Charles Ashbacher Reviews

  Review of In the Company of Sherlock Holmes: Stories Inspired by the Holmes Cannon , edited by Laurie R. King and Leslie S. Klinger, ISBN 9781605989174 Four out of five stars Some of the coattails are long and thin   While there is a connection between the classic Sherlock Holmes canon and these stories, some of the connections are thin and not easy to discern. The context of the individual stories varies widely, my favorite involves a small vessel that is one of the many that evacuated British and other Allied troops from Dunkirk. It was a tense moment of desperation for the British Empire in its battle against the German Reich. That tenseness and general heroism comes through in this story. Another story in the top tier is called “The Adventure of the Laughing Fisherman.” The premise here is that a man with skills in deducing the particulars of a crime that rival those of Sherlock Holmes decides that he does not want to be another Holmes, but another Moriarty. Th...

  Review of Wipeout of the Wireless Weenies and other Warped and Creepy Tales , by David Lubar, ISBN 9780765332141 Five out of five stars Hints of Ray Bradbury   The most laudatory praise that I can give this book is that the stories have more than a hint of the style of Ray Bradbury. The man that I consider to be the best writer of the short story with an odd twist. These stories often start out with a seemingly predictable and generally innocuous beginning, with routine progress toward a resolution. Only to suddenly have a plot twist that was unpredictable and entertaining yet remains within the bounds of the initial premises.   If you enjoy short stories that start out normal and yet branch into the unusual and sometimes bizarre, then this book is one that you will enjoy.

  Review of The Tigers Are Burning: The Story of the Battle of Kursk- The Greatest Single Land-and-Air Combat Engagement in Military History , by Martin Caidin Five out of five stars The battle that inverted aggressor and defender   The battle of Kursk in what was then the Soviet Union remains the largest land battle in the history of warfare. Not only were there massive forces on both sides, but the major action was concentrated into an area that was relatively small compared to the numbers in opposition. As one of the soldiers interviewed said, “The noise was deafening, the smoke blinding and the smell was sickening.” The congestion reached the point where opposing tanks would suddenly encounter each other only a few feet apart.   It is impossible to understate the significance of the battle. While Stalingrad was the battle that blunted the power of the German military machine, after it was over the Germans could still mount significant offensive firepower. Af...

  Review of The Roaring 20: The First Cross-country Air Race for Women, by Margaret Whitman Blair, ISBN 0792253892 Five out of five stars The beginning of the history of female flight   On August 18, 1929, 20 women started their engines and began an air race from Santa Monica, California to Cleveland, Ohio. The course was a series of short hops rather than one or two long flights. The stops were often at locations where repair and maintenance facilities were limited, making it necessary for the women to consider several backup options.   Much of the course was over undeveloped land, requiring the women to memorize landmarks as they flew, even though they did have compasses for direction finding. These 20 women were all pioneers in aviation and some of them died while engaging in their passion for flight. Amelia Earhart is the most famous of the roaring 20 and she was famously lost while attempting to fly across the Pacific.   The woman demanded that they...

  Review of With Rommel in the Desert, by H. W. Schmidt Four out of five stars Eyewitness account of Rommel by a fellow soldier   Given the Prussian tradition, Germany had many professional soldiers with long pedigrees of service. The officer corps were a dedicated group of men that studied war scientifically and were very good at carrying it out. Generally, they acquired and maintained the confidence of the men under their command. Occasionally, one of them rose to the level of being admired and respected by their opponents. The most famous in World War II was Erwin Rommel, who was known as “the Desert Fox.”   Rommel was an experienced soldier, highly decorated for his actions in World War I, specifically for his experiences on the Italian front. When the Italian forces in North Africa were being pummeled by the Allies, Hitler sent units to bolster them and tasked Rommel with leading them. The author served as Rommel’s aide during that conflict, from the earli...

