Brian's 2012 Book Log

[Kidsmum]

Great review Brian, i'm glad Murakami perked up your mojo i have a couple of his books ( The Wind- Up Bird Chronicle is one of them i think ) but haven't got round to reading them yet.

[Brian.]

Great review Brian, i'm glad Murakami perked up your mojo i have a couple of his books ( The Wind- Up Bird Chronicle is one of them i think ) but haven't got round to reading them yet.

 

Thanks. I have just picked up Sputnik Sweetheart from my local library so it looks like I'm going on a bit of a Murakami binge at the moment

[Brian.]

Too many books, not enough time, arghhh.

 

Anyone able to stop time so I can catch up on my reading?

[Brian.]

Underground by Haruki Murakami

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

From Haruki Murakami, internationally acclaimed author of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Norwegian Wood, a work of literary journalism that is as fascinating as it is necessary, as provocative as it is profound.

 

In March of 1995, agents of a Japanese religious cult attacked the Tokyo subway system with sarin, a gas twenty-six times as deadly as cyanide. Attempting to discover why, Murakami conducted hundreds of interviews with the people involved, from the survivors to the perpetrators to the relatives of those who died, and Underground is their story in their own voices. Concerned with the fundamental issues that led to the attack as well as these personal accounts, Underground is a document of what happened in Tokyo as well as a warning of what could happen anywhere.

(Taken from Goodreads)

 

 

My Thoughts

Another book review and another Murakami book, the 4th of the year for me. I decided to make a slight change and read another one of his non-fiction titles. I had enjoyed his book on running and I've always had an interest in crime and cults so this book looked like it couldn't fail.

 

This is really two books in one, the first part is a collection of interviews and thoughts from the victims of the attack with a summary of Murakami's thoughts at the end. The second part is a collection of interviews with people who were in the Aum religious group. Murakami states from the outset that he wanted to write this book as he saw the way some of the victims were treated by society as double victimisation and wanted to tell their story without the media sensationalism that the press favour.

 

At first the victim interviews are very interesting and gives an insight into Japanese society that a lot of the other books would probably miss. It makes you feel great sympathy for those affected and have huge amount of admiration for those station staff who ultimately died trying to help others. A lot of the tales have a similar twist to them in that fate conspired to make them catch that particular train and not another. A few things instantly stand out though. There stories are all very similar, telling the tale of people starting work early, working until late and feeling very under appreciated by the whole process. Another quirk is that many of them admit to getting in the same door of the same carriage every day, something I found pretty peculiar.

 

Ultimately though, this becomes repetitive pretty quickly and I found myself hoping that the rest of the book wasn't just a collection of the same type of interviews all the way through. Fortunately there is an interval of sorts where Murakami puts his thoughts on the whole affair to paper. He has some interesting thoughts but there is nothing here that stands out from what I would expect.

 

The final part of the book is for me, the most interesting part of it and I found to be a bit of a saviour. It is a collection of interviews with people who had been in Aum and many of who are still part of the group. None of these people were involved in the attack and tell a tale of what it was like in the group. Most of the tales start with a feeling of alienation and looking for something more in life which ultimately leads to them joining Aum. One of the things that really stood out for me is that pretty much everyone was highly educated and not the type of person I would expect to join a cult.

 

Despite the repetitive nature of the first section of the book I found this to be an interesting read. It covers some aspects of Japanese culture that others would have omitted but also lacks some of the facts that others would have included.

 

3/5 (I liked it).

[Brian.]

I Am The Secret Footballer by Anonymous

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

Who is the Secret Footballer? His identity, jealously guarded by just one person at The Guardian, is the subject of many feverish blog posts and forums. Whoever he is -- and whoever he plays for -- he is always honest, always fearless and always opinionated.

 

The Secret Footballer reveals everything you need to know about the beautiful (and not so beautiful) game, from racism to relegation and from team talks to the slow decline of the goalkeeper.

(Taken from Goodreads)

 

 

My Thoughts

I picked this up using the kindle store during a quiet moment at work. I have been trying to vary what I am reading a bit more and also trying to read some more non-fiction at the moment. For some reason my fiction mojo is on the slide and I can't put my finger on why. I have read a few of the articles written by TSF (The Secret Footballer) and I always been impressed by the content and approach to opening the game up to the public.

