Book Reviews
What I'm reading and what I thought. Rated 0.5 to 5 stars.
Mark Twain
"What an interesting person Twain was. From his beginnings in Virginia City to his life after his wife died, he was so dramatically radical. He was ultra-moralistic while also quite inable to be self-aware of his own faults until too late. This was the biography I enjoyed the most from Chernow. It is interesting to consider Twain as the first American celebrity, forming the basis for its place in our current society."
Finished: January 2026
Ben-Hur
"Some parts are truly amazing, other parts are disappointing. Sheikh's first description of Jesus is truly beautiful."
Finished: December 2025
Empire of the Summer Moon
"This was a pretty good telling of the Comanche people ending with the last chief and transition-ary figure Quantah Parker. Hope the movie is half as good."
Finished: November 2025
Washington
"Very interesting, especially in regards to him being a Freemason. Once again classic Chernow prose, same rating even though I enjoyed Grant book more."
Finished: November 2025
Grant
"Ulysses is an important figure that resembles a true Yankee. Chernow is a bit patronizing in his prose and shows elective bias regarding what to include."
Finished: October 2025
The Crossing
"Started this just before going on my retreat at Mission San Antonio de Padua, read a ton more there and some while sitting at a picnic table on Cliff Dr in Santa Cruz. The prose in this is just magnificent. McCarthy is almost unmatched in terms of American writers. In the modern age, he is perhaps the best."
Finished: October 2025
Matterhorn
"This was an amazing novel, incredibly realistic and very moving. Dealt very well with race struggles in the midst of war."
Finished: October 2025
No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama bin Laden
"____________"
Finished: September 2025
The Afghanistan Papers
"____________"
Finished: August 2025
The Forever War
"____________"
Finished: August 2025
Train Dreams
"Novella, suggested by my friend Craw upon seeing I was reading Tree of Smoke by the same author, alleged it should have won the Pulitzer - started and finished Sunday June 15. Short but spanning a great range of emotions and topics - a truly great american novella."
Finished: June 15, 2025
Ghost Wars
"____________"
Finished: June 2025
Tree of Smoke
"Suggested by Shane Gillis on episode of MSSP, so amazing."
Finished: June 2025
Retribution: The Battle for Japan, 1944-45
"____________"
Finished: May 2025
The First Heroes
"____________"
Finished: May 2025