eBook Review: Operation: Outer Space

Murray Leinster , Operation:  Outer Space

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 221 KB
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN:  B004TPLLQY
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled 
• Average Customer Review: no reviews
• Price: $0.00 

1. Short review: 

2. Long review:
2.1. What I liked: Good golden-age sf story.
Roller-coaster or walk-in-the-park? Roller coaster, but a small roller coaster.
The book is free. There are versions on Kindle that cost money. Get the free version. (The cover above is from a version that costs money. The free cover is dull.)

2.2. What I did not like:  Leinster used saidisms and adverbs. An example:

"This is your seat, Mr. Cochrane," she said professionally.

"Wait," said Babs confidently.

'Said professionally'? How is that different from just 'said'? And how does anyone say 'wait' confidently?

2.3. Who I think is the audience:  Science fiction fans. 

2.4. Is the book appropriate for children to read?  Yes. No worries.

2.5. On the basis of reading this book, will I buy the author's next book?  I have. It is free, too.

2.6. Other:  Operation:  Outer Space is an easy read. The characters are somewhat one-dimensional. None of them changes in the course of the book. The book is a juvenile space adventure. It is fun but forgettable.

Both Leinster's Operation: Outer Space (published 1954) and Heinlein's Farmer in the Sky (1953) postulated futures in which Earth was overpopulated and food was in short supply. When they wrote these works, that was the most probable future. That future will not be. Today, food is not in short supply. Today, wherever there is hunger, it is the fault of politics, not production.

Two men are responsible for the fact that we can feed the world today:  Norman Borlaug and Henry Beachell. They made the green revolution. I would not be alive today, you would not be alive today, but for the work of these two men.

2.7. Links:  Gutenberg Project download

2.8. Buy the book:  Operation: Outer Space

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eBook Review: John Carter

   

Edgar Rice Burroughs, A Princess of Mars, The Gods of Mars, & Warlord of Mars

Product Details for A Princess of Mars

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 252 KB
• Publisher: Public Domain Books (March 17, 2006)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B002RKSDS2
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars 

Product Details for The Gods of Mars

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 300 KB
• Publisher: Public Domain Books (March 17, 2006)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B002RKSDRI
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars 

Product Details for Warlord of Mars

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 218 KB
• Publisher: Public Domain Books (March 17, 2006)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B002RKT02K
  
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars 

1. Short review: 

2. Long review:
2.1. What I liked: A Princess of Mars, The Gods of Mars, and Warlord of Mars comprise the John Carter of Mars trilogy. ERB wrote other books using Barsoom as a setting and John Carter as a character, but these were the first.
Roller-coaster or walk-in-the-park? Roller coaster.
All three books are in the public domain. You can download them for free.

2.2. What I did not like:  ERB's purple prose gets to be tiresome. An example:

For six long Martian months I had haunted the vicinity of the hateful Temple of the Sun, within whose slow-revolving shaft, far beneath the surface of Mars, my princess lay entombed—but whether alive or dead I knew not. Had Phaidor's slim blade found that beloved heart? Time only would reveal the truth.
--Warlord of Mars

'I knew not'?  Who talks like this? If we believe ERB, an ex-Confederate officer talks like this.

2.3. Who I think is the audience:  Fantasy fans.

2.4. Are the books appropriate for children to read?  Yes.

2.5. On the basis of reading these books, will I buy the author's next book?  Yes. See below.

2.6. Other: In a nutshell:
In A Princess of Mars, John Carter, an ex-Confederate officer, is spirited from a cave in Arizona to Mars. He struggles to master his new-found abilities on the Red Planet. A horde of the Green Men of Mars take him prisoner. As their prisoner, he meets the incomparable Dejah Thoris, a princess of the House of Tardos Mors of the nation of Helium. John Carter falls in love with Dejah Thoris and she with him. He also befriends Tars Tarkas, a jed of the Green Men.

