Books & Reading Thread 2025

1. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens. 7/10.
2. Munich - Robert Harris - 5/10.
3. Conclave - Robert Harris - 8/10.
4. Deep Cover - Shay Doyle - 9/10.
5. Winter in Madrid - C J Sansom - 4/10.
6. Red Notice - Andy McNab - 5/10.
7. The Bayeux Embroidery - Howard of Warwick - 7/10.
8. The Heretics of De'Ath - Howard of Warwick - 7/10.
9. Unbreakable - Melvyn Downes - 6/10.
10. Precipice - Robert Harris - 8/10.
11. The Surgeon of Crowthorne - Simon Winchester - 8/10.
12. SAS: My Trial By Fire - Des Powell - 7/10.
13. The Pianist - Wladyslaw Szpilman - 10/10.

This a WWII memoir of pianist and composer, Wladyslaw Szpilman. Evocative, poignant, thought provoking, incredibly sad true story of how Szpilman survived WWII in his home city of Warsaw, following the Nazi invasion.

The Germans occupied the city, then moved the Jews into an ever decreasing in size ghetto, before eventually cleansing the city of Jews by transporting them to Treblinka to be exterminated. Szpilman's father, mother, brother and two sisters are included in this episode, but Szpilman is reprieved at the very last moment. He doesn't see any of his family again.

A few Jews remained - some in work parties until they were transported, and a handful, including Szpilman, in hiding. Remaining Polish Jews fought back in 1944, but the uprising was quelled and Hitler ordered Warsaw to be destroyed. It was subsequently heavily bombed by the Luftwaffe until barely a building was left standing.

Szpilman survived numerous very close encounters with death, including an attempted suicide. He is aided by a number of non-Jewish friends until near the end of the war his latest hiding place amongst the ruins of a house is discovered by a German officer. Szpilman thinks his evasion has all been in vain but when the officer learns the peacetime occupation of Szpilman he asks him to play something on the piano, in the same house, which has miraculously survived the destruction. He plays Chopin's Nocturne No. 20 in C# Minor. This episode is very movingly depicted in the 2002 film of this story.

Wilhelm Hosenfeld was posthumously awarded the Righteous Among the Nations title from Yad Vashem in 2009.

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RobMCFC said:
  1. A Lesson in Violence – Jordan Harper - 7/10
  2. The Silverblood Promise – James Logan 9/10
  3. Exiles – Jane Harper 9/10
  4. Palace of Shadows – Ray Celestine 6/10
  5. The Wager – David Grann 8/10
  6. Grimdark Magazine Issue #40 – 6/10
  7. Grimdark Magazine Issue #41 – 6/10
  8. The Trials of Empire – Richard Swan – 7/10
  9. George Harrison - Philip Norman – 8/10
  10. Go to War: Football on the Brink in the 80s – Jon Spurling – 8/10
  11. Chasing the Light - Oliver Stone – 8/10
  12. The Narrows – Ronald Malfi – 7/10
  13. The Siege – BenMacintyre – 9/10
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When @Manc baggie reviewed this earlier this year, I put it straight on my TBR list.

The siege at the Iranian Embassy in London, in 1980, was an iconic moment. Like millions of others, I was glued to the screen as Cliff Thorburn squared off against Alex Higgins in the final of the World Snooker Championship. This was rudely interrupted by a BBC newsflash and suddenly we all had box office seats as the SAS blow out the front windows and stormed the embassy.

I’ll never forget that moment, but I was only 11 years old, and I don’t remember much of the aftermath. I don’t know why the siege happened, I couldn’t tell you whether any of the hostage takers survived or how many hostages died.

Ben Macintyre answers all of these questions and more in a superbly researched book. We get to see a lot of what went on behind closed doors in the embassy and see the siege through the eyes of the police negotiators, obviously the SAS themselves and also the government. I also like the context that the author applies and in fact mentions the World Snooker final several times.

Despite the bravery and skill of the SAS, it was revealing to see that not everything went right and there were a few cock-ups along the way, which I guess you’d expect with a situation as tense as this. It was interesting to read that in the wake of the Munich Olympic Massacre, the SAS was tasked with hostage rescue in just such a situation and had therefore been training for this scenario for seven years.

As others have said, It’s a brilliant book that’s well worth anybody’s time.

After a lot of fascinating non-fiction this summer, it’s time to get my teeth stuck into a good bit of fiction, starting with my favourite author’s latest …..
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Just an additional note on this.

