Conn Iggulden
This is a ripping yarn in the Bernard Cornwall mode. Iggulden tells the story of Julius Caesar’s early years. It’s exciting but lacks period detail; in other words, it’s more adventure than historical novel. A good read but rather thin.
William Chester Jordan
This is an excellent survey European history from 1000 AD to about 1350 AD. There’s a huge amount of material to cover, but Jordan uses just the right amount of detail and his writing never becomes either tedious or superficial. The book covers political, social, military, architectural, and religious history, integrating them all into a portrait of an age that was less homogeneous than we generally think.
Glyn Williams
Williams’ account of the search for the Northwest Passage is about the 18th Century expeditions and, especially, on the imaginary geographies and promoters’ wishful thinking that motivated those journeys. The tales of the real travelers are familiar to Arctic history enthusiasts, but the body of legend and mis-information and the commercial machinations that directed the explorers make this book an original contribution to the genre. The book is a bit dry, but is a good companion to Pierre Berton’s masterpiece The Arctic Grail.
James W. Huston
An American special forces operator is tried in a secret court for torturing a terrorist while attempting to capture a Bin Laden-like figure. At the same time, the operator is a prosecution witness at the military tribunal where his captive is being tried. This is a fine mix of action and courtroom drama with some surprising plot twists.
Philip Jenkins
This book provides a good background on anti-Catholicism in American history and an overview on the way the media treats the Church. Jenkins’ main point is that the media feels free to treat the Catholic church and its members in ways that have long been considered biased if applied to other groups. This will hardly surprise any thoughtful American Catholic, though the extent of the bias is greater than I would have thought.
Jenkins covers both news and entertainment media and describes instances of bias ranging from careless (or willful?) mis-representation of Catholic beliefs to outright slanders. He neglects anti-Catholic sentiment from the right wing fringe, however.
Sinclair Lewis
Neil Kingsblood is a young banker returned from the war who has a comfortable life, a beautiful wife, and a young daughter. He, like nearly everyone in his circle is a casual racist. His life is perfect until he discovers that he has the proverbial “one drop” of African blood. The novel centers on his own reactions to this news and the reactions of his friends. His perfect life becomes a nightmare as he confronts his own racism and that of the people who now reject him.
Lewis’ portrayal of racism is still shocking, not because of what happens to Kingsblood, but because Lewis doesn’t hesitate to show us the racists themselves. We’re accustomed to novels about the victims of racism, but are rarely invited into the racists’ homes and clubs. Kingsblood’s peculiar situation lets Lewis show both sides of the race divide. It isn’t pretty.
“Message” novels can become boring, but Lewis, despite a few long-winded speeches he puts in the mouths of some minor characters, never lets the message dominate the characters. It’s the characters, particularly Kingsblood and his wife, that keeps the reader turning the pages, not the pointed and still-relevant message.
