When I was ten years old, my family moved to Germany. This was less than a year after the Berlin wall had been torn down and shortly before the Soviet Union was dissolved. I remember hearing about the coup in Russia where Mikael Gorbachev was almost over thrown, and even at that young of an age I felt the importance when Gorbachev abdicated and Boris Yeltsin was elected president of Russia. A couple of years later I was able to visit Russia and stay with a family just outside of Moscow. I was able to visit with these people and learn first hand some of their history. Because of these experiences, I have always had a strong interest in Russian history. The previous book took place before the Bolshevik Revolution replace the Czars with the communist government. A Train the Potevka takes place in the month leading up to the demise of that communist government.
Mike Ramsdell was a Military Intelligence Office who also worked for the State Department on many undercover counterintelligence operation within the USSR and Russia after the demise of the Soviet Union. This book, though classified as fiction, serves more as a memoir for his life. The outline for this story is Mike's final mission in the USSR before the change in government. He and his team are charged with extracting a Russian politician who embezzled millions of dollars from the United States so that he can be tried in an international court of law. When their cover is compromised his team is extracted and Mike is left to make his way from the far eastern end of Russia to Moscow on the Tran Siberian Railroad. This journey serves as a time for the author to reflect on his life and he uses this novel to share brief stories from his life.
I found this novel to be very interesting. The story itself, though is has some exciting elements, was not the action thriller novel the I expected. It served as a backdrop in which the author could relate many stories about his life and history. I really enjoyed the stories about his military experiences and wished he would have expounded more on some of those. Many of these stories were however more about personal family experiences, his divorce, his relationship with his son, the romance with his second wife and other things of that nature. This does seem appropriate since that is what I hope I would be thinking about when I am faced with death.
What I found most valuable within this book was the realistic view that we are given of the United State Intelligence programs. These are not the heartless killers or the debonair spys that we are used to seeing in the movies. These are real people that the author describes as "middle aged" and balding." In this book we are presented with real information about what goes on within an undercover operation and the mistakes at so many levels that can cause things to go wrong. Most of all within this book you will find someone who faced some very difficult circumstances and his story of faith and survival.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
The Journey's of Socrates
The Journey's of Socrates by Daniel Millman is a tragic yet fulfilling story in which a quest for revenge is replaced by a quest for peace, very fitting since this is the first book in the Peaceful Warrior series.
I found this book very interesting because it is a work of fiction yet it is based on true events and the author even states that he does not want to reveal which aspects of the story are true and which he interpolated. This is very different from other historical fiction I have read in which the authors go out of their way to differentiate what is true and where they interpolated.
The story is compelling as it is the tale of a young soldier who loses all who are close to him, his mother and brother on the day of his birth, his grandfather and finally his wife. He is then consumed with revenge and spends years training and searching for those that have caused him such grief. He eventually finds a teacher that not only teaches him how to be a warrior but also helps him find peace with his past. That peace is challenged when he is forced to confront those from his past that caused him such grief.
The story was enjoyable and I found myself continually comparing it to The Count of Monte Cristo with very similar religious overtones. The writing was very easy to understand however some of the topics were disturbing (rape, and some descriptive violence). What I enjoyed most about this novel though was the historical setting. I really enjoyed the historical facts that served as the back drop for this story. The information about the Jewish Pogroms, the life style of the Cossacks and the history between the two of them. As the story continued I could also get a sense of the impending Russian Revolution and I really would have enjoyed some more information about that.
I did enjoy this story and much of the information it provided however I did get tired of some of the cheap tricks the author used to try to maintain the readers interest. A really good author will present information in a way that the reader does not consciously know that he is being drawn further into the story. Dan Millman however resorted to comments like "Little did he know things were about to change." Comments like this pull the reader out of the story and into the world of the narrator. The narrator might as well be saying, "I hope your paying attention." or "keep reading, you will want to know what happens next." I found these comments very distracting from the actual story and it shows the author's distrust in his writing abilities.
Over all a good story that provides inspiration to all to overcome what ever tragedies might occur in their lives. I might even read the next book The Way of the Peaceful Warrior.
