Author Bob Tarte immerses the reader in his life, describing how more than fifty animals -- ducks and parrots, in particular -- took over his house, yard, and nearly every waking moment. Most everything he did and most all of his time was spent on his backyard and in-home companions, from building coops and fences and swimming ponds to rabbit-proofing the house by hiding electrical wires. Hilarious at times, other times it was touching. Completely engrossing. I doubt if any reader could resist Bob and his wife's compassion for animals...and yet laugh at some of the antics that happened to them. Super read.
This book told the true story of Operation Mincemeat, the WWII plan to confuse the Germans as to the real landing point of D-Day. Author Ewan Montagu was instrumental in the operation, from the plan's inception and finding the body they used, to launching the operation. I found it interesting to learn the "insider" details and see what steps the Allies had taken...and the response from the Germans. If you like to learn the intricacies of how things are conceived and carried out in WWII, or like intrigue, you might like this book.
Now the subject of a major new film starring Colin Firth as Ewen Montagu in Operation Mincemeat
In the early hours of 30 April 1943, a corpse wearing the uniform of an officer in the Royal Marines was slipped into the waters off the south-west coast of Spain. With it was a briefcase, in which were papers detailing an imminent Allied invasion of Greece. As the British had anticipated, the supposedly neutral government of Fascist Spain turned the papers over to the Nazi High Command, who swallowed the story whole. It was perhaps the most decisive bluff of all time,…
Author Chester Nez was one of the Navajo code talkers in WWII. I knew of them, knew a bit about their purpose, but actually reading about their exploits and code was eye-opening. I admit I know nothing of the Navajo language. Consequently, I was amazed to learn the code talkers had to invent words for submarine, bomber, regiment, general, Japan, and the like. Which makes sense, if I had stopped to really think. Why would they have words for Africa, truck, machine gun and so on? The men had to invent the words during training. That in itself I found fascinating. It also was interesting how the talkers were actually employed during battles. Chester Nez also explained about his early life and the way of his people. His childhood schooling was, to me, appalling -- the Navajo children being forced to cut their long hair, conform to "white man's ways" by speaking only English, the punishments dealt out.... All in all, a thought-provoking book that showed me another side of life, before and during the war.
The first and only memoir by one of the original Navajo code talkers of WWII.
His name wasn’t Chester Nez. That was the English name he was assigned in kindergarten. And in boarding school at Fort Defiance, he was punished for speaking his native language, as the teachers sought to rid him of his culture and traditions. But discrimination didn’t stop Chester from answering the call to defend his country after Pearl Harbor, for the Navajo have always been warriors, and his upbringing on a New Mexico reservation gave him the strength—both physical and mental—to excel as a marine.
Former police detective Michael McLaren is at the home of his lady friend, Melanie. The house is sold, the removal van is booked. All that is left is to help her pack her belongings for her move to his village. But the laborious task is interrupted when one of Melanie’s neighbors asks McLaren to investigate the circumstances of her parents’ murders. McLaren’s reluctance to take it on and abandon Melanie appears to be solved when his best mate, Jamie, steps in to help with the packing. It’s not the easy investigation McLaren was hoping for, however. Sightings of Mordred and a ghost, and a burglary at the local Tudor Hall complicate the murder inquiries. What had seemed to McLaren a perfect remedy with Jamie close at hand now disintegrates into a horrendous mistake. And McLaren questions if the investigation is really worth it, especially when he puts the people he cares about most in danger.