 

There are a few things revealed in the book about football which I had no idea about despite being an avid fan for most of my life. One in particular that stood out was the revelation that as long as footballer doesn't ask for a transfer, if he is sold, he is due the remainder of the wages in his contract. This is often negotiated into a lower but still a tidy settlement figure. This means that player who moves a lot but not at their request like Robbie Keane has made huge amounts of money despite never being a mega star.

 

There are still somethings which sit really uneasily with me however. The behavior of modern footballers leaves a lot of to desired and although he isn't as bad as some TSF still seems to revel in telling his tales. While I understand the way he thinks of fans, as a fan its not a sentiment I like. It is very important that these things are included in the book though as it is a true account of being a modern footballer. The section on depression in the book however is worth reading it on its own. It clear that it is still something that TSF isn't hugely comfortable talking about. It also goes to show that it is still something that can be hidden very well, only the club doctor spotted the illness.

 

I have read many 5 star reviews for this book but I don't think that this is a great book. It's a decent read with some interesting insights but could have been better. It is well written though and some credit must be due to TSF for having the bravery to tackle these issues albeit anonymously.

 

3/5 (I liked it).

[Brian.]

Bloggs 19 by Tony Thompson

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

'Protected Witness Unit (PWU): Designed to hold prisoners who are giving evidence or assistance to the police in cases of serious crime. All inmates are known to staff simply as 'Bloggs' followed by a number...'

In December 1995, the bodies of three men were discovered in a Range Rover in a quiet country lane in the Essex village of Rettendon. All three were well-known villains, and had each been blasted in the head with a shotgun at point-blank range. One member of the gang decided to break ranks and tell all. The story Darren Nicholls told, at first, seemed too incredible to be believed. But as the evidence to support his version of events began to mount up, the motives behind the brutal murder became increasingly clear. The plot Nicholls eventually uncovered involved everything from Irish terror groups and European smuggling rings to prostitution and police corruption. Bloggs 19 chronicles the rise of some of Britain's most powerful and notorious villains and of the man whose betrayal led to their downfall - arguably the most important supergrass since the time of the Kray Twins.

 

(Taken from Amazon)

 

 

My Thoughts

I like a bit of true crime, especially when it is about the gangland underworld that is hidden from the general population. I have read a few books about the Rettendon murders but noticed that I had not read this one. It appealed to me mainly for the reason that it details the story from the point of view of Darren Nicholls, supergass. I was also interested to read about how it works being a supergrass and how it had affected his life when all the court cases were dealt with.

 

There isn't a huge amount that I can say about this book so I will just cover what I feel are the main points of focus. There are no huge revealing details about the smuggling ring and the crime committed by the gang. Like many of these big smuggling operations that eventually get caught there are a few near misses by customs and the police in catching them in the act. The violence is kept to a few incidents which was a good decision by the author. The gang was known for it's violent retribution and I felt that this was covered well by detailing a few of the worst incidents while keeping away from it being gratuitous.

 

The best aspect of the book for me is the thoughts of Darren Nicholls. He was involved in a lot of the activity and basically had a choice, go to jail for a very long time or turn supergrass. Here is where there are some great insights. A 'Protected Witness' (PW) has to confess all their crimes and also has to face trial for the crime in which they have been caught. This was something I did not know or expect, the reason behind this is so that the defense cannot claim that the PW is making statements to save their own backside. The PW also cannot be given all the luxuries that is often portrayed in the tv cop shows. In reality he is given the equivalent of a job seekers allowance and cannot work until the trials are finished with.

 

At the end of it all he escaped more prison time due to time served in the run up to the trial. Him and his family have had to move several times and change their names. They cannot speak to their old friends or parents and must lead a secret life. This has put a huge strain on the family and I was left feeling that maybe Nicholls thinks it wasn't worth it at times. I felt that he thinks that he should have received more help and support from the police but at the end of the day, he was a criminal as well. He did what he did to save himself from prison but it could be argued that he has paid a bigger price than he would have if he had just gone to court as normal. His crime wasn't anywhere near as severe as the murderers.

 

This was quite an interesting book and it is well written, if you have read about this before this book will only add a few new things to your knowledge.

 

3/5 (I liked it).

Edited September 27, 2012 by Brian.

[julie]

Brian

Great to see a review of a true crime book . I haven't seen a whole lot of them in here ,but maybe there aren't as many fans of them in the group. It's ok though,we all like something different.

