Year in Review - Books

My final Year in Review piece and it's books this time. I've managed a fair bit of reading this year and have read titles of varying quality. Not all of these have made the review but of the ones that have, some I have already posted about so I'll get those out of the way first.

Stephen Kotkin's Stalin duo, with still no date on the final volume, proved a tough read but interesting enough, whilst Richard Pike's Phantom brace were good, despite the second volume's change in presentation and The Explorer's Guild didn't live up to its promise.

Other books this year included another due of history tomes, James Holland's The War in the West. Volume three is due next year and is worth consideration. The books take quite a high level view with emphasis on individuals and their course through the war. Focusing as it does on the West, there is only cursory mention of the Eastern Front but the author does tie things neatly together. I would say that there is some repetition of facts within the narrative (Yes, I get it, the MG34 was wasteful to produce), and that the author's key contention, that Britain was never in that much danger due to it's logistical capabilities, is a bit too pat from the start, but overall, these two volumes tell the story of the Western theatre well.

Suez, by Keith Kyle, is considered by some to be the reference work on the Crisis and after reading it, I can see why. It is compelling and authoritative, combines details and grand scale politics and treats everyone fairly, which is not to say that it's kind to them, No. not at all. But there is one key off-putting issue with the book and that is the style of writing. This is purely a generational thing (it's flowery and effusive, a style that hasn't been taught in schools for a long time) but don't let that put you off if you want to know the background and the events of Suez. It just made it harder to read for me that I thought it would be.

Keeping with the period, slightly, is The Doomsday Machine by Daniel Ellsberg. He of the Pentagon Papers fame, Ellsberg writes with some humour about his time working as a nuclear strategist and planner. It's an enlightening tale and one that should fill you with horror at the mentality of those who controlled the nuclear forces of America during the Cold War. There are some factual errors in there and the overall tone betrays a left-leaning political basis but again, as with Suez, don't let a style (or politics but you off). There is much to be learned here.

That could also be said of The Sleepwalkers, Christopher Clarke's history of how Europe came to be in the position it was in during 1914 that led to The First World War. This is a densely packed title and hard going, especially with the focus on Serbian and Balkan politics but as a book to tell you why the First World War happened, it's hard to beat. There are other tomes that provide differing points of view and scale but The Sleepwalkers is an excellent addition to the mass of literature about that horrifying period.

Richard J Aldrich's GCHQ gives the uncensored tale of the eponymous secret agency. It does, especially the early years, and is entertaining in its own right. However, there are a couple of factual errors in there that detract from the authority of the author and the period following the end of the Cold War is patchy at best (the 30 year rule is a massive hindrance here too) so it's a case of buyer beware for this title.

Off the historical track and onto videogames, which tend to do poorly when it comes to books. Somehow, the mediums don't tend to gel too well. In these two instances, they kind of do. Blood, Sweat and Pixels is an anthology book by Jason Schreier, detailing the production stories of ten videogames. Some were massive successes, one didn't even get released. However, in each section, there is a tale of joy, humility, triumph and despair. If you're ever wondered what videogame development could be like, or want a window onto that world of entertainment software development, then this is the book for you.

Then there is Retro Tech by Peter Leigh. Better known by his YouTube channel name of Nostalgia Nerd, Leigh has written a guide to home computer and console hardware in a neat and tidy little package. By his own admission, PC gaming and handhelds get short shrift as they really do need books of their own, but what you do get here is a brief history of each machine, some nice pictures and a selection of three games for each one: a must see title - demonstrating the power of the machine at the time, a must play title - one you must play to appreciate what the machine brought to the table and a must avoid - really, one that should never be touched with a barge pole. What I like about Leigh's writing is that his voice shines through the text and if you've ever seen one of his videos, you'll know straight away what I mean. As a one book guide, this is very good and whilst there are other hardware books out there, this is one of the best.

Finally, we have Persepolis Rising, book 7 of The Expanse series. If you've read previous posts, you'll know how much I like the TV series which is based upon the books. The TV show is only up to the third book and I do wonder how they'll continue given the scale of the books. Even after seven volumes, the characters remain fresh and the story interesting. It helps that the planned nine-title series is split into three books of three. Seven kicks off another fight for the crew of the Rocinante and this time, you do get the feeling it's the end of the line for some, even if they don't know it yet. If you've not picked up The Expanse from the beginning, it's no good starting here, but I do recommend you do start. It's grand scale sci-fi and a good read too.

Well, that's it for the Year in Review series. I hope you've enjoyed them and if you have any comments, I welcome them all. May you all have a happy new year, and a healthy and prosperous 2019.