I recently looked at my blog and noticed my last post was in
June. Ouch! I knew it had been a while, but I did not
think it had been that long. And only 5
posts in all of 2018! Chalk it up to
having a toddler in the house again, I guess.
I may be delinquent in updating my blog, but I don’t want to
be too delinquent in getting out my “best of” books list for 2018.
As in past years, I have grouped them into
three categories – history/biography, fiction and Christian
living/ministry.
I highlight the handful
of books I consider the best of the year and then list the others as very good
or somewhat disappointing.
First, the best history/biography books I read
this year.
Marlborough: His
Life and Times by Winston S. Churchill.
Yes, that Winston Churchill.
At
almost 1000 pages, this is an abridged version of his magnificent biography of
his ancestor, John Churchill, the Earl of Marlborough. (The original version is
4 volumes!) Once the reader gets past Winston Churchill’s somewhat florid and
very English prose, you will find a brilliantly written portrait of the man who
very possibly was the greatest general the English have ever produced.
The Bonanza King:
John Mackay and the Battle over the Greatest Riches in the American West
by Gregory Crouch.
This was the best
history book I read this year.
It
combines Western history, the thrill and suspense of mining discovery and the
rags to riches story of John Mackay who came to control much of what we now
know as the Comstock Lode of silver mines in Nevada.
The Madman and the Butcher: The Sensational Wars of Sam Hughes and
General Arthur Currie by Tim Cook.
Chalk this one up to the Canadian history I did not get in high school
in Winnipeg.
Cook’s book is a
fascinating dual biography of the relationship between two famous Canadians,
Sam Hughes, the intemperate and probably crazy Minister of Defense during World
War 1, and Arthur Currie, Canada’s greatest World War 1 general.
Indianapolis by Lynn Vincent and Sara Vladic.
Indianapolis is the story of one of
the great, forgotten tragedies of World War 2.
The cruiser Indianapolis was sunk by a Japanese sub during the last
months of the war and most of the crew lost their lives.
The tragedy was compounded by the fact that
it was completely avoidable and that those truly guilty got off with their
reputation and military careers intact.
Leadership in Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns
Goodwin.
I enjoy Goodwin’s writing and
try to read everything she releases.
When I first saw this book, I was somewhat skeptical of finding anything
new, since Goodwin had written books on all four of the presidents portrayed
here.
I was happy to be proven
wrong.
The book is a focused portrait of
the leadership styles of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt
and Lynden Johnson.
On Desperate Ground:
The Marines at the Reservoir, the Korean War’s Greatest Battle by
Hampton Sides.
Sides is another author
that writes excellent history and
On Desperate Ground does not
disappoint.
The grim story of the Marines
at Chosin Reservoir is well told here, shedding new light on one of the
greatest struggles of the Cold War.
Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy, 1945-75 by Max
Hastings. Many Vietnam history books are
very limited, either in scope or their bias toward one side or the other. Hastings’ book is comprehensive, starting
with the French in Vietnam and ending at the North’s final victory over the
South. It is also balanced – no one
comes out of this conflict looking good, and Hastings is not afraid to
criticize any and all of the parties involved, including the American media for
their bias toward the Communist North.
2nd Tier Reads, still very good, recommended:
No Better
Place to Die: The Battle of Stones River
by Peter Cozzens
Mosby’s
Rangers by Jeffry D. Wert
American
Heiress: The Wild Saga of the
Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst by Jeffrey Toobin
Our Finest
Hour: Canada Fights the Second World War
by David J. Bercuson
Blood on the
Hills: The Canadian army in the Korean
War by David J. Bercuson
Blood
Moon: An American Epic of War and
Splendor in the Cherokee Nation by John Sedgwick
Killers of the
Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the
Birth of the FBI by David Grann
Terrible
Victory: First Canadian Army and the
Scheldt Estuary Campaign: September 13-Novermber 6, 1944 by Mark Zuehlke
The Soul of
Battle: From Ancient Times to the
Present Day, how Three great Liberators Vanquished Tyranny by Victor Davis
Hanson
The King and
the Cowboy: Theodore Roosevelt and
Edward the Seventh, Secret Partners by David Fromkin
The
Americanization of Benjamin Franklin by Gordon S. Wood
The Day of the
Panzer: A Story of American Heroism and
Sacrifice in Southern France by Jeff Danby
Vimy: The Battle and the Legend by Tim Cook
Rogue Heroes
by Ben MacIntyre
Pacific
Alamo: The Battle for Wake Island by
John Wukovits
Road to
Disaster: A New History of America’s
Descent into Vietnam by Brian VanDeMark
The Battle of
Arnhem: The Deadliest Airborne Operation
of World War 2 by Anthony Beevor.
Valley Forge
by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin
3rd Tier Reads, somewhat disappointing:
The
Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the
Dark Ages, 400-1000 by Chris Wickham
Jefferson's
Great Gamble: The Remarkable Story of Jefferson, Napoleon and the Men behind
the Louisiana Purchase by Charles Cerami
Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson. Sanderson has quickly become one of my
favorite fiction writers. This volume is
the third in his Stormlight Archive series.
The plot is intricate with lots of twist and turns and an ending that
makes you longing for the next book in the series. Easily the best fiction book I read this
year.
Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb. FitzChivalry Farseer has been the topic of
two of Robin Hobb’s previous series.
Here in the Fitz and the Fool series, one of the great characters of
fantasy fiction returns. He is older and
slower and has a family to protect, all of which makes Fitz’s adventures and
troubles all the more interesting.
Volumes 2 and 3 (Fool’s Quest and Assassin’s Fate) are
also recommended.
Gauntlgrym by R. A. Salvatore. This book was published a few years back, but
I am just catching up. Salvatore is the
creator of another of the great fantasy characters – Drizzt Do’Urden – a black
elf who became disenchanted with life in the evil Underdark. Together with his good friends, Drizzt has
taken me on some wonderful adventures over the years. While Gauntlgrym is probably not the
best Drizzt book, it was a lot of fun.
The Mongrel Mage by L. E. Modesitt. Mongrel Mage is another of Modesitt’s Recluce
series of novels. It is the story of a
new character, Beltur. It is classic
Modesitt – wonderful world building together with a clueless character that
gradually discovers his powers. Some
think Modesitt’s books move too slowly, but I enjoy them.
