Labyrinth of Ice

Labyrinth of Ice: The Triumphant and Tragic Greely Polar Expedition- Buddy Levy
St. Martin's Press/MacMillan
Release Date: December 3, 2019

Rating:
📚📚📚📚📚


Synopsis: In July 1881, Lt. A.W. Greely and his crew of 24 scientists and explorers were bound for the last region unmarked on global maps. Their goal: Farthest North. What would follow was one of the most extraordinary and terrible voyages ever made. 

Greely and his men confronted every possible challenge—vicious wolves, sub-zero temperatures, and months of total darkness—as they set about exploring one of the most remote, unrelenting environments on the planet. In May 1882, they broke the 300-year-old record, and returned to camp to eagerly await the resupply ship scheduled to return at the end of the year. Only nothing came. 

250 miles south, a wall of ice prevented any rescue from reaching them. Provisions thinned and a second winter descended. Back home, Greely’s wife worked tirelessly against government resistance to rally a rescue mission.

Months passed, and Greely made a drastic choice: he and his men loaded the remaining provisions and tools onto their five small boats, and pushed off into the treacherous waters. After just two weeks, dangerous floes surrounded them. Now new dangers awaited: insanity, threats of mutiny, and cannibalism. As food dwindled and the men weakened, Greely's expedition clung desperately to life.

Labyrinth of Ice tells the true story of the heroic lives and deaths of these voyagers hell-bent on fame and fortune—at any cost—and how their journey changed the world.

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In July 1881 Lt. Adolphus Greely and 24 men set off on the adventure of a lifetime: to explore the Arctic, collect two years worth of scientific recordings on the climate, and, if possible, break the English record for Farthest North that had lasted for 300 years.  None of the men had Arctic experience but Greely had read everything he possibly could on all previous expeditions.  They built a base, learned how to last through sunless winters, experienced -30 to -50 degree temperatures, and explored.  New areas were mapped, a new Farthest North and Farthest West were reached and they gathered incredibly detailed scientific observations and records for others to examine.  For two years they lived successfully in their Arctic fort, but scheduled annual resupply ships never came.  So they began to travel 250 miles south to meet the ship that was supposed to pick them up.   And then the real challenges began. . . 

For anyone (like me) who has never read a book on Arctic exploration, Labyrinth of Ice will be a real eye-opener.  The weather alone would be enough that most people would never even consider such a trip, yet here was a group of Army men, none with any experience in these kinds of conditions, who were so excited to participate that several of them literally begged to be allowed to join the expedition.  There was no giant monetary reward in it for them- they wanted to be known for doing something few had done and to possibly set new records.  None of them were scientists but they were meticulous in their records and got observations on time everyday despite occasionally gale-force winds and white-out blizzards.  The tons of supplies they packed, the planning that had to be done in advance, the hiking that had to be done, all seem unimaginable in today's world.  And those were considered the good conditions!  When things went bad (and don't they always in Arctic exploration?) unimaginable doesn't even begin to cover it.

Labyrinth of Ice is meticulously researched and Levy uses the words of the explorers themselves whenever possible to fully bring the journey to life. Detailed and wonderfully written, the reader is pulled straight into the men's experiences: the beauty of the aurora borealis, the difficulty of hiking in blizzards, the dangers of the watery voyage south, and finally the misery and terror of the final eight months in Camp Clay waiting for rescue or death. The creativity in what could be eaten and the strength and bravery of the men will astound you. Whether you are a newcomer or loyal follower of all things Arctic exploration, Labyrinth of Ice will thrill you from first to last.  A must-read!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

All Fired Up

All Fired Up (Road to Love 3)- Lori Foster
HQN Books
Release Date: November 19, 2019

Rating:
📚📚📚

Synopsis: Charlotte Parrish has always wanted a certain kind of man: someone responsible, settled, boring. Bad boys need not apply. But when her car leaves her stranded and a mysterious stranger with brooding eyes and a protective streak comes to her rescue, she can’t deny how drawn she is to him. In town searching for family he’s never met, Mitch is everything she never thought she wanted—and suddenly everything she craves. 

Finding his half brothers after all these years is more than Mitch Crews has allowed himself to wish for. Finding love never even crossed his mind…until he meets Charlotte. She’s sweet, warmhearted, sexier than she knows—and too damn good for an ex-con like him. But when his past comes back to haunt him, putting Charlotte—and the family he’s come to care for—in danger, Mitch isn’t playing by the rules. He’s already surrendered his heart, but now he’ll risk his life.

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Book 3 in Lori Foster's Road to Love series (Driven to Distraction, Slow Ride) introduces readers to Mitch Crews, the illegitimate half-brother of Brodie and Jake.  Mitch has had a rough life, full of neglect and abuse, but has tried to do the right thing throughout.  Being a driver once on a deal he thought would protect his addict mother landed him in jail for five years- which honed his self-preservation instincts and left him tough but not cruel.  Once out of jail he wants to meet his unknown half-siblings and see if starting a new life might include new people.  But he's unprepared for the warm welcome he gets from not only his brothers, but their mother, and their best friend Charlotte as well.  He's also unprepared for the instant chemistry he has with Charlotte.

