Book Review: As You Wish by Cary Elwes

About: As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes is a memoir by the versatile actor who portrayed Wesley in the beloved movie. 272 pages Publisher: Touchstone; 1St Edition edition (October 14, 2014) Language: English ISBN-10: 1476764026 My Rat­ing for As You Wish— 5 Buy this book in paper or elec­tor­nic format* Thoughts: As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes is a must read for anyone who loves The Princess Bride. The book starts off with Mr. Elwes telling how he got the part of Wesley, his audition with director Rob Reiner and the rest is history. Mr. Elwes goes on the talk about meeting the cast, the pre-production and of course, preparing for what would become one of the greatest cinematic sword fight every filmed. Actually, the training for the sword fight, with two master swordsman who worked with Hollywood royalty such as Errol Flynn and Burt Lancaster, would become one of the last scenes filmed and make Mr. Elwes and Mandy Patinkin (Inigo Montoya) actual swordsman. One of the things that shines through the pages is how beloved André the Giant…

Book Review: The Insurgents by Fred Kaplan
4 Stars , Latest Posts , Non-Fiction / December 17, 2014

The Insurgents: David Petraeus and the Plot to Change the American Way of War by Fred Kaplan is a thought provoking book which tells a good story and asks some hard hitting questions. The book is divided into three parts: the post-Vietnam era and introduction of counterinsurgency (COIN) warfare line of thinking into the US military, the history of COIN in Afghanistan and Iraq (with input from Washington politicians), and a third part which analyzes what was accomplished and the value of this strategy.

Book Review: Napoleon by Andrew Roberts

The author’s astute understanding of the material has provided the book with a fresh take on a man that so much has been written about. Mr. Robert’s understanding of the times and personalities helped him convey that information in a clear, concise manner which kept this book relatively short (considering Napoleon’s notoriety and achievements).

Book Review: Jane Austen Cover to Cover by Margaret M. Sullivan
5 Stars , Latest Posts , Non-Fiction / November 6, 2014

While I might not be the greatest Jane Austen devotee (a Janeite as I learned), I do appreciate her talent and I do love history and books about books. This book could easily be categorized under “History” in any bookstore, the artwork is varied, chronological and the text explains the pictures in the historical context in which they are presented.

Book Review: The Talmud: A Biography by Harry Freedman
5 Stars , Latest Posts , Non-Fiction / October 30, 2014

t’s amazing to read about the history of the Talmud paralleled that of the Jewish people. During the pogroms and ages which anti-Semitism was a societal and politically accepted, those who seek to destroy the Jews tried also to destroy the Talmud, mainly because they didn’t understand what it was about (ridiculously bringing about the blood-libel scenarios over and over).

Book Review: Escape from Sobibor by Richard Rashke
5 Stars , Latest Posts , Non-Fiction / October 28, 2014

About: Escape from Sobibor by Richard Rashke is a non-fiction book which details the biggest escape from a Nazi concentration camp in Poland during World War II. The book was first published in 1982 and won acclaim world wide. 416 pages Publisher: University of Illinois Press Language: English ISBN-10: 0252064798 My rat­ing for Escape from Sobibor — 5 Buy this book from in paper or elec­tronic format* More Rec­om­mended World War II books on Man of la BookStore Thoughts: Escape from Sobibor by Richard Rashke is an exciting history book, told as a novel. The book is divided into three sections which introduce the people, tell about the escape from a top secret Nazi death camp, and the after war years. Mr. Rashke knows that the strength of any book, non-fiction or otherwise, is the personal stories which make up the big picture, and does a great job introducing us to them. The people which the author chose to focus on were non-military Jews and a Russian officer, some were pulled out of the lines for the gas chambers due to special skills and some just by pure luck. The author engages the reader from the start with personal pre-war stories. This is not…

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