Now It Can Be Told - Philip Gibbs

Philip Gibbs was one of five official British war correspondents during WWI who spent his time observing various battlefields and the effects the fighting had on the men. 

I think the best way to describe this book is to use the author's own words, found at about 92% of the way through: "I have here and in other books shown the light as well as the shade in which our men lived, the gaiety as well as the fear they had, the exultation as well as the agony of battle, the spiritual ardor of boys as well as the brutality of the task that was theirs." It says it all.

At 644 pages, it's a bit long, and I felt it. Being a journalist, I understood where the long-windedness came from, but there was some repetition in there and a bit of rambling. I had some trouble getting through some of it. On the other hand, it gave me a real insight into how the war affected a lot of different kinds of people: from civilians to officers to infantry. At the end, Gibbs also spends a little time talking about the aftermath of the war and how coming home wasn't a homecoming for everyone.

With the amount of disgust I felt coming from Gibbs regarding the first World War, I kept wondering how he would have felt about the second one. This book was written in 1919, when the wounds were still fresh, and minds hadn't recovered. As I neared the end of the book, I found a quote that gave me a glimpse of what he might've thought: "They will have been betrayed if the agony they suffered is forgotten and "the war to end war" leads to preparations for new, more monstrous conflict." Gibbs died in 1962, and he must've been so disappointed with the way the world turned out. If you want a thorough overview of what it was like for different people during WWI, this is a great place to start. Good Book!

This Crowded Earth - Robert Bloch

Harry is tired of his life. The overcrowding and the repetition of his job take its toll on his mind to the point where he attempts to take his own life. When he wakes up, he finds himself in a small compound that he didn't think existed in the world anymore. I'm not going to say much more, I found that the little reveals were pretty rewarding in this book.

I think the first thing to keep in mind is this was written in 1958. Even though years are mentioned in here that have passed, I'm definitely not complaining that he got it wrong. I think the author did a good job describing the mentality and consequences of what would happen in the world he built.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. It's on the short side, but I think it ended when it needed to. I was impressed with the creativity and thoroughness of the world the author built with zero knowledge of the future. The end caught me by surprise, and I don't have a problem giving this a Good Book! review.

Fight for the Sky - Douglas Bader

I bought this because I wanted to know more about the author himself. I soon learned that this book is more focused on the history of the Spitfire and Hurricane planes. I'm taking responsibility for the mistake, I should've paid more attention to the description of the book. 

This book goes into great detail of the role the Spitfire and Hurricane played in WWII for the RAF. It is broken down by theater, and many pictures are included. Also, the author has included many names and anecdotes from various pilots and people involved in the history of the planes.

I personally didn't need the level of detail that was included in this particular book, but I enjoyed the stories. I would've liked to hear a bit more of the author's personal story, but I respect that he wanted the focus to be broader and include more people and stories. Overall, if you're interested in the role of these two planes in WWII, this is a great book for you.

 

Payment Deferred - C.S. Forester

I felt it was time for a good, old-fashioned crime novel. 

Mr. Marble is having money troubles. His wife, Annie, doesn't seem to be able to control her spending, but Marble himself doesn't necessarily deny himself at times either. When an unknown nephew shows up on his doorstep, Marble sees an opportunity. Should he ask for a loan? The young man seems to have a bit of money, but he also seems to be catching on that his uncle is acting a bit strange. A shared drink later, and the nephew is dead, his money now in Marble's pocket.

What follows is the psychological deterioration of Marble. He can't seem to stop staring at the place where the body lay, but it also doesn't stop him from spending the money either. His strange behavior continues to escalate until the end of the book.

I found this to be an interesting book. You're just waiting for someone to notice something and find him out. You're getting paranoid with him, and it's quite a ride. I felt bad for the rest of his family. I won't say why, but I really did. The final sentence of the book made me smile because it just struck me funny. It wasn't too long, and I really enjoyed it. Good Book!

