A Certain Point of View: Writing, Film and Stuff

(C) 1962 by Ingri and Edgar Parin D'Aulaire. Renewed 1990 by Per Ola D'Aulaire and Nils M.P. D'Aulaire.  In 1974, when I was 11 years old, my mom and I used to visit her friend Olga at a townhouse in the then-still new South Florida suburban community called Kendall. At the time, Olga was married to an Airlift Airlines pilot and World War II veteran named Joe. Joe was still flying, and Olga would often invite us to keep her and her three teen sons company while he was away.  The youngest of the boys was only three years older than I was, and because I acted a bit more mature than most kids my age, he didn't mind when his mom asked him to hang out with me while she and my mom chatted out on the patio of Olga and Joe's Kendall townhouse and drank adult beverages. To entertain me,  Mike - I think that was his name, anyway - would often show me his collection of World War II models and dioramas; most of them were Revell kits of planes such as the P-51 Mustang an

(C) 2017 Alfred A. Knopf  Books; Cover art by Public Broadcasting Service On September 5, 2017, almost two weeks before The Vietnam War: A Film by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick premiered on TV's Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), Alfred A. Knopf published the companion book, The Vietnam War: An Intimate History. Co-written by the series' writer, Geoffrey C. Ward, and producer-director Ken Burns, this 640-page volume brings the tragedy of the Vietnam War back to life on the printed page with the same sense of historical sweep as the 10-part documentary it complements. The Vietnam War was more than a Cold War-era clash of arms fought mainly by the U.S. and its South Vietnamese allies against the Communist-led government of North Vietnam and its guerrilla allies of the National Liberation Front - known by Washington and Saigon as the Viet Cong - in the South. It was that, of course, but the war was also the most divisive event in American history since the Civil War of the m

(C) 1993 Bantam Skylark Books Although most of the Star Wars novels and other literary spin-offs (graphic novels, reference works, and screenplays) are primarily written for general audiences that include adult fans, the sextet of Bantam Skylark books written by Paul and Hollace Davis is targeted squarely at a specific audience, namely, young readers between the ages of 10 and 13. The first three novels in the series ( The Glove of Darth Vader, The Lost City of the Jedi, and Zorba the Hutt's Revenge ) purport to be a continuation of the Star Wars saga set in a nebulous time period between the events in Return of the Jedi and Timothy Zahn's Heir to the Empire . With the second Death Star's destruction and the deaths of both Emperor Palpatine and Lord Darth Vader at the Battle of Endor, rival factions vie for control of the crumbling Galactic Empire. One faction, led by the surviving Grand Moffs, has temporarily installed the former Slave Lord of Kessel, Trioculous

Hi, all. It's a hot mid-spring day here in the ol' Sunshine State; it is hot (91 degrees), muggy, and it looks as though we may get some scattered storms this evening. I'm as well as I can be; I am getting over a cold that has been bugging me since last week, but other than that, I'm in good shape. There are days when I miss my mom so much that I can't think straight, but by and large my life is slowly but surely getting back on an even keel. (C) 2011 Yale University Press I was going to write a book review of Robert Gerwarth's Hitler's Hangman: The Life of Heydrich today, but I feel sleepy and can't focus well enough on the task to do a good job, so I'll put it aside for a while. It's an interesting biography of the only Nazi leader targeted for assassination by the Allies during the war, so it deserves a well-written critique.  But. I. Don't. Feel. Up. To. It. At. The. Moment. Right now I'm having a hard time staying awake

Reviewer's Note: This review is about the original 1992 edition; Berkley published an updated edition in 2005.  Until his death in October of 2013, Tom Clancy was a best-selling novelist whose books about American intelligence and defense agencies are read by millions of readers all over the world.  Some of his novels, particularly 1986's Red Storm Rising , are even required reading at some of our prestigious military academies. Four of his novels have been adapted into popular films, and a vast array of books (nonfiction as well as his novels), video games (Rainbow Six, Splinter Cell), board games, and computer simulations is available in many marketplaces, including malls, used bookstores, and online stores such as Amazon. The Tom Clancy Companion , edited by Martin H. Greenberg (the brain behind the seven volume Guided Tour series of non-fiction books about the U.S. armed forces) is a 1992 reference book that explores the Clancy phenomenon at the popular and critica