John Carter frees Dejah Thoris and sends her riding across the Martian desert to home. He escapes soon after and finds his way to the atmosphere plant which produces air for all of Mars. By telepathy, he senses that the plant's caretaker would kill him, so he leaves. He finds his way to Zodanga, a nation of Red Men, and from there to Helium where he is reunited with Dejah Thoris.

Disaster strikes Mars:  The caretaker of the atmosphere plant dies and no one knows how to open the portal to service the machinery. At last, John Carter recalls the key and hurries to the atmosphere plant to save all Mars. He opens the last door and sinks unconscious to the ground as men from the Navy of Helium crawl into the atmosphere plant. John Carter awakens back in the Arizona cave. He writes down his exploits, passes the manuscript to his nephew, and seeks a way to return to Dejah Thoris on Mars.

In The Gods of Mars, John Carter returns to Mars. He finds himself in the Valley of Iss. He escapes the plant men and the white apes with a Green Man who turns out to be his friend, Tars Tarkas. Together they battle the Holy Therns, the priests of the false religion of Mars. In the midst of their battle with the Holy Therns, the Black Men of Mars raid the temple and take John Carter prisoner. They descend into the depths of Omean, where the goddess Issus reigns. John Carter finds Dejah Thoris a prisoner of Issus. He escapes to Helium, but is condemned to death for blasphemy.

The execution of the sentence is stayed for a year. John Carter lays plans to rescue Dejah Thoris. Zat Arras, John Carter's enemy, locks him in chains below the palace. With help from his son, Carthoris, John Carter escapes to lead a huge fleet south to rescue Dejah Thoris. Zat Arras follows with his fleet and a huge battle ensues. John Carter boards the flagship of Zat Arras who takes 'the long plunge' rather than surrender.

The fleet of the Black Men join the battle. John Carter disengages his fleet and sails to Omean to rescue Dejah Thoris. The warriors of Helium storm the citadel of Issus. John Carter finds Dejah Thoris is confined to a cell beneath the throne of Issus that makes one revolution a year. With her are Thuvia, a princess herself and daughter of the Jeddak of Ptarth, and Phaidor, daughter of Matai Shang who is the High Priest of the Holy Therns. All three women desire John Carter. Just before the view into the cell is closed by the cell's rotation, Phaidor springs at Dejah Thoris with a dagger.

In Warlord of Mars, John Carter keeps vigil over the temple beneath which is imprisoned his beloved Dejah Thoris. One night, he follows his enemy Thurid to a lake beneath the temple. Thurid knows another entrance to the cells and, in alliance with Matai Shang, releases Dejah Thoris, Thuvia, and Phaidor. John Carter pursues them to Kaol, a heretofore unmentioned city of Red Men near the equator. Kulan Tith, the jeddak of Kaol is hosting Thuvan Dihn, Jeddak of Ptarth and father of Thuvia. John Carter claims Phaidor is keeping Dejah Thoris and Thuvia as slaves. Kulan Tith demands that Matai Shang produce these women to answer these charges. Instead, Matai Shang flees with his captives to the North Pole.

John Carter and Thuvan Dihn pursue. At the North Pole, they split:  Thuvan Dihn goes for help and John Carter enters the city of Okar after disguising himself as a Yellow Man, one of the inhabitants of the North Pole. Here, John Carter discovers Tardos Mors and Mors Kajak, his wife's grandfather and father, held as prisoners. Thuvan Dihn returns with Carthoris leading the Helium Navy. They storm Okar. John Carter engages in numerous sword fights, including one with an man who looks to be 80 years old.

John Carter pursues Thurid, Matai Shang, and Phaidor with Dejah Thoris in tow across the snows to a flyer. As the flyer rises, John Carter leaps to grab a trailing rope. While he climbs the rope, Thurid knifes Matai Shang who takes 'the long plunge.' Thurid turns to deal with John Carter, but Phaidor knifes him. Thurid takes 'the long plunge.' Phaidor repents that she has caused so many others to suffer and to expiate her sins takes 'the long plunge.' John Carter and Dejah Thoris return to Helium where he is proclaimed the Warlord of Mars.

