Sunday eBook Review: Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant

     

Ulysses S. Grant, Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant

Product Details (Volume 1)

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 441 KB
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1402106939

Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Public Domain Books (June 1, 2004)

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B000JMKZJU
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars (20 customer reviews)

 

Product Details (Volume 2)

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 519 KB

Print Length: 278 pages
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Publisher: Public Domain Books (June 1, 2004)

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B000JMKZLS
Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)

 

1. Short review: 

2. Long review:

2.1. What I liked: Grant wrote in a straightforward style. His humanity in his appreciation for the lives of his men (the faster this war ends, the fewer that die) and for his surrendered foes shines through in his memoirs. His stark assessment of his subordinates was accurate except in one case (General Thomas), and Grant readily admitted that he was mistaken.
Roller-coaster or walk-in-the-park? Kinda both, kinda neither.
This book gives great value for your money; it is free.

2.2. What I did not like:  I got lost in Grant's descriptions of Virginia geography. See Paul Brooks's comments to Volume 1.

2.3. Who I think is the audience:  People who read biographies or Civil War history.

2.4. Is the book appropriate for children to read?  Yes.

2.5. On the basis of reading this book, will I buy the author's next book?  Does not apply.

2.6. Other: To fully understand what happened, it is necessary to read the appendices. That is where I found that Sheridan counselled Grant not to march on Vicksburg but to return to Memphis, build his base, and move slowly down the Mississippi to Vicksburg. Grant's reply showed he understood the political situation in the North.

(Concurrently, I have been reading Mahan's biography of Farragut. Mahan credits Farragut's capture of New Orleans with keeping Britain and France from recognizing the Confederacy and with boosting morale in the North. Together, the memoirs of Grant and the biography of Farragut show that many in the North would rather have let the South secede than spend the blood to preserve the Union.)

Also in the orders in an appendix, I discovered Grant grew increasing angry with Thomas for not engaging General Hood (CSA). Grant was travelling to relieve Thomas when he learned that Thomas had defeated Hood at the Battle of Nashville and was in pursuit. Grant admitted his error and changed his assessment of Thomas.

2.7. Links:  None.

2.8. Buy the book: Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant - Volume 1 [Kindle Edition]
Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant - Volume 2 [Kindle Edition]

Sunday eBook Review (not): Kindle book sales go asymptotic

(Amazon's 'physical book sold' in yellow; Amazon's 'Kindle books sold' in red)

Sunday eBook Review (delayed by vacation): The List

Joe Konrath, The List

Product DetailsFormat: Kindle Edition
File Size: 759 KB
Print Length: 304 pages
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 145288126X
Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B00267T89E
Lending: Enabled
Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars (157 customer reviews)

1. Short review: 

2. Long review:

2.1. What I liked: The List changed my standards for thrillers. It set the bar higher. There is action in every chapter. I felt exhausted just reading the book. I had to put the book down to take a breath.
Roller-coaster or walk-in-the-park? Oh, roller coaster. Definitely roller coaster.
This book gives great value for your money.

2.2. What I did not like:  Does not apply.

2.3. Who I think is the audience:  Technothriller fans.  Near-term science fiction fans.

2.4. Is the book appropriate for children to read?  No. No sex, but extreme violence.

2.5. On the basis of reading this book, will I buy the author's next book?  Yes.

2.6. Other: How would you react if you discovered you were the living incarnation of Thomas Jefferson? Albert Einstein? Joan of Arc? Or Jack the Ripper?

2.7. Links:
http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/

2.8. Buy the book: The List

Sunday eBook Review: Res ipsa loquitur

The wife wants a vacation.  Has hired a car.  eBook review will be delayed until I return.  Until then I leave you with this quote from Hipster Ipsum:

Cred master cleanse synth, non deserunt aesthetic tattooed 3 wolf moon yr. Cred placeat retro, exercitation sed non officia. Adipisicing occaecat tofu, you probably haven't heard of them deserunt gluten-free accusamus vero aliquip mcsweeney's ea cardigan iphone. Jean shorts excepteur craft beer, yr banksy photo booth proident blog wes anderson irure iphone trust fund banh mi minim. Aute exercitation tumblr farm-to-table. Beard mollit etsy ex, bicycle rights organic you probably haven't heard of them tofu keffiyeh mlkshk gluten-free ullamco culpa readymade. Whatever cupidatat raw denim, fap incididunt leggings in.

And dat's de name o' dat tune.

Everest

Directions for climbing Mount Everest are simple: 

1. Take one step; and

2. Repeat as needed.

The lesson to take from this is that simple does not mean easy. 

keith's directions for eBook publishing success: 

1. Write your book the best you can;

2. Learn to write better;

3. Market your eBook the best you can;

4. Learn to market better; and

5. Repeat as needed.

I think it helps if you share as you go. Best regards.
____________________

Buy the book at Amazon Kindle Books.

