About: Quotes Every Man Should Know edited by Nick Mamatas is exactly what the title describes it as. This is a small book, but with lots of great content. The editor is giv­ing away one copy to 3 winners of this book –to enter fill out the Raf­fle­copt­ter form at the end of the post. 144 pages Publisher: Quirk Books Language: English ISBN-10: 1594746362 Buy this book in paper or elec­tronic format* More Books by Nick Mamatas Thoughts: How do you review a quotes book? Some quotes are great and useful, some not as much but I cannot review each and every quote. That’s why Quotes Every Man Should Know edited by Nick Mamatas is a challenge to write about. The book is small, pocket size, so one can put it in the pocket, walk around and use it on demand. Or simply keep it in a convenient place (desk drawer, glove compartment, etc.) to be easily accessible. In this day and age, where information can go ten times around the world before being verified, it is nice to have some sort of verified resource for information. Actually it is a hobby of mine to piss off my ultra-conservative and ultra-liberal…

Arti­cle orig­i­nally pub­lished as Book Review: 1776 Year of Illusions by Thomas Fleming on Blogcritics.org About: 1776 Year of Illusions by Thomas Fleming is a non-fiction book about the tremulous year. Mr. Fleming is a historical novelist and historian with special interest in the American Revolution. 525 pages Pub­lisher: Book Sales Lan­guage: English ISBN-10: 0785807241 My rat­ing for 1776 Year of Illusions — 5 Buy this book from Amazon.com* More Books by Thomas Fleming Thoughts: 1776 Year of Illusions by Thomas Fleming (website) does not pull any punches when describing the political crisis in North America and how each side was seeking a resolution. For every person who was committed their whole heart to a revolution, there was another who could not fathom being separated from the English crown. The book mainly focuses on the military campaigns of 1776, however the fascinating political developments in Philadelphia and London are also addressed. The author follows the American rebels from the disastrous attempt to take over Quebec, Canada to the amazing victories at Trenton and Princeton. Mr. Fleming makes it clear that the colonial society was anything but united behind the rebels, but somehow they still managed to wing. Loyalists, those who favored British rule, where everywhere and, according to the…

Arti­cle orig­i­nally pub­lished as Book Review: ‘The Hunt for Hitler’s Warship’ by Patrick Bishop on Blogcritics.org About: The Hunt for Hitler’s Warship by Patrick Bishop is a non-fiction book about the attempts of the allies to sink the German battleship Tirpitz during World War II. This is a great book for World War II buffs, naval historians or those interested in naval technical developments. 416 pages Publisher: Regnery Publishing, Inc., An Eagle Publishing Company ISBN: 1621570037 My rat­ing for The Hunt for Hitler’s Warship— 4 Buy this book from Amazon.com* More Books by Patrick Bishop More Rec­om­mended World War II books on Man of la BookStore Thoughts: The Hunt for Hitler’s Warship by Patrick Bishop (website) is an interesting book about the allies’ obsession with sinking the Tirpitz even though she was mostly inactive during the war. It seemed to me the Tirpitz’s greatest contribution during the war was to divert huge amounts of allied resources. Mr. Bishop’s book is also a fascinating look at the naval history of the North Sea during World War II. This is a dense and detailed book on a subject I knew very little about and found the dynamics and war politics within the British Navy…

July 4th is known as America’s Independence day, we celebrate by going to parades, barbecues and fireworks, however not many people realize the interesting history behind this day.

As an epilogist, Ben Mendelssohn appreciates an unexpected ending. But when that denouement is the untimely demise of his beloved wife, Ben is incapable of coping. Marian was more than his life partner; she was the fiber that held together all that he is. And Ben is willing to do anything, even enter the unknown beyond, if it means a chance to be with her again.

War and Peace by Leo Tol­stoy is a fic­tional book first pub­lished in 1869. The work is regarded as one of the most impor­tant works of world lit­er­a­ture. The copy I read was trans­lated by Louise and Aylmer Maude.

On this day in 1712 Genevan philosopher, composer and writer Jean-Jaques Rousseau (28 June, 1712 – 2 July, 1778) was born. Rousseau’s political philosophy influenced the French Revolution and modern politics.

William Shakespeare’s Star Wars by Ian Doescher if a fun mashup, what would happen if the famed bard would write a well known story. not to mention George Lucas

Jour­nal­ist McKenna Wright is writ­ing a fluff piece when she thinks she saw an old friend who dis­ap­peared ten years ago with­out a trace. Using her con­nec­tions as a for­mer pros­e­cu­tor and her investigator’s instincts, McKenna pur­sues the mat­ter in a search across New York City and finds long buried, dark secrets of those she loves the most.

The book editors at Amazon.com have chosen their top 10 books for the first half of 2013. 1. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson What if you could live again and again, until you got it right? On a cold and snowy night in 1910, Ursula Todd is born to an English banker and his wife. She dies before she can draw her first breath. On that same cold and snowy night, Ursula Todd is born, lets out a lusty wail, and embarks upon a life that will be, to say the least, unusual. For as she grows, she also dies, repeatedly, in a variety of ways, while the young century marches on towards its second cataclysmic world war. Does Ursula’s apparently infinite number of lives give her the power to save the world from its inevitable destiny? And if she can — will she? Darkly comic, startlingly poignant, and utterly original — this is Kate Atkinson at her absolute best. 2. The Son by Philipp Meyer Philipp Meyer, the acclaimed author of American Rust, returns with The Son: an epic of the American West and a multigenerational saga of power, blood, land, and oil that follows the rise of…