nothing wrong with that. The more I read, the more I became a fan.

The book told me everything I wanted to know about Mary Pickford. I found out many interesting things about the great lady. I am quite pleased to find that she never forgot her Canadian roots. During both world wars, she was involved in fund raising for the troops, both in the U.S. and in Canada. When Canada finally got its own flag, she made sure she got one as soon as possible to fly at her home nicknamed Pickfair.

Pickfair was the home of Mary Pickford and husband Douglas Fairbanks.

Speaking of Pickfair. Ms Leavey wraps up the book very nice by explaining what happened to her adopted kids, family, friends, her estate and Pickfair. After she passed away, Pickfair was sold to Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers in 1981. In 1988, the home was then sold to multimillionaire Meshulam Riklis and his wife, wannabe actress Pia Zadora, who had the home torn down replacing it with a modern mansion. A pox on them!

Whether you are Canadian or American, this is a great read, not only about the life of Mary Pickford but an inside look at the birth of the movie industry.

Book Review - The Art and Mystery of Brewing in Ontario

A few weeks ago I borrowed The Art and Mystery of Brewing in Ontario from the Toronto Public Library. I found it a very interesting read.

How interesting?

I was supposed to return it yesterday but had not yet finished it. I could not renew it as somebody else had it on hold. To that person, I do apologize.

The book really should be named The History of Brewing in Ontario as it is mainly a look back at brewing through the ages in all the cities and towns of Ontario.

The Canadian thirst for beer is legendary. A national pastime with the same associations as camping, sports, patio weekends and college festivities, a tall foamy beer is just something most Canadians feel passionate about. In The Art and Mystery of Brewing in Ontario, Ian Bowering examines the history of beer production and lore. The book includes a series of anecdotes and brewlore from people continuing to make this province's beer some of the best and most popular in the world. Beer aficionados will love this amusingly written account of the past 200 years of brewing in Ontario.

The book talks about brewing then goes in alphabetical order of city or town and the breweries which existed in each. Surprising today but when you think back to the 1800s when transportation was an issue, it is no wonder every city or town had one or more breweries.

Mr Bowering is a professional historian with a Masters of Museology and History from the University of Toronto. The thesis he did was on brewing in the 19th century in Toronto. Not only is he an expert but also a good writer. I have to love this guy too as the notes at the back say he is a fencer!

I especially enjoyed some of the ads that the breweries did back in the 1800s. Now I do believe that beer is not an unhealthy drink if drank in moderation and made all natural like craft breweries do (I have no idea what chemicals the big breweries use so they may not have the same claim). The ads promoting the "medicinal" properties of beer is hysterical.

Here are a few:

From a 1911 ad for Grants Spring Brewery Ale ... It gratifies the taste, Refreshes the body, Builds bone and sinew. Never knew beer was good for bones and never worried about my sinew before."

From Portsmouth Brewery 1857-1916 ... Recommended by most prominent physicians for invalids....natures own tonic.

Prescott Brewery from an 1859 Prescott newspaper ... perfectly pure and possess the fine tonic properties in a high degree. The Medical Faculty have given their strongest testimony in favour of the above and highly recommend their use to ladies and invalids.

Thunder Bay Brewery 1913 ad ... It would be worth a dollars worth of medicine to you, ask any doctor if there is anything more healthy than a good beer.

I can't give away any more. The book also has interesting stats such as in 1909 the O'Keefe Brewery paid its brewer an annual salary of $500 and his accountant $1,000. Too funny!

Ian Bowering wrote this book back in 1989 and much has changed since then with the amalgamation of big breweries that originated in Ontario and the closing of Northern Breweries and Formosa. I enjoyed the old pictures as much as the histories of all these small forgotten breweries and there are a lot of great pictures, many from the 1800s (right is Carling brewery in London circa 1879; left is Simcoe Steam Brewery in Barrie circa 1890).

How good of a book is this?

It is being returned tomorrow, the fine paid and I'm going to order my own personal copy. That's how good it is.

Well done, Mr Bowering!

Book Review - An American Prisoner at Fort Malden and Quebec in the War of 1812

When Teena first gave me my Kobo Vox, I decided to do a search for free books and documents on the War of 1812.

Project Guttenberg has quite a few, although many do not transfer well to the ebook format. One that did come out well was An American Prisoner at Fort Malden and Quebec in the War of 1812.

