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...