Deeden

1 Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar by Simon Sebag Montefiore (Buy this)

I was totally engrossed by this book. I know Simon Sebag-Montefiore is not to everyones tastes, however I felt that the book did a wonderful job of conveying life within Stalin’s extended circle over a 30 year period, starting with the death of his wife and continuing until his own death in 1953.

One of the aspects I loved of this book was the way in which the author deals with the changing people around Stalin with people falling from favour and being replaced by others who will fall out of favour in their turn. He manages to bring each person to life so that they’re not merely names who means nothing.

The book is far too involved to mention many of the pictures painted however two things do stick with me. One is that of Stalin apparently expecting to be arrested in the days after the German Invasion in 1941 for his terrible mismanagement at the time, and his culpability for the purges of the 30s which had left the army leadership in such a perilous position. The other is of Khrushchev saying that he used to stay awake at night during later purges and listen for the lift. Only when the lift passed his floor did he go to sleep as he wasn’t being taken away that night.

As I’ve said the book was fascinating. I’ll be rereading at some point, probably later this year and marvelling that Stalin could maintain his position for so long and bring about the things he did.

2 The Fringes of Power: Downing Street Diaries 1939-1955 by John Colville (Buy this)

Another fine choice of book by Kathryn for me, this is the diaries of John Colville from when he served in Downing Street from 1939 to 1955. The book is fascinating for the insight into life there both during the Second World War, afterwards during various crises, in the period of Churchills return as Prime Minister and while working for two other Prime Ministers as well, Chamberlain and Attlee.

Thanks Kathryn.

3 Gulag: A History of the Soviet Camps by Anne Applebaum (Buy this)

A book called Gulag doesn’t sound like the a light read and it definitely isn’t. It is a fascinating history of the Prison Camps in Russia and the Soviet Union from before the October Revolution up until the fall of the Soviet Union, meaning that, despite the title, it doesn’t just cover the Soviet camps.

It’s a disturbing history covering a brutal system but it brilliantly tells both the story of how the system came about and was perpetuated, as well as giving an overview of what life was like for the prisoners in the various types of camp. Obviously no book can give an in-depth view of the life of a prisoner, however this book does a great job of giving a glimpse of the hardships. It also gave me the urge to read more about the camps, such as “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

4 If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of A B Movie Actor by Bruce Campbell (Buy this)

I haven’t actually seen all that many films that Bruce Campbell has been in. Yes I know he’s been in the Evil Dead series and many others, I however mainly know him from the occasional appearance in the X-Files and guest spots on Xena (blame Michèle). I’d heard good things about Campbell’s autobiography and I’d been interested in reading it, so I obviously bought it for my sister. Thankfully I could then borrow it so it all worked out well!

I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Campbell writes very engagingly and is very funny. I was laughing out loud on a regular basis and kept stopping to read bits of the book to Michèle, much to her “delight”. It may seem like a minor point, however the number of pictures Campbell puts into the book, in the text not grouped together in the middle, really does enhance the book, bringing it to life.

If I’d seen more of Campbell’s films I may have enjoyed it more but I still enjoyed it thoroughly. Nothing however will make me see McHale’s Navy which sounds absolutely awful.

5 The Last Days of Hitler by H.R. Trevor-Roper (Buy this)

I bought this book at least 12 years ago and never actually got around to reading it. No surprise there some might say. The version I read is a 1956 revision so it’s interesting to see what was known at the time, especially as many of the German prisoners were just being released from the Soviet Union. Roper writes well and gives a great sense of the importance of knowing the fate of Hitler. It’s sometimes hard to remember now-adays that for a good while after the war people weren’t sure if Hitler has escaped, and that this was a very important issue.

One other point of note is the discussion of the fate of Bormann. Roper acknowledges that he doesn’t know Bormanns fate but does provide the evidence that he had acquired regarding it. Now that we know Bormann did try to escape and died in Berlin during that escape it’s interesting to note that the evidence he had found does tie in with what we now know of what happened during the attempt.

