Books I've Read
Books Listed by Author
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Red Mars
Colonization of Mars. First book of a trilogy. 519 pages. Good book, but couldn't bring myself to read the other two.
QUOTE:
"They were so ignorant! Young men and women, educated very carefully to be apolitical, to be technicians who thought they disliked politics, making them putty in the hands of their rulers, just like always."Read:
8/1999
Barracuda 945
SAS renegade gets hold of a nuke sub and terrorizes U.S. West coast. Seemed rather predictable, maybe I've read too much of Mr. Robinson. Character is bound to come back as he has not received his come- uppence yet.
Read:
6/2004
Diamondhead
Mack Bedford gets kicked out of the Navy, essentially. Deadly anti-tank missiles are killing our boys in the Middle East. And the ship yard in Mack's hometown is shutting down. All because of the French. Mack is going to do something about. it.
As mentioned in the Amazon.com review, it takes 200 pages to get going, but when it does, it does! Some of the plot seems improbable, but you can't fault the action.
I'm not some military expert, but I never heard that SEALs traveled in tanks. Seems like all the SEALs killed in this book are in tanks!
The author's favorite word seems to be "smithereens". He uses it at least three times. Hey, like I could write a best-selling novel!
Quote:
He surged forward, arms pumping, combat boots hitting the blacktop. Up ahead he could see a cyclist, wearing Olympic spandex shorts but struggling. And in Mack's mind, this was Osama Bin Laden trying to get away...The cyclist, who was not even a member of al-Qaeda, was a young local schoolteacher, and he stared in astonishment as Mack Bedford came pounding past him. (pg. 203)
Read:
8/2009
Ghost Force
Another techno-war adventure, with the same characters as past books I've read of his. In this one, Argentina invades the Falkland Islands, AGAIN! This time, they kick butt because of the liberal British Labour Party's military budget cuts. Hmmmm. Very mixed reviews on Amazon. I read the LARGE PRINT edition.
Words I Had To Look Up:
Bergan -- A kind of backpack, I guess.Quote:
"...using crampons when necessary, hammering the little steel footholds in to the rock..." -- pg. 321 I thought crampons were those steel spiky things that go on your boots. I think a piton is what you hammer into the rock.Quote:
"...Stratofortress...had flown..., refueling once at North Island, San Diego, where they picked up most of the explosive contents for the HALO canister." -- page 540. In my EXTENSIVE research I find that the B-52 requires a 300 foot wide runway that is at least 8,200 feet long. The runways at North Island are 8,000 x 200 feet and 7,500 x 300 feet. I don't think a BUFF would land there. UPDATE: I found another link that says a B-52H needs "only" 175 feet of runway width.Read:
11/2007
H.M.S. Unseen
Bad guy Ben Ahmad steals another submarine. Good story, 3rd in a series.
Read:
12/1999
Kilo Class
China orders 10 Kilo class subs from Russia. The USA doesnt't want them delivered. Bill Baldridge has small role, marries Laura Anderson. This is book number 2 in series.
Read:
12/2000
Nimitz Class
An American aircraft carrier disappears in a radioactive cloud. Who did it? Not a bad story, but I like the David Poyer books more.
Read:
10/1998
The Shark Mutiny
The ChiComs are at it again in a diversionary move, but what is their real aim?
Read:
8/2001Read Again:
6/2004
U.S.S. Seawolf
The rotten Chinese steal our bestest submarine and her crew! 4th in series.
Read:
8/2001
Yankee Girl
Guess I forgot to enter this one, 'cause I sure remember reading it! New teen girl in a southern town. A new Yankee Girl. In the mid 60s. Dad is an FBI agent.
Read:
11/2012
Tales Of Chinatown
I enjoyed reading the stories of criminal activity in the Chinatown of London (mostly), but the offensive "chinks" were a bit much. I can take it in the context of the times, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. My friend Bill loved these book in jr. high school, but I was more interested in spaceships and albinos with black swords.
Read:
7/2022
Bobke II
A collection of Bobke articles from VeloNews. Some are pretty good, some are not so, and some are just plain wierd. I was honored to be reading a copy autographed by Bob Roll, Floyd Landis, and someone else I cant remember, as it is not my book. Hey.
Read:
1/2007
Kowalski's In Love
Sigma Force #2.5, a short story, really, but fun. Kowalski's ship wrecked on an island which finds out is about to be fire bombed.
Read:
5/2023
The Bone Labyrinth
A SIGMA Force novel. Sort of a combination of Dan Brown, Clive Cussler, and Richard Marcinko, if you can imagine. Some scientists stumble upon the secret of human intelligence, or something, that the Catholics kept hidden, and the Chinese Special Forces are going chasing them and their protectors, the SIGMA Force. I hope the author did not put too much effort into the math/number stuff 'cause I kinda skipped over most of that. Very exciting, almost read it straight through. EDIT 5/2023 Why did I read this again?
Read:
2/2016Read:
5/2023
The Autobiography Of Theodore Roosevelt
Condensed from the original edition. Ol' Teddy was quite a guy. He certainly did things his own way. He was quite a reader, too.
Words I Had To Look Up:
States rights fetich (pg. 194) -- I know what a fetish is, and this is an alternate spelling, but its use seems odd in this context.
cumbrous (pg. 229) -- Cumbersome.
Quotes:
...I have found...many shrill reactionaries who insist on calling all reformers Socialists, I refuse to be panic-stricken by having this title mistakenly applied to me. (pg. 260)
It is necessary that laws should be passed to prohibit the use of corporate funds directly or indirectly for political purposes; it is still more necessary that such laws should be thoroughly enforced. (pg. 329)
I believe in a graduated income tax on big fortunes, and in another tax--a graduated inheritance tax on big fortunes, properly safeguarded against evasion and increasing rapidly in amount with the size of the estate. (pg. 332)
Read:
1/2012
Double Check
Traces #4. Luke investigates the murder that a teen has been sentenced to execution, uh, for.
Read:
12/2012
Final Lap
Traces # 5. Luke investigates "accidents" at the construction site for the Youth International Games. Jade helps out.
Read:
12/2012
Framed
Traces series #1. Characters seem flat, but trying to figure out whodunit kept me reading. Wasn't until page 78 that I figured out I was reading "Malc" as "Male"... Blurb on cover led me to think there would be witty banter between Luke and Malc. Not seeing it. I would like to know more about this future society and how it got this way. Rattlesnakes in England?
Read:
12/2012
Lost Bullet
Traces series #2. Luke is in London investigating the murder of doctor. Another rattlesnake!!
Read:
12/2012
Roll Call
Traces # 3. Someone is killing Emily Wonders.
Read:
12/2012
20 books displayed
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