It is  July, 1945: As the scientists and military men who have built the atomic bomb prepare to test the ultimate weapon, an unexpected thunderstorm arrives at the Trinity test site near Los Alamos, N.M. Lightning strikes the tower where the first bomb -- code named "Fat Man" -- is tethered, and in a literal flash, history is changed.  There are still two nuclear weapons left, but until the more complex plutonium bomb can be tested, their use is postponed until 1946. In the meantime, the conventional operation of the Japanese home islands, code named DOWNFALL, is launched as scheduled on Nov. 1, 1945. With this almost Shakespearean touch, novelist and World War II veteran Alfred Coppel ( Thirty Four East, The Dragon ) begins his "what-if" account of the invasion of Japan in 1945 and 1946. Instead of covering the entire two-part campaign (OLYMPIC, the landing on Kyushu, and CORONET, the final landing on Honshu) in the main body of The Burning Mountain , C

Military history comes in various flavors, just like ice cream. On one side of the spectrum, you can find books that analyze the wider strategic and tactical aspects of a conflict, with emphasis on politics and the commanders on both sides. On the other, you find books that not only deal with the "big picture" but also strive to show the conflict from the combatants' vantage point. Desert Victory: The War for Kuwait  is one of those "big picture" books that focuses more on the strategies and tactics used by both Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and President George H.W. Bush and their respective military commanders. Written shortly after the war (it was published in the fall of 1991) by noted historian and military analyst Norman Friedman, Desert Victory traces the roots of the first Persian Gulf War to Saddam's rise to power in the late 1970s, his disastrous foray into Iran in 1980, the misguided policies of moderate Arab countries and two U.S. administr

Pros:  Annie Harper's humor; nice insights into a young teacher's life Cons:  It didn't bug me, but some readers may get tired of the footnotes-as-narrative tool technique. Ask anyone who knows me well - or read enough of my online missives and musings - about my reading habits, and you'll probably come away with the impression that I don't read too many books written by women unless they are  Star Trek  or  Star Wars  authors. And for the most part, your impression would be proven  mostly  correct; I tend to gravitate more toward fiction that echoes my love of military history and technology (I've got a pile of novels by Tom Clancy, Stephen Coonts, Harold Coyle and Larry Bond in my bookshelves).  I also like non-fiction books that reflect my interest in world affairs, politics and geography/travel. But among my many volumes about war, espionage and escapist movie tie-ins, you'll be surprised to find a few books written by

Hey, there, Constant Reader. It’s 6:05 p.m. EST on a warm March Tuesday in Miami, Florida. I’m off to a slow start with my writing; I had a few important errands to run and I didn’t get home until 1:00. I ate a late lunch at a Cuban restaurant; it was delicious, but I think that the huge tortilla with potatoes and fried sweet plantains has made me feel sleepy and a little lethargic. I probably should be taking a nap now, but then I’d be up all night. Then tomorrow I’d feel the same level of tiredness and lack of concentration, and that would suck big-time. So, here I am in my new study, tap-tap-tapping away on my keyboard and trying to get my little gray cells up and running so I can write. As I said in an earlier blog entry, the Muses Thalia (comedy), Melpomene (tragedy), Erato (love poetry) and Calliope (epic poetry) aren’t picky about what I write; they only care if I write. Anyway, it’s a bit late in the day to write a review for Examiner; I have several of those on my to

Dear readers, Even though I am not feeling all that well as of late (I seem to have picked up a nasty chest cold or something), I will be working on a few reviews this week for Epinions' $10-for-10 December promotion. I'm not sure in what order I'll do them,  and given the circumstances I don't know if I'll even be able to get them all done by December 31, but these are the products I plan to write about: Prometheus, the Alien semi-prequel directed by Ridley Scott The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan's final film of his Batman trilogy Seven of the Harry Potter movies (I've already reviewed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ) Charles B. MacDonald's Company Commander Regarding Henry , a film by director Mike Nichols.   I bought it for my mom's Christmas present so I haven't watched it yet, so if I do review it, it will probably be one of the last reviews I'll write this year. If I can "suggest a product" (SA

As a U.S.-born American citizen of Colombian descent, I have been very fortunate to have grown up in a bi-cultural environment which has allowed me to experience the rich culinary heritages of both the United States and Colombia.  To many people in the U.S. who have never traveled abroad or who may live in towns where there are no Colombian restaurants or Latin American markets, there exists a misconception that all Latin food must be like Mexico’s, which is compounded further by the fact that most of what we consider to be “Mexican” food is really a collection of Americanized dishes invented in border states such as Texas, New Mexico and California.  Because most of what is now Latin America was colonized by Spain, there  are  certain elements of Latin cuisine which are common to many South American and Caribbean countries.  For instance, corn-based tamales can be found in many Latin countries’ treasure troves of recipes, albeit in vastly different forms regarding ingredient