Whilst doing some background reading, I found out that there was a 2017 film of the events starring Jamie Bell. 6 Days is available on Netflix and I’d advise anybody who enjoyed The Siege to watch it.

You will recognise a lot of what was said in the book here. The only real difference I spotted was that they’d obviously combined the roles on the on-street negotiators in with Max Vernon, who was on the mic at HQ. Also the film spent less time inside the embassy but overall the balance was very good.

You’d expect both to tie up as they are both based on the same event but as we know, that’s not always the case.

Highly recommended.
 
Just about to finish ‘A Load Of Old Balls’ by James Hardin and Anna Ptaszynski.
It’s a trivia type history of sport, with lots of interesting and witty stories behind each particular incident.
It’s an easy read and pretty entertaining.
 

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Linked double header really. First off - 'Over paid, Over sexed and Over here'. The story of US servicemen, shipped to Britain, during WW2 and their interactions with the British public. As an American GI was paid as much as a British captain tension levels were obviously high. The 'invaders' were obviously a great hit with British girls and the Brits couldn't really compete. There were many serious fight disturbances most noticeably at Bamber Bridge. Also with Southerner white units against coloured battalions (The Brits tended to embrace black units).

Also 'Over paid, Over sexed and Over there' which detailed the British invasion in the early 60s by the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Dave Clark 5, Animals, Hermans Hermits, The Who etc which swamped the US charts. Continued in the 70s with David Bowie, Elton John, Rod Stewart and even punk. It was only in the 80s that America got their dominance back with Bruce Springsteen, Madonna and Michael Jackson.

Authors: Juliet Gardiner, David Hepworth
 
24. Black River Orchard - Chuck Wendig.
4/5. Another author i have been going to read for ages. Once again it seems to be similar to Stephen King. I wonder if I just compare most modern horror to the great man.
Didn't realise how little I knew about apples until I read this.
 
richardtheref said:
24. Black River Orchard - Chuck Wendig.
4/5. Another author i have been going to read for ages. Once again it seems to be similar to Stephen King. I wonder if I just compare most modern horror to the great man.
Didn't realise how little I knew about apples until I read this.
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Really enjoyed that one. Much more so than his other outright horror, The Staricase in the Woods, which I've also read this year. Was still decent, just not quite to my taste as much as the others of his I've read.
 
JRockBlues said:
Really enjoyed that one. Much more so than his other outright horror, The Staricase in the Woods, which I've also read this year. Was still decent, just not quite to my taste as much as the others of his I've read.
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My friend is the manager of Waterstones in Durham city got me a few of his books for nowt. Basically they were freebies supplied to them by the publisher. So I have read that one but I have The Book of Accidents, Wanderers and Wayward sitting on a shelf.
 
richardtheref said:
My friend is the manager of Waterstones in Durham city got me a few of his books for nowt. Basically they were freebies supplied to them by the publisher. So I have read that one but I have The Book of Accidents, Wanderers and Wayward sitting on a shelf.
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Oh yeah, forgot BoA as a hooror. Enjoyed that one too. The other 2 are more in the post-apocalyptic genre. A duopoly where Wanderers should be read 1st.
 
fanatic1 said:
Linked double header really. First off - 'Over paid, Over sexed and Over here'. The story of US servicemen, shipped to Britain, during WW2 and their interactions with the British public. As an American GI was paid as much as a British captain tension levels were obviously high. The 'invaders' were obviously a great hit with British girls and the Brits couldn't really compete. There were many serious fight disturbances most noticeably at Bamber Bridge. Also with Southerner white units against coloured battalions (The Brits tended to embrace black units).

Also 'Over paid, Over sexed and Over there' which detailed the British invasion in the early 60s by the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Dave Clark 5, Animals, Hermans Hermits, The Who etc which swamped the US charts. Continued in the 70s with David Bowie, Elton John, Rod Stewart and even punk. It was only in the 80s that America got their dominance back with Bruce Springsteen, Madonna and Michael Jackson.

Authors: Juliet Gardiner, David Hepworth
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I’m a product of that ( even though the war had ended) I remember hearing all the stories of my Dad having booze, oranges, chocolate etc. My grandparents would have loved to emigrate to the US after the war, they were just glad their daughter managed to get out of England even though we were in and out and actually stayed for a couple of decades.
 