You can always count of Lori Foster to include some adorable animals in her books, but this is the first book I can think of where Mitch's rescue dog, a pit bull mix named Brute, is such a perfect reflection of his person.  Both have been abused and neglected since childhood, neither trusts easily or has any idea what to do with unthreatening, non-judgmental acceptance.  Both might want love, but don't know how to handle family. And both are willing to take a bite out of anyone who threatens the family they do claim.  Mitch might have hoped for a chance to build a relationship with Brodie and Jack, but he never expected the acceptance he gets and has no idea what to do with it.  It is both sweet and heartbreaking to see Mitch (and Brute) awkwardly try to work out how to interact with their new family when their expectations were so different.  Fortunately, the Crews family is pushy enough not to let Mitch back away once they have him and they teach him just what family is supposed to mean.  Mitch's relationship to Charlotte is similar: he's sure he's no where near good enough for her and as much as he wants her he backs away for her sake- and Charlotte isn't willing to let him back off too far.

Above everything, All Fired Up is a book about family.  What it can be, what it should be, and how the really good ones are with you through the bad times as well as the good ones.  When a drug dealer from Mitch's past threatens him, the entire Crews family steps up and surrounds him, both with love and with support of whatever violence might be necessary to end the threat.  Mitch's new family might be a little kooky and a lot pushy, but he's on the road to learning that true family, like true love, is always willing to help you bury the bodies when needed.

Book 3 in a series, All Fired Up doesn't necessarily need to be read in order but could be a stand alone for new readers.  The writing isn't as tight as some of Foster's books and drags in a few spots thanks to some repetition, but overall it's full of wonderful chemistry between Mitch and Charlotte, entertaining interactions among the family, and insanely adorable dogs.  Grab your furry friend to read alongside you and enjoy! 

I received an ARC of this book from BetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Ship of Dreams

The Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era- Gareth Russell
Atria Books
Release Date: November 19, 2019

Rating:
📚📚📚📚

Synopsis: In April 1912, six notable people were among those privileged to experience the height of luxury—first class passage on “the ship of dreams,” the RMs Titanic: Lucy Leslie, Countess of Rothes; son of the British Empire, Tommy Andrews; American captain of industry John Thayer and his son Jack; Jewish-American immigrant Ida Straus; and American model and movie star Dorothy Gibson. Within a week of setting sail, they were all caught up in the horrifying disaster of the Titanic’s sinking, one of the biggest news stories of the century. Today, we can see their stories and the Titanic’s voyage as the beginning of the end of the established hierarchy of the Edwardian era.

Writing in his elegant signature prose and using previously unpublished sources, deck plans, journal entries, and surviving artifacts, Gareth Russell peers through the portholes of these first-class travelers to immerse us in a time of unprecedented change in British and American history. Through their intertwining lives, he examines social, technological, political, and economic forces such as the nuances of the British class system, the explosion of competition in the shipping trade, the birth of the movie industry, the Irish Home Rule Crisis, and the Jewish-American immigrant experience while also recounting their intimate stories of bravery, tragedy, and selflessness.

Masterful in its superb grasp of the forces of history, gripping in its moment-by-moment account of the sinking, revelatory in discounting long-held myths, and lavishly illustrated with color and black and white photographs, this absorbing, accessible, and authoritative account of the Titanic’s life and death is destined to become the definitive book on the subject.

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Just when you think a subject has been studied to pieces, that nothing new can be written about it, along comes a book like Gareth Russell's The Ship of Dreams.  Thanks to intense research, Russell brings readers into the lives of first class passengers Lucy Leslie, Countess of Rothes; Thomas Andrews; Ida and Isidor Straus and others: the American millionaire businessmen, British aristocrats, and glamorous movie stars who were among those who sailed on Titanic's maiden voyage.  Readers are swept into the day-to-day life on Titanic through Russell's meticulous attention to detail, his brilliant writing style making you feel as if you are on the deck with the passengers.  This holds true both before, during, and after Titanic hits the fatal iceberg- making for some chilling scenes.

 The opulent furnishings and gilded luxuries of the first class cabins strike many of us today as symbols of an ending era. Russell takes this further, connecting Titanic and her passengers to the changes of society that would come with the end of the Edwardian era and the beginning of World War I.  Russell follows specific people to help connect readers to aspects of the larger world of which Titanic is a microcosm: the British aristocracy, the slowly changing class system and the Irish Home Rule Crisis; the early days of the movie industry and the economic competitions that contributed to the making of American millionaires as well as the Titanic and her sisters; the immigrant experience of Jewish-Americans, the connecting of the world through technology like wireless communication, and more.  Occasionally these shifts from individual stories to the world at large were a little clumsy and hard to follow, but I largely found them both relevant and interesting.  

