Barrett Tillman's WHIRLWIND: THE AIR WAR AGAINST JAPAN, 1942-1945

The author provides a very good overview of the role of aircraft in bludgeoning Japan into submission. While never minimizing the role of seapower in strangling Japan’s WWII economy, Stillman documents Allied land and sea originated aair war efforts, the centerpiece being the role of the Boeing B-29.

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Max Hastings' RETRIBUTION: THE BATTLE FOR JAPAN, 1944-45

Hastings tells the story of the final year of the Pacific War from multiple perspectives, much of which will be new to people whose awareness of Chinese, British, and Russian action against the Japanese is low.

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Richard Holmes' THE AGE OF WONDER: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science

This book covers the development of British science from the time of Cook’s famous voyage (which stopped at Tahiti) up to Darwin’s Beagle voyage. It concentrates on a few key luminaries (the Herschels, Davy, Mungo Park, Farady, Banks) and at the same time explores the relationship, sometimes synergistic, between art and science.

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Bob Berman's THE SUN'S HEARTBEAT: And Other Stories from the Life of the Star That Powers Our Planet

At a profound level this book readably demonstrates human intelligence and creativity at their best.

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C. J. Box's COLD WIND

This is the third or fourth Joe Pickett novel I’ve read. It’s not one of the best.

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Bernard Cornwell's AZINCOURT

Nick Hook is an archer in Henry V’s army. The events in this novel go from 1413 to 1415 and follow Hook as Henry’s army invades France to assert his claim to the French throne.

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Dan Simmons' ILIUM

Updated on Monday, September 12, 2011 at 09:37PM by Dennis D. McDonald

While I would not put this in the same class as my favorites by Stephenson (e.g., Diamond Age) and Vinge (e.g., A Deepness in the Sky) it’s still pretty darn good and I look forward to the sequel.

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Charles Portis' TRUE GRIT

I’ve never seen the True Grit movies. Till I ran across this book at a yard sale I was never even aware of the novel’s existence. But when you need a Western, as I sometimes do, this appears to be just what the doctor ordered.

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Patrick O'Brian's THE REVERSE OF THE MEDAL

I put off reading this book. Frankly, I’ve grown so attached to Aubrey and Maturin that I was not looking forward to the career disaster and legal troubles I knew were about to befall Jack.

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Peter F. Hamilton's THE TEMPORAL VOID

I love space opera, but I’m probably not going to read Book Number Three in this series.

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