Charles Ashbacher Reviews

  Review of Interesting Stories for Curious People: A Collection of Fascinating Stories About History, Science, Pop Culture and Just About Anything Else You Can Think Of, by Bill O’Neill, ISBN 9781648450440 Five out of five stars The short stories are indeed interesting   Covering topics from space aliens to actual cases of public human cannibalism, the stories in this book justify the word “interesting” in the title. Some are based on facts, such as the one about the Mariana Trench, the deepest spot in the ocean. One of the most unusual facts is that most of the actors that played the bumbling German soldiers in the television show “Hogan’s Heroes” were in fact Jewish. Werner Klemperer, who played the bumbling Colonel Klink and was Jewish said that having the soldiers portrayed as nincompoops was the only way he would act out the role.   There are many candidates for the weirdest story. My best candidate is about Belgian serial killer Mark Dutroux. With the ai...

  Review of A People’s History of American Empire , by Howard Zinn, ISBN 9780805087444 Five out of five stars The real history of American expansion   While most programs in history education cover the basics of slavery and the destruction of the Native Americans and their culture as the European descendants moved westward, other aspects of American imperialism are rarely covered. They are explained in significant detail in this book.   While the American victory over the Spanish Asian fleet in Manila harbor, American ground action in Cuba and the acts of Congress that openly stated that the U. S. wanted no additional territories are commonly covered, the later reality is not. There were forces operating in the Philippines in opposition to the Spanish rule and after the American victory, they wanted their independence.   What is rarely covered in the history textbooks and courses is the brutal manner in which the American forces suppressed the opposition ...

  Review of Delusions of Grandma , by Carrie Fisher, ISBN 0671732277 Five out of five stars Dark at times, funny at times, sometimes simultaneously   In this book, Carrie Fisher demonstrates her tremendous skills as a writer. Her prose can cause you to read it, stop and back up and then read it again slowly. She takes metaphors and turns them into clear statements of description.   A case in point appears on the bottom of page 160. “She had all the wattage and warmth of her electric mother, but she’d been born with a broken dimmer. “ The reference to electric lights in reference to an inability to turn off the dynamic aspects of her personality is easily understood. Even by people that do not understand the principles of electricity.   The main character is a woman named Cora; she is a talented screen(re)writer that is generally partnered with a man named Bud. While he is also a talented writer, Bud is bipolar, so generally swoops up and down on an emotio...

  Review of Sniper on the Eastern Front: The Memoirs of Sepp Allerberger Knights Cross , edited by Geoffrey Brooks, ISBN 1844153177 Five out of five stars A dutiful and lethal soldier   No single soldier can have the influence on a battlefield more than a talented and effective sniper. Able to deal out death blows over hundreds of yards while maintaining complete cover, such soldiers can keep large numbers of the enemy tucked away within whatever cover they are able to find. Knowing that sticking any part of your body above the parapet will get it shot focused the mind and keeps the body flat on the ground.   Sepp Allerberger was one of the best snipers in the German Army during World War II. He likely was responsible for over 500 kills of the enemy and was always in demand to join units under stress. He was often called on to engage in a rear-guard action, killing a few of the enemy, slowing them down long enough for the other members of his unit to retreat in ...

  Review of 800 Days on The Eastern Front: A Russian Soldier Remembers World War II, by Nikolai Litvin, ISBN 9780700615179 Five out of five stars Basically, a diary The author served in the Soviet Red Army in the Second World War, facing the German Wehrmacht and their allies. Unlike other militaries, the Red Army generally did not grant leave, so once on the front, the individual soldier stayed there. Since there were lulls in the fighting for rest and refit, there were times when there were few, if any, bullets flying.   This book is essentially a diary of the experiences of a common soldier in the Red Army, Therefore, the descriptions of the action are in general the events in his immediate vicinity. There are some statements of the broad tactics employed by the commanders, there are many times when the discussion is about the weather and the quality of food and shelter.   There are no real major revelations of information that is not otherwise known. Yet, ...

  Review of Gallipoli , by Les Carlyon ISBN 0732911281 Five out of five stars Definitive history of the Gallipoli campaign   World War I is known for the massive assaults where hundreds of thousands of men faced off against each other in deeply entrenched positions. Battles were generally exercises in masses of men charging across open territory trying to dislodge and defeat men with machine guns. Tens of thousands died on both sides in a single battle and on the western front, the front line rarely moved more than a mile or two. Most attacks were prefaced by massive artillery bombardments that sometimes lasted for days.   The Allied attack on the Turkish territory on the west side of the Dardanelles straight was a sideshow front relative to the battles that took place on the eastern and western fronts. Yet, it did have the potential for the highest reward for the risk of any of the other fronts. For if the Allies would have been able to take control of European...

  Review of Appaloosa , DVD version Four out of five stars Good rendition of classic Parker characters   Robert B. Parker is known for writing action/adventure stories with a strong hero/sidekick format. What makes the stories work very well is that the sidekick is a powerful personality, for example the Spenser/Hawk stories.   Parker also created a series set in the old west that features Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch.   This movie describes an adventure where the two become lawmen in a wild frontier town. Both men are very good with guns and their reputations do a great deal to calm the town. Their worldview undergoes change when an attractive woman named Libby comes to town with very little money. Virgil is quickly smitten by her, but those feelings create immediate problems.   A powerful local man named Randall Bragg killed some lawmen and one of the witnesses to the crime agrees to testify against him. Bragg is a powerful man, but Virgil and Eve...