25. Camino Ghosts - John Grisham 5/5.
I haven't really enjoyed the 1st 2 in this series but thought this was outstanding. I think Grisham has fallen away in recent years from his high standards set earlier. This was more of a traditional legal courtroom drama but condensed into 292 pages.
 
Just finished The Tartan Gangs and Paramilitaries. Very interesting read as I've said before grew up in Northern Ireland at this time and could relate to lots of stuff in the book. At times quite harrowing how fast things escalated through word of mouth.
 

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A couple of updates..

The Dragon Man - Garry Disher - 8/10

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Garry Disher is one of the leading thriller writers in Australia. This book is the first in the Mornington Peninsula series featuring DI Hal Challis.

This book has most of the ingredients that you would expect; possible serial killer, arson attacks, aggravated burglaries cops with issues, dodgy cops etc.

The story weaves together the police investigation with the private lives and tensions of the detectives, painting a gritty, atmospheric picture of small-town Australia.

This is a well written police procedural with not too many surprises about the perpetrators and is a promising start to the series.

Richie Benaud’s Blue Suede Shoes - David Kynaston & Harry Ricketts (Audiobook) - 9/10

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Following on from my last (audio)book, I seem to have gone down a cricketing rabbit- hole; the last book was about the whole test series of 1954/55, whereas this book focuses on the defining test of the 1961 series. Australia had regained the Ashes in 1958/59 and the score in the series was 1-1 at the start of the 4th test, at Old Trafford. England needed to win to have a chance of regaining the Ashes and this test was the pivotal match of the series.

The 5 days of the test are covered by 5 chapters in the middle section of the book, with each day’s play having its own chapter; the key events of each session are covered and between each session there is some additional detail about one of the key players from the match. Comment and opinion on each day’s play from many of the leading cricket writers (Arlott, Swanton) of the day is also included.

The first section of the book is a contrast between the respective captains, Peter May a privately educated, upper middle class amateur and Richie Benaud, a typical Australian and also describes what domestic cricket in England was like at the time.

The final section looks the fallout from the test and a brief summary of the England’s test performances from then until recently. Only a handful of the protagonists were still alive at the time the book was written and the book reflects on those that have passed.

This is a well-written enjoyable book written by cricket-lovers, for cricket-lovers.
 
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1. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens. 7/10.
2. Munich - Robert Harris - 5/10.
3. Conclave - Robert Harris - 8/10.
4. Deep Cover - Shay Doyle - 9/10.
5. Winter in Madrid - C J Sansom - 4/10.
6. Red Notice - Andy McNab - 5/10.
7. The Bayeux Embroidery - Howard of Warwick - 7/10.
8. The Heretics of De'Ath - Howard of Warwick - 7/10.
9. Unbreakable - Melvyn Downes - 6/10.
10. Precipice - Robert Harris - 8/10.
11. The Surgeon of Crowthorne - Simon Winchester - 8/10.
12. SAS: My Trial By Fire - Des Powell - 7/10.
13. The Pianist - Wladyslaw Szpilman - 10/10.
14. The Siege - Ben Macintyre - 9/10.

I started this earlier in the year, but got sidetracked, so I picked up where I left of after reading reviews here.

This must be the definitive account of the Iranian Embassy siege in 1980, which catapulted the SAS into public consciousness.

As with all of Macintyre's work, this is meticulously researched, and well presented. It is largely about the people involved in the siege, with well drawn pictures of the terrorists, the hostages, the politicians and negotiators, the soldiers and their commanders, and some of the peripheral characters such as the neighbours and journalists covering the event. He even describes the simultaneous Embassy World Snooker Championship final, which concluded in Sheffield at the same time as the siege came to an end, and was unseen.

The epilogue to the book updates us on what happened to the protagonists after the siege. But the final chapter is a gripping minute by minute account of the dramatic end to the siege, played out in front of millions of television viewers across the world.

As with all of Macintyre's books, you won't be disappointed if you pick this up.

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The knowledge and opinion on this forum over such diverse topics never ceases to amaze me. Recently on the recommendation of various contributors I read Siege and The Wager. Both very different and both well worth a read. I am just about to download Stalingrad on the recommendation of this forum with the main decision being which author do I choose, Grossman or Beevor ?
 
RobMCFC said:
Go to War: Football on the Brink in the 80s – Jon Spurling – 8/10
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I've now ordered "Get It On" by John Spurling
A story of football in the 70's which has very good reviews

And, if anyone is interested it's currently £2.00 from Waterstones website - should cost £20.00, so it's well worth a punt at that price!!
 
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