I Escaped from Auschwitz - Rudolph Vrba

This book is about one of two men who escaped from Auschwitz and tried to warn Hungary about what was about to happen to them. In 1944, Rudolph made his way from the concentration camp to Slovakia with Alfred Wetzler. At first, they spent hours convincing people they were telling the truth. Then politics delayed the information from reaching the place it needed to go to fully prevent Hungarian Jews from being transported.

The book is very thorough. Vrba went through a great deal to survive, and even after he got away, he didn't give up. He nearly died a few times, and you get the sense that he was just meant to actually make it out of there. So many of the others, including friends and family, didn't make it. Vrba has to focus on survival, because that's all he can do.

I found a couple of things really disappointing, but it had nothing to do with the writing. As I was reading through the book, some footnotes would update the reader on what happened to certain people. I was incredibly disappointed to learn about the number of Nazi SS men who basically got a light sentence or never had to pay for their crimes. How can there be a statute of limitations of cruelty of that scale? The other thing that bothered me was the fate of the report. It took so long for it to get into the right hands. I know Vrba and Wetzler were frustrated as well, and you can't blame them. People died, and they didn't necessarily have to.

A few side notes about the book itself. Pictures of the report are in the book, but I wasn't able to read them because the print was too small. If you read the entire book, you'll get a bit of repetition. The escape and report is explained in detail in the main text, and then in the appendixes, it's also summarized as well. I think it's the reprint of an article that appeared somewhere, but it is the same information.

This is the story of a brave man, and one of four who escaped around the same time and tried to tell the world about the horror of Auschwitz. In some ways, it's understandable that the people they came across couldn't believe such cruelty was possible, but we know now it was not only true, it was worse than we could ever imagine. I highly recommend this book if you want an inside view of a survivor story. I believe it's worth reading. Good Book!

The Keys of the Kingdom - A. J. Cronin

I put this on my watch list because it was someone's favorite book. I've read quite a few memoirs now, so unfortunately, I can't remember who exactly it was. When it went on sale, I snatched it up.

Francis isn't the usual Catholic priest. His childhood isn't happy, and he doesn't conform to training the way the other men do. This makes him stand out in a good way to one man in particular, who sends him to China. Through years of hard work and following his own conscious, Francis makes a life for himself that he should be proud of.

This book wasn't something I should have enjoyed. I can't really put my finger on why I did enjoy it. There was a lot of sorrow in Francis's life, and he was misunderstood by his superiors. His thoughts on God, while controversial for his faith, were inspiring to others and, frankly, to me at times. I normally don't enjoy a book with this much sorrow, but I came away from it with a strange sense of peace. Great writing and a truly lovable character. I gladly give this a Good Book! review.

The Note Through the Wire - Doug Gold

I was given the paperback of this book and finally got around to reading it. It interested me as a true story written by the son-in-law of the people involved, so I thought there would be a lot of first-hand knowledge.

Josefine does what she can for the partisans in Slovenia during WWII. When her brother is captured, she does what she can to try and figure out what happened to him. It leads her to a local prisoner of war camp, where she briefly meets Bruce. A lot of time passes before they meet up again.

Bruce comes from New Zealand to fight but is eventually captured due to an infected arm wound. He was on the run, but the wound forces him to make a decision he isn't happy with. After being captured, he's hardly a model prisoner, and it takes quite a long time before he finds himself in a position to talk to Josefine again.

This is definitely a fictional representation of the relationship by these two. I thought the author had more interaction with the subjects of the book, but in the appendix, it sounds like Josefine and Bruce didn't like talking about their wartime experiences. After Bruce died, Josefine agreed to talk, but tragically died in a car accident a few days before she was scheduled to talk to the author. He does have information taken from the children and letters between Bruce and Josefine.

This was a good book, if you look at it as a fictionalized memoir or one of those "based on true events" stories. The writing was pretty good, and I commend the author for telling the story of these two. Even if you remove the fictionalized aspects, the story is amazing and worth telling. Good Book!