The Tin Star - John M. Cunningham

A while back, I watched High Noon and noticed this short story was mentioned as the inspiration for the film. I decided to see how the story turned into a movie.

Doane is an old man, and one of his old cases has been released from prison. The criminal is on his way to town on a train, and Doane knows the man and his gang will be coming for his life. His deputy, Toby, is planning on staying by his side during the fight, but after that, he's out.

I'm not going to say much more about the story. It was only 14 pages. I thought it was a pretty decent little Western story, but the movie varied in many ways. It almost seems like two different stories.

This story wasn't really long enough for any type of character development or anything, so I don't really feel comfortable giving it a proper ranking. If you like old-fashioned Westerns, you might want to give this one a shot.

*You can see my review of High Noon HERE. Be warned that it has SPOILERS. The review is on my newer blog where I keep track of the older movies/shows (and some not as old) I've been watching lately.

Teddy Suhren, Ace of Aces - Teddy Suhren

When I hear the term 'ace.' I immediately think of aircraft. But in this case, a German man is telling his story of what happened in the U-boats during WWII. He worked his way up through the ranks, even having to wait to become commander simply because he was too young. He was an intelligent man and knew what he was doing. He cared about his men and always did what he could to bring them back alive.

The writing style of this memoir was very conversational, and it made for an easy read. I was never reluctant to pick it up. The postscript and a speech given by Suhren take up a lot of the end. The actual memoirs ended around page 254. After that was a brief summary of the rest of his life and a speech he gave at the First Post-War reunion of U-boat men in 1954.

The translator starts off the memoir by clearing up a few things. I appreciated how many people he contacted and worked with to get this book into the shape that it is. There are also many pictures, which were included throughout the book instead of all shoved in at the end. I liked that as well.

Overall, this was just a man doing his duty to his country. He was not a member of the Nazi party, and he didn't really seem to care for politics at all. His outspokenness got him in trouble on numerous occasions, but it never stopped him from saying what he felt. He was put in prison after the war, and it didn't seem to be something he understood. He was just doing his duty just as the men on the other side did, so why was he being punished? Eventually, he was let out and built his life back together, but it's an interesting question. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to find out what life was like on a U-boat. Good Book!

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre - B. Traven

I'd seen the movie a few months ago and wanted to read the book. I wanted to make sure nothing happened to my main man, Howard, in the book.

If you haven't seen the movie, a couple of down-on-their-luck men, Dobbs and Curtin, team up with an experienced prospector (Howard) to try their luck mining for gold. They gather some burros and head out into the mountainous region of the Sierra Madre.

This is a pretty good book. It doesn't focus on the high points of prospecting or the riches you gain in the end. It shows what can happen when all you work for is something that won't last. It's a cautionary tale, but it isn't wrapped up in obvious preaching. 

A quick mention of the movie. It stayed pretty true to the book with some minor variations. I felt kind of bad for the "Cody/Lacaud" character. 

I enjoyed this book and recommend it for anyone looking for a good adventure. The writing holds up well for being written in 1927 by a mysterious German whose real identity has never been discovered. Good Book!

(I'm adding the poster from the movie since the cover of my Kindle book just had a strange man sitting in a chair.)

Code Talker - Chester Nez and Judith Schiess Avila

I'd heard of code talkers before, but I'd never really dived into their history. I found this book, written by one of the original 29 (or 32 if you go by Chester's numbers). Code talkers were a group of brave Native Americans who used the Navajo language to make sure the Japanese didn't know what the Americans were doing in the Pacific during WWII. The code was never broken and was much quicker and more efficient than what was being used previously.

I like how the memoir went through almost his entire life. It covers his childhood up until 2011. Chester passed away in 2014 and was the last surviving member of the original code talkers. He lived quite a life and went through so much.

I have the Kindle version and wanted to mention a few things. The text for the book ends at page 276. Acknowledgements, Navajo dictionary for the code, Bibliography, an index, maps of the islands Chester helped conquer, and pictures fill the rest of the book. The pictures start on page 347. The code was small and hard to read on my Paperwhite, but that's something I could fix.

This is one of the better memoirs I've read. The writing was easy to read, there were enough breaks if you wanted to stop for a while, and the subject matter was super interesting to me. I believe this is an important part of WWII history that shouldn't be forgotten. The impact these men had was so important to the Pacific theater, and it was a secret for so long. If you're at all interested in a life lived the Right Way, I recommend this book. Good Book!