     The Barsoom books are cotton-candy reading. They are fun. Nothing more.
     I read these books many years ago, but out of order. Last fall, I decided to read them again, this time in order.
     All three of the original trilogy are in the public domain. You should not pay a penny to read them.

2.7. Links:
Who is John Carter? A primer (print) Larry Ketchersid's outstanding compendium of all the Barsoom books.
Another John Carter primer (video) Larry Ketchersid does it again.
ERBzine.com  All things ERB. An outstanding resource.
thejohncarterfiles.com  Includes news and clips from the upcoming movie.

2.8. Buy the books:  
A Princess of Mars
The Gods of Mars
Warlord of Mars
or download from the Gutenberg Project (scroll down to Burroughs).
____________________

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eBook Review: The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson

Mark Twain, The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 206 KB
• Publisher: Public Domain Books (September 14, 2004)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000JMKWZC
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews)
• Price: $0.00
  

1. Short review:

2. Long review:
2.1. What I liked: Author's Note to "Those Extraordinary Twins".
Roller-coaster or walk-in-the-park? Neither.
The book is free. At that, it is overpriced. This book wasted my time.

2.2. What I did not like: Before I start, go get yourself a drink and a snack. This is gonna take a while.

Structure: 21 chapters + Conclusion + 'Author's Note to "Those Extraordinary Twins"'

Characters:
1. David 'Pudd'nhead' Wilson;
2. York Leicester Driscoll, aka Judge Driscoll;
3. Percy Northumberland Driscoll, his brother;
4. Thomas a Becket Driscoll, aka Tom, Percy's son and Judge Driscoll's nephew;
5. Luigi and Angelo Capello, Italian twins and, for all practical purposes, one character;
6. Roxana (no last name [nln]), aka Roxy, one-sixteenth black and, therefore, negro;
7. Valet de Chambre (nln), aka Chambers, Roxy's son and even less black; and
8. "Colonel Cecil Burleigh Essex, another F.F.V. [First Families of Virginia] of formidable caliber--however, with him we have no concern."
(Twain introduces the last named character thus in the first chapter but never refers to him again. He violated his own Rule 14: Eschew surplusage. I include him to illustrate how badly this tale was told.)

Plot:

Tom and Chambers were born on the same day, 01 February 1830. Tom's mother died within the week. Roxy raised both boys.

Roxy switched the boys and raised the Driscoll heir as her son. In truth, once switched, we heard no more of Tom-as-Chambers until the Conclusion. And that bit is disappointing:

The real heir [Tom-as-Chambers] suddenly found himself rich and free, but in a most embarrassing situation. He could neither read nor write, and his speech was the basest dialect of the Negro quarter. His gait, his attitudes, his gestures, his bearing, his laugh--all were vulgar and uncouth; his manners were the manners of a slave. Money and fine clothes could not mend these defects or cover them up; they only made them more glaring and the more pathetic. The poor fellow could not endure the terrors of the white man's parlor, and felt at home and at peace nowhere but in the kitchen. The family pew was a misery to him, yet he could nevermore enter into the solacing refuge of the "nigger gallery"--that was closed to him for good and all. But we cannot follow his curious fate further--that would be a long story.

Bloody shame. That is a story I want to read. But back to the sogenannte plot.

Percy died and left Chambers-as-Tom to the care of his brother, Judge Driscoll. Roxy revealed to Chambers-as-Tom that he was Chambers. Chambers-as-Tom gambled away his money time and again. He sold Roxy 'down the river' even though she was freed by Percy. Roxy escaped from her master and returned.

All the above takes eighteen long, tedious chapters just to set up the action in the last three.

Chambers-as-Tom killed Judge Driscoll to inherit his money. The Italian twins were arrested and brought to trial for the murder. Wilson defended them successfully, implicated Chambers-as-Tom, and revealed the boys were switched in the sixth month of their lives.