6 Romanitas by Sophia McDougall (Buy this)

Romanitas could have been an awful book. The premise that the Roman Empire has survived and exists in modern times with modern technology is one which could have been abysmally handled. Thankfully Romanitas is well executed. Modern technology is integrated believably with the institutions of Rome and the whole setup is well executed.

The only way in which the book lets itself down is in the actual mechanics of the plot. Some of the characters are 2-dimensional and never really arouse much sympathy. Rather than dealing with a plot that will “shake the foundations of the Empire” (TM), it would have been better to have a simple plot merely set in a modern Roman Empire.

Obviously, despite my misgivings, I still enjoyed the book. It was a good read and managed to avoid the pitfalls that usually catch books of this kind. I will read the sequels and look forward to them too.

7 1812: Napoleon’s Fatal March on Moscow by Adam Zamoyski (Buy this)

At first I found this book very hard going. Zamoyski gets bogged down at times in details which while of import actually detract from the story he is trying to tell. I love detailed background in a history book but this was quite annoying and made it difficult to really get into the flow of the book. Once the story had progressed to the actual entry into Russian territory the narrative picked up and the book became much better. I would have liked to have seen more from the Russian side as I really got the impression that the book was more concerned with the tragic calamities that befell the Grande Armee. This probably has a lot to do with the available texts which seemed to be predominantly French or from the allies of the France.

The book really comes into it’s own in the account of the retreat from Moscow. Everything until that point feels like an introduction, the passion of the writing increases greatly from that point onwards. The retreat is harrowing. The depths to which many sank are disturbing but scarily understandable. The book is masterful in it’s description of these events and actually rescued my opionion of the book as a whole. It took me weeks to make it through the first half of the book and about a week to make it through the rest. A full book with the skill of the second half would make me buy another Zamoyski title.

8 Christmas at Stalingrad by Antony Beevor (Buy this)

A short (76 pages) book about how the soldiers on both sides spent Christmas at Stalingrad during the Second World War. It’s both a sad and uplifting tale with the participants suffering horrific conditions yet at times maintaining their dignity and hope.

I tend to like the books of Antony Beevor with both Stalingrad and Berlin being particular favourites. This book seems to be an excerpt from Stalingrad, yet stands up on its own merits.

9 The Colonisation Series by Harry Turtledove (Buy this)

In my Best of list for a second year in a row is Harry Turtledove; last year he made the list with his WorldWar series, this year it’s with the follow-up series, Colonisation, comprising Second Contact, Down to Earth and Aftershocks.

This series isn’t as good as the original in my opinion. I think it was the fact that there is no war going on at first so the story revolves around the interaction between the various countries and the “settled” aliens. It’s not that I want action, it’s just that I don’t think he writes the non-action portions of the story as well as the action portions. At times the story drags along and even when things move it’s sometimes in fits and starts.

The strength of this series is how well Turtledove brings the aliens to life. It’s easy to like a good number of them which makes the story more interesting as it’s not just a simple story of human vs. alien.

I clearly enjoyed the series, or it wouldn’t have made it onto this list. It just wasn’t up to the standard of the previous series and that disappointed me. I did still buy the last book of the entire series, Homeward Bound, so I haven’t abandoned the series.

Finally, yes I know that this is a series of 3 books. As I’ve said before, it’s my list so I make the rules.

10 The Prisoner’s Dilemma by Jonathan Blum and Rupert Booth (Buy this)

The first Prisoner novel in 30-something years (if we exclude Roger Langleys work, which I think we should) is a good read. The first of a projected 6 book series it is definitely written by people who have seen the series, know and love it. It’s not a perfect book with parts of it not really adding anything to the story, such as the excursion in the desert, but overall they have the right sort of idea and carry it off well. I’ll definitely buy the next book once I can place a pre-order.