  Review of The D. A. Calls It Murder , by Erle Stanley Gardner Three out of five stars Much slower pace than most Gardner tales   This story involves the main character of Douglas Shelby, the District Attorney of Madison City. When a rather nondescript clergyman is found dead in the Madison Hotel and the cause of death seems to be an accidental overdose of sleeping powder, there is pressure to close the case. However, Shelby has his doubts and keeps the investigation open.   The case moves rather methodically, until it is proven that the man was in fact murdered. Unlike the much more dynamic Perry Mason stories by Gardner, this one has no real high point of tension. The dialog is also much tamer than in the Mason stories and this one lacks the high tension between Mason and the members of law enforcement. It is clear from reading this book how critical those relationships are to the success of the Mason series.   As a mystery, this one has some of the re...

  Review of Bentonville: The Final Battle of Sherman and Johnston , by Nathaniel Chears Hughs Jr., ISBN 0807822817 Five out of five stars Nearly the last battle of the war   The battle of Bentonville between the Union forces commanded by Sherman and the Confederate forces commanded by Johnston was the last major battle between them and one of the last of the war. It took place in March 19-21, 1865, and was after Sherman’s famous march to the sea. By that time, it was clear that the Confederacy had lost the war and many of their soldiers were beginning to desert and go home.   However, the Confederate soldiers that remained were determined to give a good accounting of themselves and they did. Despite his aggressive tendencies and numerically superior forces, Sherman was unable to defeat Johnston on the battlefield. Johnston’s surrender came when it was clear that there was no hope of victory.   In the overall scheme of the war, the battle of Bentonville wa...

  Review of Plato and a Platypus Walk Into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes , by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein, ISBN 9780143113874 Four out of five stars   Works well with a bit of foreknowledge   This book is designed to demonstrate and teach the fundamentals of philosophy. While it works well, philosophy is such a complex subject that it is often necessary to understand at least some of the basics in order to understand the jokes. There is some explanatory text before most of the jokes, yet not always sufficient to lay the necessary groundwork for the novice.   Some of the jokes are well known, having been passed around and retold many times since they were first created. For example, there is the one about two friends going to a bank and while they are there it is robbed. When the thieves tell all the patrons to hand over all their money and valuables, one of them slips something into the other’s pocket. When the recipient asks what was p...

  Review of Illustrated Classics Series: Frankenstein , by Mary Shelley, ISBN 1567674542 Five out of five stars Proof that comics can be educational   When it comes to educational effectiveness, I have always been an advocate for using any and all techniques. Since humans are such visual creatures, properly done, the use of the graphic novel format can provide quality instruction. This is especially the case when working with classic novels. Among many young people, giving them a class assignment of reading a classic novel will lead to an immediate negative backlash.   I have read the original “Frankenstein” novel several times, for it can be considered one of the original horror stories. Watching the movie subjects the viewer to necessary but distracting tangents from the original. The creators of this book have done an excellent job in staying true to the original story while using their own original images.   English teachers in the K-12 systems will f...

  Review of American POWs In Korea: Sixteen Personal Accounts , edited by Harry Spiller, ISBN 0786405619 Five out of five stars The brutal treatment of American prisoners   The first real hot war within the misnamed decades long Cold War, the Korean War was another civil war that became a proxy fight between the Communist and American blocks. While many nations contributed combat forces under the United Nations banner in support of the South Koreans, the two main fighting blocks on the other side were the North Koreans and the Chinese forces from the People’s Republic of China. While both of these groups took American prisoners and treated them brutally, the treatment at the hands of the Chinese was a bit milder.   This book contains descriptions of the experiences of 16 American soldiers that were taken captive by the forces of the north. They are all similar, in that they were largely forced to survive in captivity with few resources of food, clothing and shel...

  Review of The Last Hot Battle of the Cold War: South Africa vs. Cuba in the Angolan Civil War, by Peter Polack, ISBN 9781612001951 A major battle rarely mentioned   The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union has largely been misnamed. For during the years from 1946 to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, there were major wars pitting the allies of one side against the allies of the other. The United States fought two major wars, in Korea and Vietnam, where American forces fought against proxies of the Soviet Union. Millions of people were killed in both wars and the United States suffered significant numbers of combat deaths and wounded.   Yet, there is truly a battle between proxies of both sides that can be definitively said to be the last major battle of the Cold War. It took place in Angola, a nation recently receiving independence from Portugal and split into two factions and rival territories. There was the communist MPLA and the ant...