As tedious as the set up was, the climax was worse. The court proceedings were ridiculous. When the gallery erupted in shouts, the sheriff called for order, vice the judge. Nothing was properly introduced in evidence. The defense attorney, Wilson, called himself as a witness. Wilson passed fingerprinted cards to the jury and asked them to examine the cards. The prosecutor never objected. The jury delivered no verdict.

It was apparent to me that Twain had never witnessed a trial. With his courtroom scenes, Twain violated his own Rule 8 [governing literary art]: They require that crass stupidities shall not be played upon the reader. . . .

I gave this eBook 3 stars on Twitter, but I regret that. I now give it 2 stars; one for the 'Author's Note to "Those Extraordinary Twins"' -- which is worth the two minutes it takes to read -- and one for the name of Mark Twain.

Oh, yeah, the formatting sucks: no breaks between chapters; not even an extra line feed.

2.3. Who I think is the audience: Masochists.

2.4. Is the book appropriate for children to read? No.

2.5. On the basis of reading this book, will I buy the author's next book? Were this the only exposure I had to Mark Twain, I would never read his work again.

2.6. Other: The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson sucks. Sucks, sucks, sucks. I find it unbelievable that other reviews gave it 4 and 5 stars.

2.7. Links: None.

2.8. Buy the book: No, don't.

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eBook Preview: A Lonely Kind of War

Marshall Harrison, A Lonely Kind of War: Forward Air Controller, Vietnam

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 605 KB
• Publisher: Xlibris (December 15, 2010)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004H8GCQM
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars (23 customer reviews)
• Price: $3.03

     I downloaded a sample of A Lonely Kind of War to my Kindle about a week ago. Wow! Maybe it spoke to me just because I first climbed into the cockpit of an Air Force jet a few years after Vietnam, but I did not need the glossary. I understood the lingo.
     I bought the book. Look forward to reading it. It boasts an odd price -- $3.03 -- but click on the title anywhere on this blog to take you to the Amazon page for A Lonely Kind of War.
____________________

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No Songs for Dogs

    'No Songs for Dogs' will make an intriguing title for a story. Trouble is, I have no idea what the story should be about.
    I can conjure up some nebulous designs. One, a post-apocalyptic world in which dogs are diseased; one boy has a dog companion whom he fights to save from the law -- and the dog fights to save him. Two, gene-modded dogs that are near human but have no rights; humans are buried with hymns, dogs no. Three, 'o' is the only vowel used; the title is a cypher for a clandestine operation.
    So, Gentle Reader, I ask your help please. Which of the nebulous designs above do you prefer? Or will you suggest another?
    Who is the hero?
    What is at stake?
    Where does the action happen?
    When?
    Why?
    How? Well, that's the story, isn't it?

Firefox fits

Most times -- 49 out of 50 -- I run Linux and connect with Firefox. Why did I tell you this?

On Valentine's Day, I read Catherine Caffeinated (see blogroll). Catherine recommended Buffer (bufferapp.com), a Twitter add-on. Her description of its features sounded cool, so I clicked and added a Buffer button to my Firefox browser.

Big mistake. Firefox crashed.

Three times I tried to restart Firefox, but each time the browser crashed. For several days, I had to connect using Internet Explorer on Windows XP. (I run a partitioned harddrive with Windows XP in the lower partition and Ubuntu Linux in the upper partition. I choose the opsys to boot at start-up.)

To make the problem worse, I had no other browser on the Linux side. Hey, Linux is infinitely more stable than Windows. What could cause a problem? Now I know.

This morning I started up Firefox and, after multiple tries, got it to download Chrome. When the download completed, Firefox crashed. I installed and booted Chrome and searched the web for a way to uninstall Firefox. I found that I could boot Firefox in safe-mode, search out the problem, and fix it. So I did. The problem was as suspected. Buffer. I removed Buffer. Firefox works again.