The diary opens on the first day of the author's capture aboard the Cuyahoga Packet (pictured) in the early months of the war and ends quite abruptly when he receives orders to make ready what would be needed for him and the sick to return to Boston.

The diary's author's name was never recorded on the diary but experts believe with certainty that it was written by surgeon's mate James Reynolds of the Cuyahoga when it was captured on July 2, 1812. The forward, written when the account first was published in Quebec in 1909, gives an excellent argument to support this.

The forward also says that ""A very human document, and not without historical value". I found this to be very true.

It is a very short book but quite enlightening one of being a prisoner of the British in Upper Canada during the War of 1812. I admit that I was a total geek with this book referencing back to the dates in the diary when Reynolds wrote of the goings on outside the ship he was being held prisoner in, but not being able to determine the reasons why. He could only guess whether cannon and musket fire was an American success or not by judging the reaction of the forces and native peoples when they returned to the town where the prisoner boat was docked.

There is also a very good reference at the end of the book explaining what was taking place on the dates in question.

He was especially rattled by all the native peoples being drawn to Fort Malden, their comings and goings and especially when they celebrated long into the night after the British captured Fort Michilimackinac, on an island guarding the straits for the fur trade between Lake Huron, Michigan and Superior. He had quite a rant about that but never knew the reason why or even that they were celebrating and getting ready for next battle. The siege of Detroit.

His rants were great!

After he found out that Hull had surrendered Fort Detroit to an inferior British force (under the command of the Great Issac Brock), "Shame to him, shame to his country, shame to the world!"

Or on July 7th when he heard that "two hundred militia ran from 40 Indians and several of our men was taken. God save the ignorant for they cannot take care of themselves."

A must read, easily obtained from Guttenberg for anyone with an interest in the war of 1812.

Book - The Sisters Brothers

When I first heard of The Sisters Brothers, I knew this was a book which I wanted to read.

Written by Patrick deWitt, originally from Vancouver, the book has gained great popularity and notoriety by making the short list for the 2011 Giller Prize and winning the Governor Generals Award for Fiction.

"Hermann Kermit Warm is going to die. The enigmatic and powerful man known only as the Commodore has ordered it, and his henchmen, Eli and Charlie Sisters, will make sure of it. Though Eli doesn't share his brother's appetite for whiskey and killing, he's never known anything else. But their prey isn't an easy mark, and on the road from Oregon City to Warm's gold-mining claim outside Sacramento, Eli begins to question what he does for a living–and whom he does it for."

This is a never boring story of two brothers, Charlie and Eli Sisters, hired killers who are off on a long journey to California as ordered by their boss, someone only known as the Commodore. Much of the story is of the adventures they have along the way, with the people they meet. The brothers are hard men with little regard for the lives of others. The story is full of brutality, comedy and tragedy.

The story is told in first person, a style that usually I don't care for, but really works well here. Much if the story is the relationship between the two brothers and Eli's thoughts of the life he has led and where it might be going.

I am a fan of westerns and this one is done quite well. It is an easy read, one which I found it hard to put down. I put it in the same class as Lonesome Dove, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1985. A great western, and fabulous read.

Book - Captain James Cook in Atlantic Canada

I thought it was a coincidence that when Teena and I did a tour of the Fortress of Louisbourg in October and we got back home I saw in Canada's History Magazine that there was a new book out about James Cook, the world famous explorer. The book was not about his famous adventures exploring the Pacific but his early years in Canada.

The coincidence here is that James Cook took part in the British siege of the Fortress of Louisbourg.

"The skills, knowledge and experience that took Captain James Cook to the South Seas and around the world seemed to come out of nowhere. In fact, as author Jerry Lockett has discovered, their foundation was laid during the time he spent in Atlantic Canada. His experiences on Canada's east coast and the naval men he met there shaped him to become one of the most successful explorers of all time.

Cook arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1758 as a competent but undistinguished warrant officer in Britain's Royal Navy. Over the next nine years he learned the complex skill of navigation and prepared many detailed maps of the coastline and key harbours. He left nine years later with the skills and reputation that made him an obvious choice to lead a voyage of exploration to the far side of the world.

In this absorbing and well-researched biography Jerry Lockett tells us of Cook's experiences as a young man and of the influential men who became his mentors and patrons. He also describes Cook's role in the key British military actions at Louisbourg and Quebec which brought an effective end to the French regime in North America."