I also hadn't heard of this crime before. I'm more updated on the crimes from our country ,but have read some true crime that takes places elsewhere,but only if it is a major case that gets lots of media attention ,even over here .

Thanks for mentioning this book. I might add it to my ever -growing list of books to search for at some point. I have so many books waiting now ,I'll be 20 years older if I just finish these !

I can't imagine having to be on the Witness-Protection system (or whatever you would call it ),and just disappear from everyone and everything important to you .That would be a pretty rough punishment ,especially if you had close family you missed and wanted to see .

[Brian.]

Thanks for the reply Julie.

 

I discovered I have a few more true crime books sitting on my shelves. One is about Amanda Knox and the Perugia murder trial and another is about an LSD importer who when caught meant the price went up by 1500%. I might have to make one of these my next reads.

[Brian.]

Ecstasy by Irvine Welsh

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

Rebecca Navarro, best-selling authoress of Regency romances, suffers a paralysing stroke. Assisted by her nurse, Rebecca plans her revenge on her unfaithful husband. But will Freddy Royle, hospital trustee, celebrity and necrophiliac, thwart those plans? Dave Thornton, soccer thug, has lost his heart to flawed beauty Samantha Worthington. Together they go in search of the man who marketed the drug that crippled her - in order to cripple him. Lloyd from Leith has a transfiguring passion for the unhappily married Heather. Together they explore the true nature of house music and chemical romance. Will their ardour fizzle and die in the grim backstreets of Edinburgh, or will it ignite and blaze like a thousand suns?

(Taken from Amazon)

 

 

My Thoughts

This is one of a few Irvine Welsh books that I picked up recently on a buying spree that got a little out of control. As usual, what I read next it determined purely on my mood at that given time so I plucked this off my increasingly heavily laden bookcase.

 

This book is a collection of 3 shortish stories all connected by drugs. In truth although I enjoyed this book I am struggling to come up with many things to write about it. The characters are all a bit over the top which seem to be very typical of Welsh. For many authors I am sure that this would grate but they seem to fit in with Welsh's writing very well.

 

My biggest issue of contention is the fact that a lot of the dialogue is written in phonetic Scottish. This can make some of it very hard to follow. I can understand why he has done this as the Scottish language has its own pattern and flow. It also helps the tone in which certain phrases are said but it still gets a bit irritating after a while.

 

My favourite of the 3 stories was the final one. It perfectly sums up what happened to a lot of the football firms when they discovered ecstasy and raving. I found it got the atmosphere and emotions that the rave scene had spot-on. Although I have never been a football hooligan the rave scenes were superb and really brought back some memories.

 

Everything considered this was a decent read but I wouldn't rush out to read it again.

 

 

3/5 (I liked it).

[vodkafan]

Ah, Trainspotting was written the same way. Took me a while to get used to that! I had to ask a Scot I knew about some of the strange words too.

[Brian.]

Ah, Trainspotting was written the same way. Took me a while to get used to that! I had to ask a Scot I knew about some of the strange words too.

 

I have Scottish family and I lived there for a few years so I knew the word but vocalizing them in my head was tricky at times.

[Brian.]

The Redeemer by Jo Nesbo

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

A 14-year old girl is raped at one of the Salvation Army summer camps. Twelve years later, at a Christmas concert in a square in Oslo, a Salvation Army soldier is executed by a man in the crowd. A press photographer has caught a suspect on one of the photos of the concert. Beate Lønn, the identification expert, is confused by how the face can change from one photo to the next. Inspector Harry Hole’s search for the faceless man takes place on the seamy side of the city, among those who seek eternal – or just momentary – redemption. And the gunman has not yet completed his mission

(Taken from Goodreads)

 

 

My Thoughts

This is the fourth book of the Harry Hole series which has been translated into English written by Jo Nesbo. I tend to read series with some time between the books, I don't know why but it is just the way I like to do it. Having read the previous 3 this year I decided that this would rescue my usual Autumn reading mojo dip. For some reason shortly after starting it I found myself putting it down in favour of other books.

 

However, with a break from work I decided it was time to fire into this book properly and see if it could hook me in the way that the others have. Initially I found the story a little slow going as Nesbo lays out the main characters of the plot and their own story lines. I found the same thing when reading The Millenium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson so I decided to stick with it. This is different from the other Nesbo books which pretty much hooked me in immediately. I could not say for sure if this is down to the writing or my mojo.