I place no blame on Catherine Howard. Buffer worked for her. But I run geeky-works, and the Buffer button did not work for me.

eBook Review: Admiral Farragut

Alfred Thayer Mahan, Admiral Farragut

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 435 KB
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN:  B004TQH05Y
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled 
• Average Customer Review: no reviews
• Price: $0.00 

1. Short review: 

2. Long review:
2.1. What I liked: The only contemporary biography of Admiral David Glasgow Farragut.
Roller-coaster or walk-in-the-park? This should be an historical roller coaster, but Mahan's turgid style turns the bio into a tedious walk-in-the-park.
The book is free. At that, it is worth the download. Were it 99 cents, it would be overpriced.

2.2. What I did not like:  Mahan's style. Whenever Mahan had an idea, legions of words issued forth from his pen and trampled it to death.

2.3. Who I think is the audience:  Die-hard naval history buffs. 

2.4. Is the book appropriate for children to read?  Yeah. It'll put 'em right to sleep.

2.5. On the basis of reading this book, will I buy the author's next book?  I suppose I have to read The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 'cause I am a die-hard naval history buff, but after reading Admiral Farragut, I ain't looking forward to it. It will be a chore, not a pleasure.

2.6. Other:  Mahan presents a wealth of historical information that I have not seen anywhere else:  1) Farragut's service as a young midshipman aboard the USS Essex in the War of 1812; 2) Farragut's decision to move his residence from Virginia to New York on the eve of the Civil War (both Farragut and his wife were southerners); 3) the fact that Farragut ignored his orders and bypassed rather than reduce or capture two forts on the Mississippi delta to take New Orleans (after New Orleans was taken, the forts fell from lack of supplies); Farragut's cooperation with David Porter on the Mississippi; and 4) the details of Farragut running his ships into the harbor at Mobile.

Congress created the ranks of rear admiral, vice admiral, and admiral specifically to reward Farragut for his wartime accomplishments.

Mahan's style reflects that of the 18th century more than that of the 19th century.

2.7. Links:  David Farragut (If you are a die-hard naval history buff, go ahead and download the book below and read it; else, click the link above and read the Wiki.)

2.8. Buy the book:  Admiral Farragut

____________________

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Oz

     The last Oprah show occasioned mourning in my home. Mourning from my wife.
     She lived her life by the Gospel According to Oprah. If Oprah said it, it was so. Irrefutably so.
     The saving grace was that Oprah seldom spouted advice on how to live. No, she was more into "This is my guest today, and -- wow! -- isn't he great?" and "This book changed my life" shows. To me, this meant that my wife tried to follow Oprah's example and left me to follow my own heathen ways. Okay, there was some prodding that I should 'get with the program' but, unlike the Borg, resistance to Oprah was not futile.
     Then came the demon stepchild of Oprah: Doctor Oz.
     Doctor Oz is nothing but advice on how to live. "Eat this. Don't eat that. Exercise this way. I know better than you." If Oprah gave us Gospels, Oz gives Epistles, Proverbs, and Commandments.
     For example, Doctor Oz hosted a show on 'superfoods': blueberries, tofu, broccoli, and I-can't-remember-the-other-two. That day, we went to the market. What do you think we bought? That evening I had a meal of blueberries, tofu, and broccoli -- in the same dish! Gag.
     The next day, Oz said something different, and we were off and running again, chasing after some TV-inspired illusion of perfection.
     I don't know what black magic Oz performed on his show today. I assiduously want NOT to know. I pray that it doesn't kill me before tomorrow when the dicta will change and again we will go haring off to see the Wizard.

     "That's how we keep you young and fair / In the merry old land of Oz."

Well, the clip from the movie has been withdrawn. Here is an audio clip:

     (PS I miss Oprah.)

____________________

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eBook Review: Flying Fury

James T. B. McCudden, Flying Fury

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 2390 KB
• Print Length: 288 pages
• Publisher: Casemate Publishing (October 19, 2009)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0040GJDOO
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled 
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  (7 customer reviews)
• Price: $9.99 

1. Short review: 

2. Long review:
2.1. What I liked: The first-person account from one of the First World War top aces. (The Aerodrome lists him seventh in confirmed kills among all Aces. http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/index.php ) 
Roller-coaster or walk-in-the-park? Historical roller coaster.