I found "Captain James Cook in Atlantic Canada: The adventurer and map maker's formative years" to be a very interesting book about a little known part of his life. He spent nine of his 51 years in Atlantic Canada. He had the luck during his service in the Louisbourg siege and the siege of Quebec to have had some excellent captains who encouraged and mentored him. The first was Captain Simcoe who had an extensive library on board and encouraged Cook to read and learn about mathematics and the stars. There is a Toronto connection here too as Captain Simcoe was the father of Lord Graves Simcoe, founder of Toronto.

As Cook was a surveyor, the book deals with excellent explanations of sailing, dead reckoning, determining position and other background needed to understand what Cook was undertaking. I even learned what the boat speed "knot" refers to and how it was originally calculated. These explanations could have made the book dull but was written in an entertaining fashion.

Cook became such a great surveyor that many of his charts were not redone for years. In fact, one of his New Zealand charts was not resurveyed until 1996.

One final note on this part of his life comes from famous Cook biographer J.C. Bealehole, "Nothing he did later exceeded in accomplishment his survey of the southern and western sides of Newfoundland from 1763 to 1767."

Wow ... and he is famous for everything he did after!

His map is to the left. A blow-up of it is here.

Book - Strange Days: Amazing Stories From Canada's Wildest Decade

I found this book under a book review in Canadian History Magazine and decided it looked like a good read. I find a lot of great books on Canadian history from their magazine and website.

Strange Days: Amazing Stories From Canada's Wildest Decade is a collection of true stories from the 1920's.

The 1920s were one of the wildest decades in Canada’s history, a time of frivolous fads, shocking crimes, and political and social changes that definitively yanked the country out of the 19th century and into the modern age. In Strange Days, Ted Ferguson revisits dozens of stories that could only have happened in the ’20s — tales of serial killers, athletes, con men, crackpots, prime ministers, bathing beauties, and more — all of them nearly too amazing to believe and too entertaining to be forgotten.

I found this a very entertaining book. Each story is only five or six pages long and covers a wide range of happenings. Each set of stories is grouped by year. Only one or two of the stories I had heard of before.

Interestingly enough Teena had read it back in August and recommended it to me. I never got around to reading it then and forgot about it. When I picked up the book and showed her my great find, Teena reminded me about that. Oops!

I'm glad I got around to it as it is an excellent read!

Book - The Astonishing General: The Life and Legacy of Sir Isaac Brock

I guess you could call me a buff when it comes to the War of 1812.

I have read many, many books on the war and now try to focus on individual battles or the personalities involved. With the 200th anniversary of the war fast approaching, many new books are being made available.

When I saw a new book on one of the great heroes of the war, Sir Isaac Brock, I had to read it.

The Astonishing General: The Life and Legacy of Sir Isaac Brock is about "Major General Sir Isaac Brock (1769 - 13 October 1812). It tells of his life, his career and legacy, particularly in the Canadas, and of the context within which he lived. One of the most enduring legacies of the War of 1812 on both the United States and Canadian sides was the creation of heroes and heroines. The earliest of those heroic individuals was Isaac Brock who in some ways was the most unlikely of heroes. For one thing, he was admired by his American foes almost as much as by his own people. Even more striking is how a British general whose military role in that two-and-a-half-year war lasted less than five months became the best known hero and one revered far and wide. Wesley B. Turner finds this outcome astonishing and approaches the subject from that point of view."

I have had problems finding a decent book on Isaac Brock and this book filled that need well. It told me things of the man and the Battle of Queenston Heights, where Brock lost his life, that I did not know before.

I found the writing of that battle plus Brock's meeting with Tecumseh and the taking of Detroit a little dry. When Tecumseh met Brock and they discussed the upcoming campaign to take Fort Detroit, Tecumseh, considered "the Wellington of the Indians", was frustrated with the British officers he had to deal with up to that point. He considered them meek and womanlike but was so impressed with Brock that he presented Brock to the hundreds of his warriors gathered and declared loudly, ""This is a man!" I thought Turner could have been more profound in his writing of this meeting.

Also I was disappointed in the description of Brock's involvement in the Battle of Alkmaar in Holland. The author dedicated just a paragraph to this battle where Brock was wounded in the throat by a spent musket ball. Later Brock wrote of the incident, "I got knocked down shortly after the enemy began to retreat, but never quitted [sic] the field, and returned to my duty in less than half an hour." I thought this battle could have been expanded on.