 

As the story winds on I found myself liking some of the new characters a lot, especially Harry's new boss Gunnar Hagan. I also really liked the development of Beate Lonn, the book sees her coming out of her shell more and developing into a stronger person overall. I was very happy to see that the on-off relationship between Rakel and Harry is only mentioned here and there. I found this to be a bit tiresome in the last book and I wanted Harry to move on to some extent. I suspect that their story isn't over, which is fine, I just didn't like it being laboured over.

 

I have to say that while reading I thought that I would be giving this book a 3 star rating because I felt that some of the magic from the previous books was missing. However, the ending is one of the best I have come across. Not only does it tie the whole book together nicely there are a few twists including one from a major character which is very surprising. I really like the fact that things with Harry are not cut and dry, there are grey areas and a dark side which can manifest itself in the most surprising ways.

 

This book helped revive my mojo and although it is maybe about 100 pages longer than I felt it needed to be I thought it was fantastic. Another great book by Nesbo and I look forward to reading the next one.

 

4/5 (I really liked it).

[Karsa Orlong]

Glad you enjoyed it, Brian - looking forward to you reviewing The Snowman!

[Brian.]

Glad you enjoyed it, Brian - looking forward to you reviewing The Snowman!

I will definitely read it before the year is out, maybe before the end of this month, it depends on how my mood strikes me.

[Brian.]

To Live Outside The Law by Leaf Fielding

 

 

 

Synopsis

To Live Outside the Law is the first insider account of the LSD conspiracy ended by Operation Julie, Britain's biggest drug bust. The book opens with Leaf Fielding's arrest in a pre-dawn police raid and ends five years later with his release from jail.The narrative moves back and forth between the harsh world of prison and his previous life - from a childhood at a brutal boarding school onto undergraduate days and his LSD epiphany in the summer of love, 1967.Acid transformed him in an instant from nerdy scholar to footloose freak. His ten years of adventures in the hippie underground gave the title to this book - a quote from a Bob Dylan song - they also took him across Europe, to the Andes, to Indochina and on to the edge of the known universe. They also led inexorably to his downfall.

(Taken from Goodreads)

 

 

My Thoughts

This is one of the many books I have bought over the years on an impulse after flicking through the blurb on the back. I have read quite a few books written by and about drug smugglers and dealers over the years but never one by someone who was involved in the LSD trade. I expected this to be an interesting book in a similar vein to those written by Howard Marks, Harry Ferguson or Rusty Young.

 

The book starts off with the arrest of Fielding and then cuts backward and forward between the time following his arrest and his past upto that point. This is all interesting enough stuff but I don't go a lot for the childhood of people in biographies. It tends to bore me quite a bit and although Fielding's was ok I expected it to carry on as a normal run of the bill biography.

 

Once the story gets into the swing though things really pick up. Fielding tells of his time after education where he became a hippie, dropped out and basically traveled using just his smarts and the kindness of stranger to survive. Along the way are times spent with other dope smoking hippie travelers, brushes with the law and the tale of an era long gone. This is what I suspect On The Road would have been like if it had been written by a European and in a slightly more modern tone. Fielding really gets into what it was like to be part of what they expected to be the movement of social change in the world.

 

This really is a fantastic book about the 60's, psychedelics and the innocence of the time. Drugs are a part of the book but there is so much more to this tale.

 

 

4/5 (I really liked it).

[Kylie]

Ooh, To Live Outside the Law sounds awesome! That's going on my wish list, thanks. Great review.

[Brian.]

I headed into London today primarily on a book buying trip but also to pick up a few other things that I find tricky to get where I live. To make use of cheap fares I only stayed in the capital for about 4 hours but in that time I managed to restock my Peppermint tea from the Tea Palace in Covent Garden. Off the top of my head I managed to visit about 6 bookshops, 2 which I cant recall the names but never impressed me all that much anyway. My thoughts and purchases follow.

 

South Bank Book Market - This is meant to be open from 10am but in reality the sellers start to lay out the books at 10am. Everything looked second hand to me and there seemed to be a very haphazard way they were organised. There were some great Penguin orange classics and some fairly old first editions. I have to say that overall I was a little disappointed in the size and selection at the market. Prices seemed to be about £4 for a paperback which I felt was a little steep given the age and condition of most of the books.

