Completed this a couple of nights ago: Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War, by Mark Bowden, a journalist for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Well known now because of the movie (which I saw twice and which inspired me to read the book), Black Hawk Down is very well written, obviously very well researched, and astonishingly tense from beginning to end. A classic, which portrays war not as glamourous or gratuitous but simply as violent and, well, unending. The book raises a lot of questions--about how well-meaning western countries can become embroiled in local squabbles, how communications breakdowns can decimate missions, and how the heck the world should react to civil wars anyway--but doesn't attempt to answer them, a wise decision. Great book. 5 out of 5.
posted by Tom Leslie at 12:32 PM | link

Before coming out to Calgary I wrapped up reading Bee Season by Myla Goldberg, which I picked up in the bookstore in Jackson. I really liked it, although I thought the family portrayed was more than normally disfunctional. The book had a whistful humour, well in keeping with the subject matter, and a great ending. 4 out of 5.
posted by Tom Leslie at 2:11 PM | link