That being said, it is an excellent book of the life of the General. I particularly enjoyed the last chapter, "The making of a hero: reflections on Brock", where the author puts together the reasons that even though Brock was killed while leading a failed charge on the heights in a battle early in a war which continued for another 3 years, he was considered the savior of Upper Canada. It was very interesting.

I also liked how the author included some of his speeches to the legislature and a list of Brock's possessions at the time of his death. Brock loved to entertain and it shows in the amount of alcohol he had amassed even though he drank very little.

One final point of interest I discovered in the book was that Brock never sat for a portrait of himself, so all paintings of the general come from descriptions of those who had met him. I knew this of Tecumseh but not of Brock. This doubly makes paintings and drawings of Brock's meeting with Tecumseh quite fanciful.

I found this an interesting book and would recommend it to anyone interested in the War of 1812.

Book - Dick Van Dyke: My lucky life in and out of show business

I loved the old Dick Van Dyke series with Mary Tyler Moore and always thought highly of Dick Van Dyke as a very nice person. Many autobiographies I find very self serving to the author and hoped this would be different. I loved how he set the readers mind in the forward: 

"I have endeavoured to write the kind of book I think people want from me. It's also the kind of book I want from me. It covers my 60 plus years in show business. I also write about my family, my personal struggles and a few lessons I may have learned. But a word of warning about this book: If you are looking for dirt, stop reading right now. I have had some tough times and battled a few demons, but there is nothing salacious here." 

It was a very good book about a man who basically enjoyed what he was doing to make a living. I always had the sense while I read that it was never work for him but good, sometimes challenging fun. He speaks frankly about his private life but does not get right down to the nitty-gritty as what happens in other autobiographies, which I enjoyed. And, yes, he does sound like a very nice person! This is a light read but an entertaining one. I'm glad I read it.

Book - "Operation Mincemeat"

When I saw Operation Mincemeat on the library e-book list and read what it was about, I knew I had to read it. 

"In 1943, from a windowless basement office in London, two brilliant intelligence officers conceived a plan that was both simple and complicated-- Operation Mincemeat. The purpose? To deceive the Nazis into thinking that Allied forces were planning to attack southern Europe by way of Greece or Sardinia, rather than Sicily, as the Nazis had assumed, and the Allies ultimately chose. Charles Cholmondeley of MI5 and the British naval intelligence officer Ewen Montagu could not have been more different. Cholmondeley was a dreamer seeking adventure. Montagu was an aristocratic, detail-oriented barrister. But together they were the perfect team and created an ingenious plan: Get a corpse, equip it with secret (but false and misleading) papers concerning the invasion, then drop it off the coast of Spain where German spies would, they hoped, take the bait." 

They say truth is stranger than fiction and, if this story was told as a fiction, some would say it is improbable and far fetched. The story, however, is true. Now that the facts of the operation have finally been declassified, the story can be told in full. It was partially told in the 50s story, The Man Who Never Was, but now the story is complete. Even the life story of the corpse is told. It seems the identity of the corpse has finally been identified in just the last couple of years. The author, Ben Macintyre, did not miss out on any detail. The characters and their flaws are brought to life and I loved that even James Bond author, Ian Fleming, had a part in the plan. Anyone who loves a good spy story or a book on World War II would love this book. It is an excellent read.

Book - Endgame 1758: The Promise, the Glory, and the Despair of Louisbourg's Last Decade

Next week Teena and I are off to Cape Breton for a drive around the island.

One of the stops we are making will be at the Fortress of Louisbourg. I thought if I was going to visit the fortress, I should know about its history. So I picked up Endgame 1758: The Promise, the Glory, and the Despair of Louisburg's Last Decade by A. J. B. Johnston. Mr Johnston is a historian with Parks Canada and an acclaimed expert on Nova Scotia, Cape Breton and Louisbourg.

"Endgame is the last stage of a chess match when few pieces are left on the board and a decisive move is to be expected. The penultimate move in the conquest of New France was the 1758 siege of the fortified seaport of Louisbourg on Cape Breton. Both British and French strategists saw that port as the key to France's Canadian colony. The author points out that the French government committed more munitions, ships, and men to Louisburg's defence than were allocated to Quebec City's protection in 1759 (151–6). After the loss of Louisbourg, Quebec was open to attack, and the seizure of that town brought about the capitulation of New France in 1760."