Russell examines many of the long-held myths of Titanic: that steerage passengers were locked below and unable to get to the lifeboats; that fires in the engine room or substandard metal contributed to the sinking; that the sinking was itself an insurance conspiracy by the White Star Line, and more,  He carefully and without prejudice examines each myth in its turn: why they may have arisen and how accurate (or more often, inaccurate) evidence suggests they were.  What do we know about Titanic from physical evidence versus survivors' memories and how accurate could those memories be?  What images are seared into our collective minds from movies and yet are not wholly rooted in fact?  The Ship of Dreams explores the Titanic as both a symbol of an era and a clash of man and nature.  While its focus is more limited than other books that try to explore the entire experience of the ship from staff to steerage, it certainly deserves to take a place among the greatest and most defining book on the iconic ship and her place in history.      

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

36 Righteous Men

36 Righteous Men- Steven Pressfield
W. W. Norton & Co.
Release Date: November 5, 2019

Rating:
📚📚

Warning: Possible Spoilers Ahead!

Synopsis: When James Manning and Covina “Dewey” Duwai are called in to investigate a string of murders, their investigations take them from the headquarters of the Russian mafia in Brighton Beach to a sweltering maze of shops in Little Hong Kong, with scant leads on the killer. But when Manning and Dewey apprehend a woman—a disgraced but brilliant rabbinical scholar—fleeing one of the crime scenes, they’re brought face-to-face with the shocking truth: the Jewish legend of the hidden Righteous Men, the 36 who protect the world from destruction, is no legend at all. They are real, and they are being murdered.

As the bodies pile up and the world tilts further into chaos, Manning and Dewey must protect the last of the Righteous Men from a ruthless killer able to beguile his victims and command them against their will. Plunged into a deadly game of cat and mouse, the detectives find their arsenal of bullets and blades of little use against a foe who knows their every move.

Joining forces with the rabbinical scholar and a renowned anthropologist, Manning and Dewey set off on a perilous quest from New York to Gehenna in Israel to confront a murderer who won’t stop until he’s killed every one.

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It's the year 2034.  Sea levels have risen and environmental refugees crowd the still dry portions of the world.  Massive superstorms, cyclones, sandstorms, and rises in temperature mean that 120 F in April in New York City is the new norm. Detectives James Manning and Covina "Dewey" Duwai are part of a special investigation division of the NYPD working a series of murders that could be connected to ecological terrorism, Russian mafia, or something else entirely.  Rebuffed by their NYPD colleagues, Manning and Dewey join forces with a renowned anthropologist/ecologist and his sister, a disgraced rabbinical scholar who just happens to have been present at each murder scene, to try and stop a serial killer who is determined to finish his mission and end the world.

Most everyone knows the basics of the Noah's Ark story: God decides humans are wicked and plans to wipe them all out and start over with those saved on Noah's ark.  Most everyone probably does not know the story of the 36 Righteous Men.  In Jewish legend, the 36 Righteous Men are God's promise to prevent another apocalypse.  As long as there are 36 righteous men alive, humanity is safe.  If those 36 should die, all bets are off.  Detectives Manning and Dewey are led to clues that suggest the serial murders they are investigating could be the work of someone killing the 36 in order to hurry along armageddon.  

Is 36 Righteous Men a moral story warning that humans have choices in life that lead to unseen, and perhaps catastrophic, consequences?  Is it a suspense/thriller of a police procedural and the hunt for a serial killer?  Is it a thinly veiled screenplay waiting to be turned into a movie with lots of special effects and no character development? The answer to me seems to be: yes to all of the above.  Pressfield makes it clear that humans are doing their best to bring in armageddon without any help and the further into the book you go the less delineation there is between natural disasters and possible divine intervention. Not only do you think by the end that it's probably the same thing, you also know that it doesn't matter.  The police procedural part was thin and mostly focused on Manning being the grizzled veteran following the facts while others run around chasing Russian mafia for no obvious reason.  Dewey, as the narrator, is the young green detective trying to learn from a legend.  Men is best when it focuses on the legend of the 36 and explaining it and surrounding Jewish beliefs to the two gentile detectives- something it manages to do in a natural, non-preachy way.   

Fans of Steven Pressfield's traditional historical fiction (Gates of Fire, Tides of War, Last of the Amazons) will be surprised by Pressfield's latest work.  Instead of historical fiction, Pressfield enters a sci-fi futuristic version of the world as it could be in 2034.  Instead of a 'traditional' style of writing, Pressfield experiments with a first-person narrative told through memos and one of the characters points of view in an odd combination of prose and screenplay-style dialogue.  The writing style was distracting to me and greatly hampered any character development, though it did finally work for the ending.  Or maybe by then I was used to it?  The climactic scenes at the end managed to be fast-paced and clunky at the same time.  The very ending, without giving everything away, managed to be both shocking, stunning, and simultaneously probably exactly what I should have seen coming.  

36 Righteous Men gets a bonus star for Pressfield's unique world building of the almost-apocalyptic world of the near future, but loses a lot of points for me for the ending.  I hate books(or movies) where I get to the last page and am left wondering: then what was the point? 

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review