 

The Book Warehouse - This is a decent sized store with a decent and well laid out selection. I think every book was marked down from its jacket price and they had a good selection of classics. It was a little busy but the staff were attentive and very helpful. I did notice that most of the books were paperbacks, another bonus in my eyes as hardbacks tend to be very expensive.

 

Stanfords - This is a fantastic bookshop which focuses almost entirely on travel books and maps. It is spread across 3 floors with different floors having different parts of the world on it. The basement level has a map on its floor which is a nice touch and there are staffed information desks dotted around. I didn't have any questions for the staff but I heard them giving many people advice on good books and where they could find others if they didn't have them in stock. Another nice feature is that along with travel books each country section had selected works which heavily feature that country. For example in the German section they had a few books about WWII, the Cold War and writers such as Hans Fallada and Bernhard Schlink.

 

Foyles - This was my favourite book shop of the day and heavenly for a book geek such as myself. They have 4 floors in a huge store, I believe that a new premises is being prepared for a move in the future. Prices were as the jacketed prices and I didn't spot anything on special offer. There are also a few information desks on each floor with the member of staff at the desk being very knowledgeable. The range of books both fiction and non-fiction is staggering and I could have spent literally hours and hours just browsing.

 

The books I came home with are as follows, some I have been after for a while.

 

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater - Thomas De Quincey

Fathers & Sons - Ivan Turgenev

Dead Souls - Nikolai Gogol

Pulp - Charles Bukowski

Naked Lunch - William Burroughs

Notes From the Underground - Fyodor Dostoevsky

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Almost Transparent Blue - Ryu Murakami

The Temple of the Golden Pavilion - Yukio Mishima

Bright Lights, Big City - Jay McInerney

Last Evenings on Earth - Roberto Bolano

Flats & Quake - Rudolph Wurlitzer

The Following Story - Cees Nooteboom

Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

 

I could have bought so much more.

[poppyshake]

The Tea Palace!! .. sounds fab Great reviews Brian .. you're doing excellently this year .. 46 books already and you still have three reading months left

[Kylie]

Great book haul, Brian. Lolita is one of my favourite books.

[Brian.]

The Tea Palace!! .. sounds fab Great reviews Brian .. you're doing excellently this year .. 46 books already and you still have three reading months left

It's actually 48, I haven't updated my first page list for a few weeks. I didn't expect to hit 50 this year, I just hoped i would but my reading has gone great.

 

The Tea Palace is great, I have bought tea from them online for a few years and I find their mint tea blends to be the best. The range they have is really impressive and they are so knowledgeable about everything tea related. The only tea blend they do that I get else where is Earl Grey. TP's Earl Grey is good but Jing do one which is so nice.

 

Great book haul, Brian. Lolita is one of my favourite books.

I may well make this my 50th, I've been after a copy for a while but for some reason my local bookshops never had a copy when I visited.

[frankie]

I always love reading about your book shopping trips, you always find great books to read and we have a somewhat similar taste

 

A few questions: The four places you talk about, are they ones you've visited before? And how do you usually go about your book trips to London, do you go to the same places that you've found to be great with plenty of books and excellent selection, or do you venture and go and seek new places to go to? I bet there's plenty of opportunities for that in London...

 

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater - Thomas De Quincey

I had a copy of this at some point but gave it away because I thought I would never get to it, and I've regretted that decision. I'm not sure if I've since then found a copy of it to buy. Should be interesting. And definitely goes well into your selection of druggy books

 

Fathers & Sons - Ivan Turgenev

I think this is on the 1001 Books list.

 

Dead Souls - Nikolai Gogol

I haven't read it yet myself but I have high expectations for it. I can't wait to hear what you think about it when you've read it!

 

Pulp - Charles Bukowski

Bukowski's great

 

Naked Lunch - William Burroughs

Yay for finding this!

 

Notes From the Underground - Fyodor Dostoevsky

I have a copy of this, too, I'm hoping it to be great.

 

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

I also have this and I'm thinking it should be pretty great.

 

Almost Transparent Blue - Ryu Murakami

I think this might also be on the 1001 Books list. I think Weave has read a few (or at least one) of his books. I'll be interested in hearing your thoughts.

 

The Temple of the Golden Pavilion - Yukio Mishima

The brother of a friend of mine has read this and he really enjoyed it, I added it to my wishlist years ago. Again, can't wait to hear your thoughts!