I found this to be a very interesting read. Not only does it tell the story of the history of the last decade of Louisbourg but does so by showing it in the context of the battle for North America. The 1958 siege was no small affair. The British invasion force contained 157 ships and 11,000 soldiers. 4,000 soldiers protected the fortress along with a number of ships in the harbour.

The book is good and the events from 1458 to 1758 are well laid out. The old maps and paintings from that era is a nice touch, although I would have liked to have seen a few more modern maps diagramming the siege as it advanced and some of the larger skirmishes. Even though I am glad the British won, I felt sorry throughout the book for the civilians and soldiers of the fort having to endure daily and nightly bombardments for close to 2 months.

James Wolfe name became well-known during this siege. Wolfe, of course, went on to defeat the French in Quebec on the Plains of Abraham.

This is an interesting, well-written book on a crucial period of time and major event that shaped Canada and North America to what it is today.

Book - Racers by Richard Williams

Martin at work is a big Formula One fan and, knowing I am a race fan, lent me "Racers" to read. 

"The 1996 Grand Prix season was a battle between three highly different personalities: Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve. This book gives an account of the season as it unfolded in episodes of increasing tension and unexpected developments. On the surface formula one is about technology - the winner is the boy with the best toy. In fact it's all about character and the conflict between men of such different temperaments. This book examines the media of the sport and the characters within it as well as the role of commerce in sport, the role of sport in global entertainment and the role of women in such an environment." 

This was a very interesting read. Richard Williams followed the F1 season around the world in 1996 and wrote this book immediately after the season. This is not a book about what happens on the track but everything that happens off it. It gives great backgrounds on the 3 main drivers involved and explores the inner workings of a race team, plus the politics of Formula One in the worlds most famous racing series. I found the authors exploration of the 3 main drivers personalities in the series that year, Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve, quite involved. Although the book is hard to get now, for any race fan it would be an enjoyable read. Thanks, Martin!

Book - Under Enemy Colors

Ever read a book that you found hard to put down?

Then because you are constantly reading it, the book is done quickly and you are sad that it is over.

This just happened to me.

I have just finished Under Enemy Colors by Canadian author, S. Thomas Russell.

"Born to an English father and a French mother, Lieutenant Charles Saunders Hayden's career is damned by his mixed heritage. Assigned to the HMS "Themis," an aging frigate under the command of a captain reviled by his crew for both his brutality towards his men and his cowardice in battle, Hayden is torn between honor and duty, as the British navy engages the French in a centuries-old struggle for power."

This is the first book of the Charles Hayden series which I have read out of order starting with A Battle Won. It is a great adventure tale which kept me on the edge of my seat all the way through. The characters are well-written, especially the complex and somewhat tragic Charles Hayden.

The book is done and I hear there is a third in the series coming. I went to the author's website and put myself on the list to be notified when the next book comes out.

This book was released in November 2008 and the second in August 2010. Hopefully that means another will come in 2012. I am loving this series!

Book - "Service Included"

I enjoy reading books about the food industry but Service Included is the first one that I have seen that is about the servers and wait staff at a high end restaurant. 

"Kitchen Confidential meets Sex and the City in this delicious, behind-the-scenes memoir from the first female captain at one of New York City's most prestigious restaurants While Phoebe Damrosch was figuring out what to do with her life, she supported herself by working as a waiter. Before long she was a captain at the New York City four-star restaurant Per Se, the culinary creation of master chef Thomas Keller. Service Included is the story of her experiences there: her obsession with food, her love affair with a sommelier, and her observations of the highly competitive and frenetic world of fine dining. After reading this book, diners will never sit down at a restaurant table the same way again. " 

I found this book to be a fairly boring read. There were some interesting parts, such as when the entire staff at the new high end Per Se in New York was keeping watch for their first major food critics, most of whom are always in some sort of disguise. For the most part, though, it was a dull read. Phoebe Damrosch says that she was passionate about her career in the industry, "Please do not ask your waiter what else he or she does" but the passion does not seem to come through in her writing. If she writes a second book, I think I would pass.

Book - A Battle Won

Once upon a time I could care less about reading books about the navy in the age of sail.

Now I can't seem to get enough of it. My latest read is A Battle Won by S. Thomas Russell.

Due to all the detail, as I was reading I was sure that the book was written by someone from England. I was surprised to discover that Mr. Russell was, in fact, born in my home city of Toronto and now lives on Vancouver Island a few minutes from the seashore, with a love of sailing.