I found this book very interesting because it is a work of fiction yet it is based on true events and the author even states that he does not want to reveal which aspects of the story are true and which he interpolated. This is very different from other historical fiction I have read in which the authors go out of their way to differentiate what is true and where they interpolated.
The story is compelling as it is the tale of a young soldier who loses all who are close to him, his mother and brother on the day of his birth, his grandfather and finally his wife. He is then consumed with revenge and spends years training and searching for those that have caused him such grief. He eventually finds a teacher that not only teaches him how to be a warrior but also helps him find peace with his past. That peace is challenged when he is forced to confront those from his past that caused him such grief.
The story was enjoyable and I found myself continually comparing it to The Count of Monte Cristo with very similar religious overtones. The writing was very easy to understand however some of the topics were disturbing (rape, and some descriptive violence). What I enjoyed most about this novel though was the historical setting. I really enjoyed the historical facts that served as the back drop for this story. The information about the Jewish Pogroms, the life style of the Cossacks and the history between the two of them. As the story continued I could also get a sense of the impending Russian Revolution and I really would have enjoyed some more information about that.
I did enjoy this story and much of the information it provided however I did get tired of some of the cheap tricks the author used to try to maintain the readers interest. A really good author will present information in a way that the reader does not consciously know that he is being drawn further into the story. Dan Millman however resorted to comments like "Little did he know things were about to change." Comments like this pull the reader out of the story and into the world of the narrator. The narrator might as well be saying, "I hope your paying attention." or "keep reading, you will want to know what happens next." I found these comments very distracting from the actual story and it shows the author's distrust in his writing abilities.
Over all a good story that provides inspiration to all to overcome what ever tragedies might occur in their lives. I might even read the next book The Way of the Peaceful Warrior.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus
The most recent book I have finished is Orson Scott Card's Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus. This is the second time that I have read this book and I admit that the first time I found it rather difficult to get through especially as the story seems to jump around a lot. I did enjoy it the first time around but this time it was even better.
Part of the reason that it was better this time I am sure is because I knew that I liked the story and was more invested from the beginning, which is the slowest part of the book. This time as I read it I recognized that this is not a story about a specific set of characters but a story about an event. By changing that focus I could see that reading the book felt more like watching a documentary. It was amazing to get that feeling while reading and it really enriched the experience.
What initially brought me back to the book was the story. This is the story of a group of researchers in the future who can watch the past. They discover the possibility of manipulating the past and begin a project to find a key moment in which many of the horrors of the recent past can be mitigated. The focus turns to Christopher Columbus, whose story is interspersed throughout the novel.
The information presented in this novel about possible alternate time lines and historical speculation is amazing and will astound anyone who finds science fiction and time travel the least bit interesting. When it comes to ideas presented in novels this is one of the best speculative fiction has to offer.
As always Card's writing is engaging and the moral dilemmas presented by his characters show how thorough he is in presenting all options and thinking though many possibilities. I highly recommend this novel to all who find time travel and science fiction interesting.
Next Post: The Journeys of Socrates
Part of the reason that it was better this time I am sure is because I knew that I liked the story and was more invested from the beginning, which is the slowest part of the book. This time as I read it I recognized that this is not a story about a specific set of characters but a story about an event. By changing that focus I could see that reading the book felt more like watching a documentary. It was amazing to get that feeling while reading and it really enriched the experience.
What initially brought me back to the book was the story. This is the story of a group of researchers in the future who can watch the past. They discover the possibility of manipulating the past and begin a project to find a key moment in which many of the horrors of the recent past can be mitigated. The focus turns to Christopher Columbus, whose story is interspersed throughout the novel.
The information presented in this novel about possible alternate time lines and historical speculation is amazing and will astound anyone who finds science fiction and time travel the least bit interesting. When it comes to ideas presented in novels this is one of the best speculative fiction has to offer.
As always Card's writing is engaging and the moral dilemmas presented by his characters show how thorough he is in presenting all options and thinking though many possibilities. I highly recommend this novel to all who find time travel and science fiction interesting.
Next Post: The Journeys of Socrates
Book Reviews
With all of the reading that I have been doing recently I thought it would be fun to publish my reviews on line. I did not want to occupy my families blog with these not so important opinions I will set this up as my own blog. Then I can actually feel like I am expressing my opinion, even if nobody reads it.
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