A savage war of peace, Algeria 1954 - 1975 by Alistair Horne

Sometimes I question my masochistic tendency to pick up these thick (625 pages), detailed "phone book" history books. I always chase down the references on wikipedia, pause to review earlier details and spend months of agony assimilating everything that happened in a broader context as I read them.  I shudder when I consider the pain I would have endured if I had chosen a career in history or historiography.

"Savage" is a gross understatement for how terrible this period of history was in Algeria.  The deprivations and inhumanity were extremely painful to get through, especially the shocking, nauseating, and horrific details cited by the author. The Polish/Nazi holocaust, Rawandan genocide, Stalinist purges, and Yugoslav civil war are comparable in their horrors, but this civil war (10% of the population was killed or permanently maimed) is more savage and depraved.

I disagree with about half of the author's analysis and conclusions and I am not enthralled by Charles de Gaulle's cult of personality or his destructive politique de grandeur.  So I did not appreciate Horne's gushing praise (he should have read Barbara Tuchman's take on some of the events).  However, the book is extremely well-researched and the facts are well-presented, so I am giving it 2/5 Stars.  And finally: I did enjoy brushing up my French, as there are numerous, long French citations and all of the original source materials are in French & Arabic.

Go, Venti!

Congratulations to Venti for rounding out their C-suite dream team.

Flight Proven

This stuff never gets old.

But this part continues to be amazing

The Last Shadow by Orson Scott Card

The author pulled off a very-satisfying conclusion to both "Ender's Game" universes, bridging the original series, its prequels, and the "Shadow" series together well.  He resolved most of the plot threads.  There was a little too much deus est machina in the magic systems, and the near-omnipotence of the main characters was unsatisfying.  However the story and endings have a "big heart" and I really enjoyed the prominence of all the "little things" and warm details. 5/5 Stars.

Ein Paar Leute suchen das Glück und lachen sich tot

Dieses Buch war ekelerregend schrecklich, 0/5 Sterne.

A Thousand Brains: A new theory of intelligence by Jeff Hawkins

I think this book was on Bill Gates' annual "best books I read list" of 2021.  The author is proposing a much-different and enormously rich, dense mechanism for how our neocortex is self-aware and intelligent.  It's a great theory and does fit most of the phenomena observed in neuroscience. When Hawkins wanders into ethics and philosophy, his writing is not as strong.  4/5 Stars.  I bought the hard back as a gift for someone special.

Convergence by Jason Anspach and Nick Cole (Galaxy's Edge #13)

I was disappointed by this one, mostly because I don't like the main characters.  The dialog is good but the story is not great, 3/5 Stars.

Leviathan Falls by James S. A. Corey

The poignant, bitter-sweet conclusion of this fantastic series is another well-crafted story with an interesting series of plot twists at the end.  I look forward to the "filler" novellas of material the editors cut out and hope these two authors continue to collaborate on future projects.  5/5 Stars.

Termination Shock by Neal Stephenson

Another fantastic work by one of my favorite writers.  This one is much better than Fall, even more fun and better than REAMDE.  I loved all of the colorful characters and the eye-opening immersion into the circumstances and cultures of important but obscure parts of the world.  The physics and engineering were icing on the cake, topping off one of Stephenson's best-ever novels. 5/5 Stars.  Highly recommended.

The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

I enjoyed the story, characters, and cultural immersion into a "slice of life" of this interesting time in our history.  Towles experimented with shifting first-person narration among the characters so that we can get into their internal dialog, values, and attitudes. This technique has drawbacks but enhances the reader's immersion into the story.  I think Gentleman in Moscow is better but I really love this one as well. 5/5 Stars.