 

Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

This is a great novel, and a true classic!

 

What a spectacular haul. And a lot of Russian literature, there's a pattern here.

 

It's actually 48, I haven't updated my first page list for a few weeks. I didn't expect to hit 50 this year, I just hoped i would but my reading has gone great.

 

I'm happy to hear you've been on a roll this year, let the good times continue!

[Brian.]

I always love reading about your book shopping trips, you always find great books to read and we have a somewhat similar taste

 

A few questions: The four places you talk about, are they ones you've visited before? And how do you usually go about your book trips to London, do you go to the same places that you've found to be great with plenty of books and excellent selection, or do you venture and go and seek new places to go to? I bet there's plenty of opportunities for that in London...

 

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater - Thomas De Quincey

I had a copy of this at some point but gave it away because I thought I would never get to it, and I've regretted that decision. I'm not sure if I've since then found a copy of it to buy. Should be interesting. And definitely goes well into your selection of druggy books

 

Fathers & Sons - Ivan Turgenev

I think this is on the 1001 Books list.

 

Dead Souls - Nikolai Gogol

I haven't read it yet myself but I have high expectations for it. I can't wait to hear what you think about it when you've read it!

 

Pulp - Charles Bukowski

Bukowski's great

 

Naked Lunch - William Burroughs

Yay for finding this!

 

Notes From the Underground - Fyodor Dostoevsky

I have a copy of this, too, I'm hoping it to be great.

 

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

I also have this and I'm thinking it should be pretty great.

 

Almost Transparent Blue - Ryu Murakami

I think this might also be on the 1001 Books list. I think Weave has read a few (or at least one) of his books. I'll be interested in hearing your thoughts.

 

The Temple of the Golden Pavilion - Yukio Mishima

The brother of a friend of mine has read this and he really enjoyed it, I added it to my wishlist years ago. Again, can't wait to hear your thoughts!

 

Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

This is a great novel, and a true classic!

 

What a spectacular haul. And a lot of Russian literature, there's a pattern here.

 

 

 

I'm happy to hear you've been on a roll this year, let the good times continue!

 

This was the first time that I have gone into London with the soul purpose of buying books. In the past I have just popped into bookstores as and when I came across them. Of the ones I went to yesterday I think I have been to Foyles before but I couldn't swear to it. I had a list of about a dozen places to go but ended up running out of time. London has a great number of bookstores, especially if you are willing to travel further than just the central area of the city.

 

The Bukowski will be my first, I have seen him mentioned quite a few times on various sites so thought that it was time I checked his work out. After reading Crime & Punishment earlier this year I gave it 2/5 because I found it a bit heavy going but it really has stuck with me. I have found myself thinking about it on a regular basis and I really enjoyed The Death of Ivan Illyich by Tolstoy so I decided to check out some other Russian literature. You know I like my druggy books

[Brian.]

Black Hearts by Jim Frederick

 

 

 

Synopsis

This is the story of a small group of soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division's fabled 502nd Infantry Regiment--a unit known as "the Black Heart Brigade." Deployed in late 2005 to Iraq's so-called Triangle of Death, a veritable meat grinder just south of Baghdad, the Black Hearts found themselves in arguably the country's most dangerous location at its most dangerous time.

Hit by near-daily mortars, gunfire, and roadside bomb attacks, suffering from a particularly heavy death toll, and enduring a chronic breakdown in leadership, members of one Black Heart platoon--1st Platoon, Bravo Company, 1st Battalion--descended, over their year-long tour of duty, into a tailspin of poor discipline, substance abuse, and brutality.

Four 1st Platoon soldiers would perpetrate one of the most heinous war crimes U.S. forces have committed during the Iraq War--the rape of a fourteen-year-old Iraqi girl and the cold-blooded execution of her and her family. Three other 1st Platoon soldiers would be overrun at a remote outpost--one killed immediately and two taken from the scene, their mutilated corpses found days later booby-trapped with explosives.

"Black Hearts" is an unflinching account of the epic, tragic deployment of 1st Platoon. Drawing on hundreds of hours of in-depth interviews with Black Heart soldiers and first-hand reporting from the Triangle of Death, "Black Hearts" is a timeless story about men in combat and the fragility of character in the savage crucible of warfare. But it is also a timely warning of new dangers emerging in the way American soldiers are led on the battlefields of the twenty-first century.

