The Final Storm by Jeff Shaara

Shaara has a unique way that he writes these books.  He tells the story from the perspective of individual fighting men on each side of the conflict.  The most interesting part, however, is that the characters in the story are real.  He puts words in the mouths and thoughts in the heads of real people like American Admiral Nimitz and Japanese General Ushijima.  While the dialogue, both internal and external, is fiction, the people and events are very much real.  It is an interesting and entertaining combination.

Now, for a war novel, there is not a hell of a lot of combat.  Shaara's stories tend to focus more on the mental challenges for the characters as opposed to the physical ones.  Because of this, his works tend to be deeper and more thought provoking and less gory and cringing (although there is that, too).  This one was particularly good in that it deals with the end of the Pacific campaign and sheds light upon America's entry into the nuclear age.

This is a good piece and I highly recommend it.  Enjoy....

Nats

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Whew!  That took FOR EVER!  It took so long to read that I've almost forgotten how this goes.  I compared the type of this with the new Tom Clancy book.  If they were written with the same font and spacing this would have ballooned to 2,000 pages!  In other words, expect pages crammed with lots of big words in small print.

So, enough bitching.  War and Peace was not at all what I was expecting.  Basically, this was a Russian soap opera written about the lives of a few aristocratic families in the early 1800's.  Think 'Housewives of 19th Century St. Petersberg' and you get the idea.  Who should marry whom, who mistreats their peasants (basically slaves but without the hassle of having to import them from elsewhere), all the latest political gossip, etc, etc.  Tolstoy spends 1,200 some odd pages going back and forth between this and the war with Napoleon's France.  Surprisingly enough, its all pretty PG.  Not a ton of graphic violence and barely a hint of sex. 

Lots of historical perspective and moments of absolutely brilliant writing make this a very enjoyable read.  Just be aware that its going to take a while and be prepared for the epilogue.  Old Leo must have lost it a touch because the epilogue doesn't make a bit of sense.  Tolstoy spends 20 pages or so wrapping up the lives of the characters, kind of, and the other 80 pages on a philosophical rant.  I'd love to tell you what it was about, but I have no idea.  So read the book and only the fictional part of the epilogue.  You'll thank me later.

Nats           

The Secret Soldier by Alex Berenson

As you may have noticed, 'ol Nats likes himself a good old-fashioned spy thriller.  And writing in the 3rd person, apparently (which I find veeery douchey in real life but somewhat entertaining here). And I (he?) enjoyed this one quite a bit.

I think what set this work apart from the others for me was the way is was written slightly different from the norm.  There are twists and turns throughout this book that you don't expect.  For example, our hero is your typical American bad-ass (I swear to God, if Kid Rock sues me for using that line I will be SUPER pissed).  But he is an American, Muslim, bad-ass.  I think that is an interesting little touch.

I don't want to give away any more of the little nuances of the book so I'll leave it at that.  Go ahead and buy it and enjoy.  And, in an effort to be a shill for da man, I have even included a link below to Amazon to make it easier to buy.  Hopefully someone there will notice and pay me for my consideration.

Nats

http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Soldier-John-Wells-Novel/dp/0399157085/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299363584&sr=8-1

Lost Empire: A Fargo Adventure by Clive Cussler and Grant Blackwood

If any of you have read Cussler's work before you are probably wondering what has taken me so damn long to read this one.  It's not exactly War and Peace (more on that to come).Well, 'ol Nats is trying to get a job.  The nice HR lady he spoke with the other day said her husband likes Clive Cussler books and she would have him check out my site.  I've been delaying my review so as not to possibly offend.  Let's keep our fingers crossed, shall we?

I have many, many problems with Lost Empire.  First of all, our heroes, Sam and Remi Fargo, are a married couple who are ALWAYS together.  They are together so much that I get sick of being around Remi and she's not even my wife.  Or, um, real.  But I digress.  Anyway, they are together 24/7 yet they never argue, or disagree, or get irritated with each other.  When you combine that with the fact that they are perfect physical specimens (of course), they are madly in love (gag), and they are always alone in tropical locals or five star hotels, you'd think they'd be mating little horny little bunnies.  Nope.  They never have sex, either (which, of course, is probably the only realistic part of their relationship).  This book is very much what I would think a Disney Channel thriller for adults would be like.  No sex, no violence (or at least very little), no swearing, no blood and guts, no drugs, no adult themed conversations, and a predictable ending where the good guys win and the bad guys lose.  All very, very annoying.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm sure there is a market for this book.  If you like your thrillers sterile and non-offensive in any way, than this is perfect.  That's just not my kinda thing.  I like people being offensive.  I like being offensive.  Like telling idiotic car wash owners to go f*ck themselves when they try to sneak in extra fees (but again, I digress).