Doctor Zhivago - Boris Pasternak

I went into this book with optimism. I did a small bit of research and saw a few people recommending to read the Pantheon translation. It's not available in Kindle format, so I ordered a physical copy. It cost a bit more, but I was heading on a road trip, and it was my treat to myself.

I'm going to add spoilers in this review, because I want to rant. I wasted good money for a particular translation, and for what? A "classic" that I don't quite understand. In what way did I not understand it? I honestly am not sure why this is considered a classic. I considered quitting, but I also felt compelled to read the whole thing since I spent more on it than I normally would.

Zhivago is one of the most irritating characters I've read. At one point, I wanted him to get eaten by wolves. I have no idea what people see in him and wish someone else had been the main character. Gordon or Dudorov or anyone else. I'm not even sure how to describe Zhivago in a way that will explain why I dislike him so much. I hate the way he just floats along, sometimes fainting, sometimes hiding, other times giving up on something.

And then there's the women in his life. Tonia has my sympathies. ALL my sympathy. She never did anything wrong, and Zhivago just forgets about her. Multiple times. And he never does meet back up with her, and we never find out what happens to her. She's just pushed aside. Later, Zhivago leaves his new love Lara to "find his family." But he gives up and forms another family with Marina. What. The. Heck.

Aside from the dramatic Zhivago, the book wasn't bad. When it was dealing with the social and political incidents of the time, I enjoyed it. The end was the reprint of Zhivago's poems, but I skipped them. I am not a fan of poetry, and I was just kind of over the book at that point. But weighing the amount of time spent of the main character with the interesting parts, this one was a pass.

Sniper on the Eastern Front - Albrecht Wacker

"Sepp Allerberger" is the name attached to these memoirs. The reason given is that although snipers from the United States and Russia are considered heroes, German snipers are regarded as "wicked killers."

Sepp does what he can to survive. At first, it might be hard to sympathize with a German sniper knowing what he's done. But not every German soldier was a Nazi, and this particular man fought with inner demons a few times. The problem was, he was in a situation where it was kill or be killed. 

As the end of the war nears, it becomes clear that the troops are just falling back to Germany. He witnesses a lot of horrible things, and the details are not spared. It's gets pretty graphic at times. Saying that, Sepp also comes across as jaded, and I'm not sure whether that is a reflection of the author or the marksman. 

Overall, this is a pretty look at the end of the war from the German point of view. If that's something you're interested in learning about, and you don't mind the gore, I would recommend this book. Good Book!

An American Tragedy - Theodore Dreiser

Clyde's family are street preachers, but he wants to break away. He gets a job at a hotel, but after a tragic accident, he leaves the city and ends up in Chicago. He meets his wealthy uncle and is put on a path where he's exposed to high society. He also has a young woman who he's gotten pregnant. Since she's not rich enough, Clyde would rather get rid of her somehow, because now he has prospects with a rich, young beauty. What follows is a murder. 

It feels like everyone in this book only thinks about themselves. The beauty only starts talking to Clyde because she wants to poke at Clyde's cousin. The cousin puts Clyde in a cruddy job to keep him out of the way. Roberta, who is one of the lesser offenders, wants to hold on to Clyde no matter the consequences. Even giving up her morals and self-respect. Clyde is never happy with anything. He always feels like he's destined for something greater, and he deserves it. The lawyers are determined to win the case for political reasons. I despised the defense attorneys for making something up to try and get Clyde acquitted. I wasn't fond of the underhanded tactics of the prosecution, either. The whole 'plant two strands of hair' probably wasn't even necessary. I could go on, but I'm over the whole thing.

Everyone was in the wrong, but Clyde was the worst. By a long shot. I think the book wanted me to feel bad for him, but I felt nothing but contempt for the nitwit. He literally planned out her murder, but then he spent so much of the book telling himself he was innocent. I wish the trial was the end, but then his religious mother showed up and extended the book by asking God to spare her son. Many prayers and pleas to God take up a lot of the final pages.

I don't normally hate everything about a book, but this is one of those times. At the end, the only real tragedy was how much time I wasted reading it. I skimmed a great deal of the end, because I wanted to make sure some sort of justice happened, otherwise I would have had a riot over here.