Sunday eBook Review: Imperial Stars 2: Republic and Empire

Jerry Pournelle (editor), Imperial Stars 2:  Republic and Empire

Product Details from Baen's Books
Published 10/1/1987
SKU: 0671653598
Ebook Price: $4.00

1. Short review: 

2. Long review:
2.1. What I liked: Imperial Stars 2 (IS2) is a collection of short stories woven around a theme.  I like science fiction short stories.  This is one of the best sf collections I have ever read.  The editorial interludes add a great deal. 
Roller-coaster or walk-in-the-park? Mostly roller coaster.
This book gives great value for your money.
Ratings by story (????? out of *****):

1. Outward Bound ****
2. In the Realm of the Heart, In the World of the Knife ****
3. Litany for Dictatorships ****
4. Doing Well While Doing Good ****
5. The Last Department ****
6. Constitution for Utopia ****
7. Minor Ingredient ****
8. The Turning Wheel ****
9. Reactionary Utopias ****
10. These Shall Not Be Lost ****
11. Data vs Evidence in the Voodoo Sciences ****
12. Nicaragua:  A Speech to My Former Comrades on the Left ****
13. The Gods of the Copybook Headings ***** (I have read this poem many times, but on this reading I understood it.)
14. Custom Fitting ****
15. Conquest by Default ****
16. The Skills of Xanadu ****
17. Into the Sunset ****
18. Shipwright ****
19. Empire and Republic:  Crisis and Future ****

2.2. What I did not like:  Baen's Books has done its best to hide this book and its brothers.  It is not listed under Jerry Pournelle or by title.  To find the book, use the links on this blog.  If you insist on plowing through Baen's Books website to find the book, I wish you luck and patience.  I make the odds 3 to 2 that you fail.

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

2.4. Is the book appropriate for children to read?  Yes.

2.5. On the basis of reading this book, will I buy the author's next book?  Yes.  Already bought IS3.

2.6. Other: At its very best, fiction entertains and enlightens.  This book does both.

2.7. Links:
Baen's Books, Imperial Stars 2:  Republic and Empire
Baen's Books, Imperial Stars 1:  The Stars at War
http://jerrypournelle.com/jerrypournelle.c/chaosmanor/

2.8. Buy the book: Baen's Books, Imperial Stars 2:  Republic and Empire

Sunday eBook Review: The Rolling Stones

Robert Heinlein, The Rolling Stones

Product Details from Baen's Books
Published 3/1/2009
SKU: 1416591494
Ebook Price: $6.00

1. Short review: 

2. Long review:
2.1. What I liked: The Rolling Stones is a classic science fiction juvenile; that is, a book that in today's lingo is called a YA.
Roller-coaster or walk-in-the-park? Roller coaster.
This book gives great value for your money.

2.2. What I did not like: A couple of typos. That is literal: two typos.

2.3. Who I think is the audience: Young science fiction fans.

2.4. Is the book appropriate for children to read? Yes.

2.5. On the basis of reading this book, will I buy the author's next book? Yes.

2.6. Other: Robert and Virginia Heinlein had no children, and that fact shows in this book.  The Stones have four children: the twins, Castor and Pollux; one daughter, Meade; and a four-year-old, called Buster or Lowell, depending on who is doing the calling. 
Castor and Pollux are bright.  Too bright.  These kids work out orbital mechanics that I would labor over, and one of my degrees is in mathematics, and I used to do math professionally for the Air Force.  These kids don't misbehave.  They define precocious.
Meade does little besides cook badly.
Buster beats his grandmother at chess and otherwise is nothing more than added mass to boost to Mars and the asteroids.  Well, he does a little more, but his character hasn't a tenth of the depth of the grandmother.  Come to think of it, neither does the mother, Dr Stone, have much depth.
The book was written for teenage boys; a condensed version was published in installments in Boys' Life magazine, the magazine of the Boy Scouts of America.  Thus, it was slanted to Castor and Pollux to give its intended audience major characters to identify with.

2.7. Links:
Baen's Books, The Rolling Stones

2.8. Buy the book: Baen's Books, The Rolling Stones

Artists! Skid Row 'Bots needs a cover.

Skid Row 'Bots needs a cover.

So I will run a contest. [This contest is closed. 2012.07.14 Happy Bastille Day.]

Artists,

Please submit, as replies to this post, your cover art for Skid Row 'Bots. One artist, one entry. I shall select the winner. The winner gets $300.00, payable by Wells Fargo Bank NA transfer (if the winner has a Wells Fargo Bank NA account) or PayPal. I get all rights to the art. (If you have other ideas about rights, please state them with your entry and whether they are negotiable.)

Contest closes 15 August 2011. Entries timestamped after that date will not be considered for the prize.

Summary of Skid Row 'Bots:

Genre: Science Fiction

Length: Short Story (~4,000 words, 16pp)

Eli Root is homeless in Memphis, Tennessee. While dumpster diving one night, he is approached by Isaac, a broken and discarded general-purpose house robot. Eli was a cybermechanic until his set of skills became obsolete. Nevertheless, he repairs Isaac. Isaac then brings him a broken house vacuum 'bot (imagine a Roomba with AI and bigger). Eli repairs it, too.