2.2. What I did not like: McCudden's account of his early years in the RFC -- 1913 to 1915 -- read slow and he tried too hard to be droll. It is useful for the details that you will not find anywhere else, but his story finds its pace once he gets into FEs.

2.3. Who I think is the audience:  History buffs, especially air combat history buffs.

2.4. Is the book appropriate for children to read?  Yes. That is odd since this is a book about killing.

2.5. On the basis of reading this book, will I buy the author's next book?  I would if there were any, but Major McCudden died when his SE5 crashed in July 1918.

2.6. Other:  James McCudden was the most technical pilot of the First World War. He had mechanical abilities that other pilots did not, and he used them. He tweaked the performance of his airplane and got more speed and more altitude from it than other pilots got from their SEs. He used that improved performance to hunt high-flying German two-seaters -- observation airplanes.  Of his 57 kills, 43 were two-seaters.

Besides his talents as a mechanic, McCudden also studied air combat; that is, the best practices for approaching enemy aircraft and for shooting at them (distance, angle, position).

Given all the study and practice of McCudden, I found it astounding how many times he reported that he returned to his aerodrome with his aircraft 'shot about'. Even in 1918 he returned from patrols with bullet holes in his airplane. From this I realized that survival in the air in the First World War was a matter of luck.

In Flying Fury, McCudden provided the definitive example of the role of luck in air combat. He remarked often on the fighting qualities of a German pilot who flew an Albatross fighter with a green-painted tail. McCudden respected this foe for the way he maneuvered to reduce his risk. One day McCudden caught 'Green Tail' leading a formation, dove on the formation, surprised them, and shot down 'Green Tail'.

In many ways, 'Green Tail' was McCudden's German equivalent: a student of air combat who worked to reduce risk. Both died in the war; 'Green Tail' because he was surprised in the air, McCudden because his engine failed on take-off.

(Addendum:
There are many discussions on The Aerodrome website -- a site devoted to WWI air combat -- about the identity of 'Green Tail'. From what I gather there, all pilots in Jasta 5 flew Albatrosses with green-painted horizontal stabilizers and elevators trimmed in red. McCudden may have mistakenly conceived there was only one German pilot who flew a green-tailed Albatross.

The experts on The Aerodrome disagree on whom it was that McCudden shot down 18 February 1918. McCudden's description was consistent with the Albatross flown by Vzfw Otto Koennecke, but Koennecke survived the war. That alone is not definitive. He might have been shot down and survived. Rittmeister Manfred von Richtofen, aka the Red Baron, was shot down twice before his death 21 April 1918. But Koennecke was not shot down that day.

Some say McCudden's victim was Vzfw Martin Klein of Jasta 5. Others say it was Uffz Julius Kaiser of Jasta 35b. As with all things, you pays your money, you takes your choices.)

2.7. Links:  http://www.theaerodrome.com/aces/england/mccudden1.php

2.8. Buy the book:  Flying Fury

____________________

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Curves

WARNING: Rant.

     I saw a report on Yahoo about Christina Aguilera's 'curves'. I discovered this is newspeak for 'she's fat'.
     I have never been a fan of Aguilera. I mean, I like some of her music, but I do not seek her out. I remember her early years when she was just another skinny female singer. The last time I saw her was on 'The Voice', and I thought, "She's filled out very nice." In her early years, she looked like a girl. Now she looks like a woman.
     Yahoo reported that Aguilera's boyfriend 'loooves' her new body. What's not to love?
     By contrast, yesterday I saw a recent picture of Angelina Jolie hefting some award she won. I noted how thin she looked and said, "Good God, girl, eat a sandwich."
     I am not in favor of the rush to Karen Carpenter thinness. Girls, forget Barbie. Yeah, some guys like stick-figure women, but they are not gonna date you anyway, because they are gay.
     Real men like real women who look like women.

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