"Master and Commander Charles Hayden returns in the sequel to the international bestseller "Under Enemy Colors.

Winter 1793-the Reign of Terror rips through revolutionary France. In Plymouth, England, Master and Commander Charles Hayden is given orders to return to the ill-fated HMS "Themis" as the British fight the French for control of the strategically located island of Corsica.

But within hours out of port, Hayden's uncanny knack for attracting the attention of the French navy sees "Themis" thrown back into action. When she lands in Corsica and her men join forces with native insurgents, Hayden finds himself at the vanguard of a brutal clash of empires"

For the most part, it is a fast paced book. Mr. Russell is very knowledgeable about the period and quite detailed in his writing. Once or twice the book bogs down due to all the detail. I could have done without the chapter about the game of golf and, although I was forced to skim a little, overall it is well-paced and I quite enjoyed the adventure.

As the book description says, this is a sequel to Under Enemy Colors, the first book in the series about Master and Commander Charles Hayden and the ship he commands, the "Themis". I am looking forward to reading that one and hopefully there will be more to come as Mr. Russell has gained another fan of this series.

Book- Battle for the Bay

I have read many books on the War of 1812 and now have a tendency to only read those that focus on a specific aspect of the war. Battle for the Bay does that very well for me. It is the only book that I am aware of that focuses on the action off the New Brunswick coast in the Bay of Fundy.

"As the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 approaches, a chapter in the history of the war is being opened for the first time. Although naval battles raged on the Great Lakes, combat between privateers and small government vessels also boiled in the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of Maine. Three small warships played a vital role in defending the eastern waters of British North America in this crucial war.

The crews of these hardy ships fought both the Americans and the elements — winter winds, summer fog, and the fierce tidal currents of the Bay of Fundy — enduring the all-too-real threats of shipwreck and possible capture and imprisonment. Now, for the first time, Joshua M. Smith tells the full story of the battle for the bay."

I did not know that New Brunswick was important to great Britain in their war with France. It seems that was where Britain imported the large trees needed for it's navy's ship masts. Even Nelson's famous HMS Victory, used New Brunswick trees for it's masts.

The book describes the style of the Naval warfare used in the Bay of Fundy called Guerre de course (Commerce Raiding) where instead of attacking the enemy directly, you instead attack the enemy's commercial shipping while protecting your own. It follows the action of 3 British ships in the conflict, the Provincial sloop Brunswicker, His Majesty's schooner Bream, and His Majesty's brig Boxer.

I found it a very interesting that it was written from the Canadian point of view but by an American writer Joshua Smith. He is an expert on maritime history of Maine and New Brunswick and has written a couple of books about smuggling between the Us and Canada during that period of time. Battle for the Bay is the 17th book which comprises The New Brunswick Military History series. The series contacted Mr Smith to write this book.

It is a short book, only 110 pages long but definitely worth reading.

Book - The Last Stand by Nathaniel Philbrick

"Philbrick here takes on an oft-told tale, replete with its dashing, flawed main character, its historically doomed, noble Native chief, and a battlefield strewn with American corpses. National Book Award-winner Philbrick writes a lively narrative that brushes away the cobwebs of mythology to reveal the context and realities of Custer's unexpected 1876 defeat at the hands of his Indian enemies under Sitting Bull, and the character of each leader. Philbrick offers a rounded history of one of the worst defeats in American military history, a story enhanced by his minute examination of the battle's terrain and interviews with descendants in both camps" 

I found The Last Stand to be an excellent read. I went into the book really knowing very little of the Battle of Little Bighorn except that Custer and every troop under him were killed in the battle. I had no idea that there were also other battles raging around the Little Bighorn camp. The prospective comes form all views, with a deserved sympathy toward the Indian nation. After all, the U.S. declared war on them and never told them. Sitting Bull said if Custer had of approached the camp to talk, they would have talked. Instead they found the camp and attacked without provocation. Custer's defeat was always called a massacre. Seems that Indian victories were always called that and U.S. victory's were not. 

In reading this book, the reader will find the American troops brutal in treatment of Indian prisoners woman and children. When the U.S. won a victory against the Indians, they did their best to make it a massacre too. As the book says, not only was this the last stand for Custer but also for Sitting Bull and his people. This is a well-written book and I highly recommend it. On a side note, I read this book on my Kobo. I found that maps, so vital to a book like this, does not come out well on an ereader. They cannot be expanded in size and it is near impossible to flip back to them as reference while you read. It is the only complaint I have about my Kobo so far.

