World War II Books Wish List

I was sitting at my Dad's desk today, hoping to find the Sunday paper, when I stumbled upon a catalog of the Naval Institute Press. I kind of rolled my eyes to myself, wondering what exactly could be interesting about US Navy ships, and who would want to write about books about ships? Well, the US Navy, of course...but that's beside the point. I flipped the catalog open since I was curious what they had to sell.

I was pleasantly surprised that I found some books that held my interest. One such book is called the Sisterhood of Spies: The Women of the OSS by Elizabeth P. McIntosh.

Since I am a big fan of World War II books (fiction and nonfiction books), I just had to get this book. Icons such as Julia Child and Marlene Dietrich actually served in the OSS (Office of Strategic Services) which was a US intelligence agency back in World War II.

Other books that are on my wish list are Germany's Last Mission to Japan by Joseph Mark Scalia and Hitler's Navy by Jak P. Mallmann Showell. I may wait to get Hitler's Navy though since it's almost $70. Yikes!

There's also the fighting Admirals of World War II by David Wragg where he wrote the biographies of admirals that served on both Allied and Axis Powers.

I also plan to buy Manila and Santiago by Jim Leeke, which accounts the naval warfare of the Spanish American War. I know it's not about World War II, but it does tell a little bit of history of my birthplace, the Philippines.

I definitely want to read Stranded in the Philippines by Scott Mills. It's a true story of Henry Roy Bell, who's a missionary, and his family who became stranded in the Philippines during the Japanese invasion in World War II. I think these would be very interesting to read. I remember my grandma used to tell me how she and her family hid from the Japanese soldiers because they were afraid of getting raped or killed or both. They were truly horrible times.

I'm excited to get these books. I may do a review on a couple of them like Standed in the Philippines and Sisterhood of the Spies and I can't wait to share them with you guys.

Columbine by David Cullen

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A Lion in the White House: A Life of Theodore Roosevelt by Aida D. Donald

“I rose like a rocket.” – Theodore Roosevelt

Indeed, before he became the youngest president in U.S. history at age 42, Theodore Roosevelt had done it all. He was a New York assemblyman, assistant secretary of the Navy, New York governor, a Rough Rider, New York police commissioner, a cowboy, and an author.

This was why I had a problem with this book. For a man who accomplished so much for the American people and later the world, I didn’t think a 269 page biography was enough to cover his life. In my opinion, a timeline would have been a nice addition to the book. I also felt like the book was rushed through and the language, though simple, was very mechanical. It was boring, even though Theodore Roosevelt was an interesting person.

I found that this book only excelled in giving a generalized view of Theodore Roosevelt’s life, but unfortunately it didn’t give me a chance to find out more about the former president.

I actually bought Edmund Morris’ The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt which chronicled his from his childhood to being the vice president of the United States. I also plan to buy Morris’ Theodore Rex which talked about his years in the White House as president.

I think that A Lion in the White House: A Life of Theodore Roosevelt could have been written better. Theodore Roosevelt was larger than life so I was very disappointed when I finished this book.

My take: Save your money. Don’t buy this book.

A Dark History: The Kings and Queens of Europe by Brenda Ralph Lewis

"This is not a book for the faint-hearted. It took a strong stomach to write it. It could require another to read it." - Brenda Ralph Lewis

Mass murders of virgins. Burning people alive at the stake. Debauchery. Insanity. Incest. These are the tragedies that some of European monarchs that Ms. Lewis mentioned in her book. I can't say that I enjoyed this book because some parts were so difficult to read. However, it is a well-written book with illustrations.

I normally don't read horror books, but I love history so much that I ended up buying this. It also helped that I got it at a great bargain from Barnes and Nobles. I thought the book might be an interesting addition to my history book collection. Although I skipped (and later returned) some of the beginning chapters due to its content, the end of the book wasn't all too bad. At least I was able to keep my dinner.

All in all, I did like the author's writing approach because it felt like she was right there telling me the story. Due to its subject matter, I don't think this is history book that everyone would like to read. but if you like shocking and intriguing stories, then this book is for you.