Anyway, read this, don't read this, I don't care.  Just don't blame me when you realize how lame it is.  You've been warned.

Nats

I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell by Tucker Max

First of all, I'd like to thank my buddy D.J. for submitting this book for review.  Let's hope Sabrina either: a) doesn't know you read this, or b) thinks you were appalled by its content.  Best of luck with that....

Beer in Hell is a conundrum for the average guy.  It is very funny, but in a very bad way.  If you've ever laughed when you saw a guy trip in a parking lot, only to later find out he was mentally handicapped, you'll understand what I mean.  If you've ever tripped a mentally handicapped guy in a parking lot for your own amusement, well then, this is the greatest book you'll ever read.

Our boy Tucker is many things.  He is a fantastic story teller.  He is outgoing and has many friends.  He does well with the opposite sex.  Most of all, though, Tucker is a dick.  This is the point where I would usually preach being non-judgemental and say that it doesn't make him a bad person.  But in this case, it does.  Now don't get me wrong, even with all that being said, this is a fantastic read.  It brings a lot to the table.  It is very funny, raunchy as hell, and let's you feel better about yourself all at the same time.  Seriously, Charlie Sheen could read this and say, "Wow, that guy needs to treat women better".

I equate this book with cocaine.  Is it fun?  Yes.  Does it make you a worse person in the long run?  Yes.  Does the money you spent on this book support a bad cause?  Yes.  My suggestion?  Check it out from the library under an assumed name, put a book cover on it so your girlfriend and/or wife won't know what you are reading, and enjoy.  Now I'm off to take a shower.  I suddenly feel very dirty....

Nats

Under the Dome: A Novel by Stephen King

Let me get this out up front; Stephan King scares the crap outta me.  His writing is so evil and twisted, you know there are some wires upstairs that have to be crossed.  Not only that, but he looks exactly like you would expect him to look.  Seriously, if I stumbled upon him at a Red Sox game I would probably piss myself.  That being said, he is a hell of an author.

Under the Dome is awesome!  Every time you think it can't get any worse, it does.  Every time you think something good is going to happen, it doesn't.  At 1,072 pages (I shit you not) this monster is actually a pretty quick read.  Now, you have to be able to embrace your dark side, because the bad guys do a lot of damage for the majority of this.  But if you can power through, I think you'll like it.  Hell, it even has a bit of necrophilia in it, so how can you go wrong?

Nats

Dead or Alive by Tom Clancy

Gotta admit, I'm kinda pissed.  I loved the predecessor to this book, The Teeth of the Tiger, and waited eagerly for 'ol Tom to continue the story.  I had to wait, I shit you not, SEVEN FREAKIN YEARS, for this book to come out!  Not only that, the damn thing is 950 pages!  He could have released the first half three years ago, the second half now, and made twice the money!  I was gonna call him a dumb shit, but he'll probably make more money on this book alone (not to mention all the others) than I'll see in my life time.  That, and quite obviously, he is highly intelligent, so I'll just move on...

Anyway, Dead or Alive is another excellent book in the Tom Clancy library.  All of our favorite characters are back, along with a bunch of new terrorists to hate until they gratifyingly die at one point or another.  We even get a hooker or two, one of which shows up twice, for no apparent reason.  Good times.

While this is an enjoyable read, it's no Without Remorse.  If you haven't read that, by all means do so now.  It's awesome.  If you have, go ahead and pick up this giant door stop of a novel.  And when I say giant, I ain't kiddin.  Seriously, I think it gave me carpal tunnel.  You've been warned.

Nats

In Fifty Years We'll All Be Chicks: . . . And Other Complaints from an Angry Middle-Aged White Guy by Adam Carolla

I've been a semi fan of Adam's for years.  I grew up listening to KROQ in LA and remember when he and Jimmy Kimmel were on the Kevin and Bean Show.  He devotes the first part of the book to his formative years in the San Fernando Valley as white trash.  I grew up in Simi Valley (near by) as white trash, so I could relate.  Good times....

Anyway, he then goes on to basically rant about what he calls the 'pussification' of the men in this country.  Sadly, he's right.  We have become pussies as technology has advanced.  We let others do our dirty work for us.  This section of the book is surprisingly thought provoking while being pretty damn funny. 

The last third of the book isn't as good.  Feels a lot like random bitching to fill pages.  It's all right, but not great.  Oh yeah Adam, and by the way, maybe you shouldn't be bragging quite so much about being a rich guy in the middle of a recession.  Just saying.

This is an entertaining and at times well thought out piece.  You won't agree with everything he says, but at least you'll probably laugh while thinking about what an asshole he is.

Nats