Book - "Drifting Home" by Pierre Berton

In the 1970s, Pierre Berton and his family recreated the trip down the Yukon made by his father, Francis George Berton, in 1898. This compelling story of the later journey is a valentine from son to father, a magical tale of a family adrift, and a poetic exploration of the region's rich history. In experiencing this great wilderness, Berton and his family discover their deep connection to nature -- and each other.

I have long been a fan of Pierre Berton's books and have read a great number of them. After his passing, I have been meaning to go back and read some of his older works, as I started reading the books he wrote starting with The Invasion of Canada: 1812-1813, which he published in 1980. This gave me two hooks. One to find out more of the War of 1812 which has become a favorite topic for me to research and, of course, to read Pierre Berton books.

When I saw that the library had this for my Kobo, I had to give it a read.

Much of the book would be interesting only to his family. It is his remembrances of looking back at what the area was like when he was growing up there, and back further to when his mom and dad came to Dawson, and comparing it to what he is seeing on the trip, that this a very worthwhile read.

Book - Pirates of the Levant

Hop on board and enjoy the sixth and final adventure of Captain Diego Alatriste and his foster son Íñigo. This time around, the swashbuckling duo set sail aboard a seventeenth-century Spanish galleon. As a seasoned sword-for-hire, Alatriste always expects action, but nothing can quite prepare him for the viciousness of his last battle. Of course the author wouldn’t be true to the series if he didn’t provide at least a dollop of romantic intrigue. As Íñigo begins experiencing growing pains, he forms an ill-advised attachment to the niece of Alatriste’s sworn enemy. Like his charismatic anti-hero, Pérez-Reverte never holds, pulling out all the stops as he skillfully crafts a shocking, fight-to-the-death bloodbath on the high seas. 

This is the 6th book in the Captain Alatriste series written by Spanish Author Arturo Pérez-Reverte. He wrote the first one back in 1996. This was written in 2006 but just recently translated. The story is always told by Inigo Blaboa who is the young son of Alatriste's best friend who was killed in battle. Pérez-Reverte has a wandering style of writing through each novel and spend much of the first half of the book flashing back through time or hinting at what is coming in thiet futures after this particular story is told. 

The second half of each novel always settles down to a good story. This story is the weakest of the series as Captain Alatriste is usually a sword for hire or a soldier and the story has a purpose. This is a rambling tale of Alatriste and Inigo adventures aboard a Spanish galleon wandering the Mediterranean. The author has always done an excellent job in describing battle or sword fights and the battle at the end of this story is excellent. It's worth a read if you are a fan of the series. If not, you may wish to start with the first one Captain Alatriste.

Book - Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook

In the ten years since his classic Kitchen Confidential first alerted us to the idiosyncrasies and lurking perils of eating out, from Monday fish to the breadbasket conspiracy, much has changed for the subculture of chefs and cooks, for the restaurant business—and for Anthony Bourdain.

Medium Raw explores these changes, moving back and forth from the author's bad old days to the present. Tracking his own strange and unexpected voyage from journeyman cook to globe-traveling professional eater and drinker, and even to fatherhood, Bourdain takes no prisoners as he dissects what he's seen, pausing along the way for a series of confessions, rants, investigations, and interrogations of some of the most controversial figures in food.

And always he returns to the question "Why cook?" Or the more difficult "Why cook well?" Medium Raw is the deliciously funny and shockingly delectable journey to those answers, sure to delight philistines and gourmands alike.

I enjoyed Kitchen Confidential but found the writing uneven. Some great chapters followed by some boring ones. Not in this book though.

It is a thoroughly enjoyable read from start to finish.

He talks very candidly about celebrity chefs, working for the Food Network, who he admires, who he hates and never does he hold back. Some of the writing looks like Bourdain is a bit of an ADD personality, but hey it works.

I'm looking forward to my next Anthony Bourdain book.

I did find one downfall of reading a Kobo book borrowed from the library, when I read this one. The borrower only has three weeks to read the book or it lacks up and has to be booked out again. I did not start reading it right away and was surprised one day to find the book locked up on my Kobo. I still had 75 pages to go! So when I booked it out again, found I had to wait for 10 days before being able to download it.

Oh well, I finished another book on my Kobo during my wait.