This brings us to the beginning of the key scene:

"Isaac, this fellow's in pretty bad shape," Eli said, referring to the Bujol med-aid 'bot Isaac carried in his arms. The vacuum 'bot trundled along behind Eli as he walked, Eli's belongings stowed in a makeshift rack atop its carapace. Behind the vacuum 'bot limped, slinked, and rolled a half dozen more 'bots of various ancestry and manufacture, every one of them a recipient of Eli's ministrations.


Note: I envision Isaac's 'face' to be like that of Number Five in the movie Short Circuit. It is required that the image of Isaac have binocular cameras, like Number Five. However, unlike Number Five who gets around on treads, Isaac walks on legs. You have artistic license with the rest of Isaac's 'face' but if your rendering ain't got binoc camera eyes, you ain't gonna win.

Win or not, you may be considered for other covers.

I shall announce the winner in this thread.

Sunday eBook Review: Half Share

Nathan Lowell, Half Share

Product Details Format: Kindle Edition File Size: 486 KB Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited Publisher: Ridan Publishing (December 19, 2010) Sold by: Amazon Digital Services Language: English ASIN: B004GUSA02 Lending: Enabled Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  (73 customer reviews)

1. Short review:  

2. Long review:
2.1. What I liked:  Half Share was light and easy to read.  When a book is easy to read, much effort has gone into making it so.
     Roller-coaster or walk-in-the-park?  Walk-in-the-park.
     This book gives good value for your money.

2.2. What I did not like:  Typos and typesetting errors.  The editors dropped the ball again.  ( See my Sunday eBook Review of Quarter Share.)  This does not speak well for Ridan Publishing.

2.3. Who I think is the audience:  Science fiction and sailing fans.  Readers of C S Forester, Patrick O'Brian, and David Weber will feel at home reading the Solar Clipper series.

2.4. Is the book appropriate for children to read?  Yes, I think so.  No overt sex. 

2.5. On the basis of reading this book, will I buy the author's next book?  No, but on the basis of Quarter Share and Half Share together, I will buy Full Share.

2.6. Other:  The hero of the Solar Clipper series is Ishmael Horatio Wang (Ish).  In Quarter Share, he shipped aboard the Lois McKendrick, a space-going freighter.  With his crewmate Pip, he set up in-port flea market operations that profited the crew.
     In Half Share, Ish transfers from the galley to the environmental section.  The first two-thirds of the book is taken up with the transfer, the galley replacement, some flea market activities, settling into the environmental section routine, and buying a suit of clothes for Ish.
     But the final third of Half Share is taken up with Ishmael's sexual adventures.  And he is just too good at seduction.  He's 18 going on 35. 
     When Ish shipped aboard the Lois, he was eighteen.  He has been aboard 7 months.  At most, he would be nineteen.  By his own admission, he had few friends planetside; but he handles himself with women -- older women -- like a man with many years of experience.
     I will suspend disbelief for warp jumps in space.  I will not suspend disbelief when an eighteen year-old sweet talks older women like a practiced Casanova.

2.7.  Links:
Nathan Lowell @ http://nathanlowell.org/
Trader's Diary @ http://solarclipper.com/

2.8.  Buy the book:  Half Share at amazon.com

Sunday eBook Review: Ghost Plane and Other Disturbing Tales (again)

　

Suzanne Tyrpak, Ghost Plane and Other Disturbing Tales

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 153 KB
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: Adytum; First Edition edition (June 28, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0058OX86G
• Lending: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  (5 customer reviews)

1. Short review:  
   
2. Long review:
2.1. What I liked:  Well-written short stories.
Roller coaster or walk in the park?  Both.

2.2. What I did not like: 

1.  Using the 'Go to...' button on the Menu, I cannot select the Table of Contents.  To get to the Table of Contents, I must select Cover and page forward.  The links on the Table of Contents work fine.

2.  The history in 'Devil's Mark' is incorrect.  For example, it was impossible at that time for an enlisted man to advance into the officer ranks.

3.  'Memories conjugate like thunderheads.'  (from 'Meditation')  Conjugate?

4.  'The purist of the Puritans . . . .' (from 'Devil's Mark')  Purest, vice purist?

2.3. Who I think is the audience:  Horror fans and short story fans.

2.4. Is the book appropriate for children to read?  I think so.  No profanity.  No overt sex.  No gore.  Tyrpak writes horror the way Edgar Allen Poe did:  the horror exists in your imagination. 

Read 'Forbidden'.  If you have no problems letting your children read that story, you should have no problems with any of the other stories.

2.5. On the basis of reading this book, will I buy the next book in the series?  Does not apply.  This is a collection of short stories, not one book in a series.

Will I buy another book by Suzanne Tyrpak?  Likely not.  I do not read horror.  But I liked some of Tyrpak's stories very much.  She writes well.

2.6. Other:

I got this book for free.  The day I planned to buy it, Suzanne Tyrpak offered it for free on Facebook.  Taking the free book did not obligate me to write this review.  The Amazon price is $0.99, and the book is worth the money.

2.7.  Links:  None.

2.8.  Buy the book:  Ghost Plane and Other Disturbing Tales at amazon.com