The Korean War: A History
As almost every other reviewer has noted, this book is not a history of the Korean War, despite the title. It's more of a collection of historical essays on the Korean War, focusing largely on atrocities committed by US and ROK forces on South Korean civilians and the lack of balance in what little there is written about the war. Cumings is not shy about his political sympathies, which will turn off many readers.That said, every horrifying event presented in the book is backed up by thorough research from unimpeachable sources, including declassified US and ROK documents as well as the findings of the South Korean Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
This would be a five-star if the title were more honest and the writer were a little less strident. I'm afraid the general tone of the book is going to alienate the people who need to read it the most.
How to Wreck a Nice Beach: The Vocoder from World War II to Hip-Hop, The Machine Speaks
Explores a weird place where military encryption, cellphones, Eurotrash and hip-hop converge. Unfortunately, the author is no techie, surely a requirement to write anything like a definitive history of a very technical piece of gear. He also spends far more time on some marginal figures in urban culture at the expense of the people who actually developed and used these things.On the plus side, the writing is very good, laugh-out-loud funny in parts.
We Are All Completely Fine
Fun read, with hints at a very rich backstory. The book is too short to really go into it, but we can always hope for more coverage in the (inevitable) sequels.
The Greatest War Stories Never Told: 100 Tales from Military History to Astonish, Bewilder, and Stupefy (History Channel)
A collection of short historical essays purporting to cover little-known events to "astonish, bewilder and stupefy."Unfortunately, most of these events are really well-known and the essays are neither very exciting nor too accurate, with assertions ranging from comically oversimplified to downright falsehood.
 - Rick Beyer)
The History Buff's Guide to World War II
Should be titled "The Cracked Guide to WW2."The book is a collection of short chapters organized as top 10 lists. Great format for websurfing cubicle drones, "history buffs" not so much. Some of the chapters are moderately interesting, others made me want to tear out my hair in frustration. There's nothing here that couldn't be gleaned from an afternoon's reading on Wikipedia, and some of the the entries are remarkably uninsightful.
Avoids the 1-star because it would be decent bathroom reading.
Johnny Gruesome
Reads like a novelized script to an 80's low budget slasher flick. Not really my thing but it may be yours, I guess.
Stuff Hipsters Hate: A Field Guide to the Passionate Opinions of the Indifferent
Picked this up thinking it would be a meanspirited and funny look at the hipster subculture and I was half right. It ain't funny.
Serial Killers: Being and Killing
A collection of essays that explain philosophical concepts using serial killers as a launching pad.Generally not great, with a few pretty good ones and a couple of bad ones too. Something like half the authors seem to have chosen to write about Dexter to prove how hip they are to pop culture; most of the ones that write about real killers stick to the super-famous.
My favorite essay was Chapter 9, "Killing with Kindness," by Elizabeth and Harold Schechter. Nice and crunchy. I'm going to look for more by them, individually or together, and I also made note of their recommended books on the topic.
Least favorite was Chapter 7, "The Allure of the Serial Killer," by Eric Dietrich and Tara Fox Hall. This one felt like reading a sensationalistic "True Crime" book, not least because it repeats a bunch of old stories that are generally considered exaggerated at best and politically motivated fabrications at worst by modern historians.
Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and The People Who Play It
I've never played D&D (or any tabletop RPG), but I'm aware of its massive influence in computer gaming, fantasy fiction and other areas of modern popular culture. On beginning the book, I was relieved that the introduction explained this is intended as an introduction, rather than an exhaustive history of D&D.Unfortunately, the book is written in a very chatty style, with many pointless asides, and hints but never gels into a history of tabletop roleplaying games, the Dungeons & Dragons franchise, or Tactical Studies Rules/TSR Hobbies. This last one in particular needs a rather better book all for itself; what little there is about Gary Gygax's maneuvering to remove his partners and being removed by Lorraine Williams in turn, and the company being nearly driven into the ground before being bought out by Wizards of the Coast (in turn bought out by Hasbro) would make some fantastically entertaining reading.
Reached the end, almost gave it two stars, and decided to read the notes. I'm very glad I did - they directed me to www.ofdiceandmen.com to read more about the Lorraine Williams and Wizards of the Coast years, which are very sparsely covered in the book.
Advance and Destroy: Patton as Commander in the Bulge (American Warriors) (AN AUSA Title, American Warriors Series)
Offers some blank-filling detail for the Third Army's role in the Ardennes campaign. Unfortunately the writing is almost willfully bland, is careless in parts and the analysis is uninspired. I would not recommend this one to either casual readers or WW2 buffs.
 (AN AUSA Title, American Warriors Series) - Roger Cirillo, John Nelson Rickard)
50 Literature Ideas You Really Need to Know
50 (too) short essays explaining important concepts in literature and criticism. The book is written in a very chatty style, some of the ideas aren't clearly explained, and the author makes at least one ridiculous mistake in asserting that "we" (by which he means Anglo-Saxons) were conquered by the Romans; every English-speaking schoolchild knows or ought to know that the Anglo-Saxon invasion and settlement of Britain is post-Roman. These make it hard to take the book completely seriously.
Where the Iron Crosses Grow: The Crimea 1941-44
Would be a three star except for the author's transparent bias in favor of the Nazis against the Soviet Union. The last chapter, covering recent Russian/Ukranian relations, the Ukranian crisis and the Russian reannexation of the Crimea, is riddled with errors and falsehoods to the point of absurdity. But, what can you expect from Osprey?
Big Brain: The Origins and Future of Human Intelligence
Weird little book. Half about the development and functioning of the brain, half about a (supposed) prehistoric super-intelligent hominid. That second part is fringe science and wildly speculative at best and undermines the credibility of the first half.
The Nazi Occult (Dark)
Yetis, magic battles and Nazi zombies, oh my.This book is pure nonsense but it might be useful to someone planning an RPG campaign with Nazi occultists as villains (or protagonists, if they're real sickos). This might actually be the purpose of the book; the author is apparently involved in the RPG industry.
 - Kenneth Hite)
Faking History
Shooting fish in a barrel, Colavito debunks some of the dumbest and most egregious alternative history theories in the 50 short essays collected in this volume.This could have been fun, but the book is repetitive and rather dull.