(Taken from Goodreads)

 

 

My Thoughts

I was lent this book by a work mate of mine who recommended it to me. He said it was similar to another book I read at some point last year called Tiger Force. That was about a task force during the Vietnam war that committed a number of war crimes. As Black Hearts also concentrated on a case I had read about I was very interested in reading the true story behind it.

 

The vast majority of the book is about more than just the murder and rape in question. It also starts at the beginning of their tour of duty and the circumstances surrounding it. The sheer lack of leadership, equipment, support and care given by those higher up the chain of command was simply astonishing from the outset. Their area of operation had no where to sleep, no running water, no heating during the night and no air con during the day. They were also often under manned meaning that they went for weeks on end with only 4 or 5 hours sleep a day. This coupled with the crippling fear of constant attack and the death of comrades eventually lead to cracks appearing in the group.

 

Commanders on the group were slow to address this but when they did and raised their concerns with their superiors it was ignored. When it was recommended that that certain soldiers were removed from combat due to their mental states this often fell on deaf ears. The atrocity carried out was heinous and made very difficult reading with a lot of mixed emotions. It is almost impossible to feel any sympathy with those who did the crime but I couldn't help but feel that the superior officers should hold some blame for what happened.

 

As the book reaches its conclusion the way that people like Tom Kunk were absolved of any responsibility is quite sickening. He is portrayed by all the men interviewed as a thoroughly horrible person and he could have prevented what happened many times over. The brave man who came forward as a whistle blower was treated very poorly by the military and it is clear to see that the army tried to sweep it under the carpet.

 

Despite the subject covered, this is a fantastic read.

 

 

4/5 (I really liked it).

[frankie]

This was the first time that I have gone into London with the soul purpose of buying books. In the past I have just popped into bookstores as and when I came across them. Of the ones I went to yesterday I think I have been to Foyles before but I couldn't swear to it. I had a list of about a dozen places to go but ended up running out of time. London has a great number of bookstores, especially if you are willing to travel further than just the central area of the city.

 

I love it that you live so near a city where you can just walk around and come by various different secondhand bookshops and charityshops (as well as 'normal' bookshops). Over here we have the two secondhand bookshops and the few flea market places where you can find books, and a few charityshops, and it would be a very uncommon thing if I were to find a new one to go to some day One cannot visit those too often, otherwise it's just seeing the same old titles over and over again.

 

Another question: how often do you go into city to do some bookshopping (as well as other things)?

 

I bet it's absolutely wonderful having a long list of places to visit, and then realising there's just too much to one place at a time and you run out of time. It leaves something to look forward to the next time.

 

The Bukowski will be my first, I have seen him mentioned quite a few times on various sites so thought that it was time I checked his work out.

 

Great! I like his books, but I would say that one shouldn't read too many of them in a row, otherwise it becomes rather repetitive.

 

After reading Crime & Punishment earlier this year I gave it 2/5 because I found it a bit heavy going but it really has stuck with me. I have found myself thinking about it on a regular basis and I really enjoyed The Death of Ivan Illyich by Tolstoy so I decided to check out some other Russian literature.

 

It's always interesting to see that a book one hasn't rated all that highly sticks in one's mind. It's not always about being the best written novel ever, it's also about the story staying with you and making you think about things in a different perspective.

 

You know I like my druggy books

 

Yeah I do

[Brian.]

I love it that you live so near a city where you can just walk around and come by various different secondhand bookshops and charityshops (as well as 'normal' bookshops). Over here we have the two secondhand bookshops and the few flea market places where you can find books, and a few charityshops, and it would be a very uncommon thing if I were to find a new one to go to some day One cannot visit those too often, otherwise it's just seeing the same old titles over and over again.

 

Another question: how often do you go into city to do some bookshopping (as well as other things)?

 

I bet it's absolutely wonderful having a long list of places to visit, and then realising there's just too much to one place at a time and you run out of time. It leaves something to look forward to the next time.

 

I go into London about 12-15 times a year I would say, the vast majority of times it is for a gig or sporting event I'm going to see. I am very lucky in that the town I live in has 2 decent bookshops and 3 good charity bookshops, 1 of which is superb in price and range. Also, Milton Keynes isn't too far from me and that has 2 big Waterstones stores.

 

I just have to decide what to make my 50th of the year. I'm thinking probably Lolita.