Book Review: “Disarming Hitlers V Weapons: Bomb Disposal, the V1 and V2 rockets”

(See all my Book Reviews and author Interviews) – Author Chris Ransted published the book “Disarming Hitlers V Weapons: Bomb Disposal, the V1 and V2 rockets” in 2013. This appears to be the first publication by Mr. Ransted.

I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this book as ‘PG’ because it contains scenes of Violence. The book looks at the challenge of dealing with Hitler’s “vengeance” weapons, the V-1s and V-2s. These were primarily targeted at the UK. Some also landed in areas of Europe freed by Allied forces.

The book addresses how Bomb Disposal teams rendered the V-weapons safe. They also attempted to uncover the technical secrets contained in these new weapons.

I enjoyed the 6.5 hours I spent reading this 256-page history. I was surprised at how many of these weapons failed to explode. The book also gives quite a bit of detail on how the Bomb Disposal teams dealt with the weapons. I like the chosen cover art. I give this book a 4 out of 5.

Further Reading/Listening on German ‘Terror’ weapons

1. Hitler’s Plan To Destroy NYC

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

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If you are interested in the WWII era of history, you may find these three pages of interest. 

• The “World War II Sources” page is a constantly growing collection of more than 460 links to museums, memorials, websites, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and other sources with information on the World War II-era in history.
• The “World War II Timeline” page expands almost daily and shows events leading up to WWII, as well as during the war. Events are broken down into the Pacific and European Theaters by date.
• The About WWII page is a collection of links to posts that I have made over the years that are relevant to WWII.

Book Review: “The Nugget”

(See all my Book Reviews and author Interviews) – Author P. T. Deutermann (https://www.ptdeutermann.com/) published the novel “The Nugget” in 2019. Mr. Deutermann has published more than 20 novels.

I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence and Mature Language. The story is set in the South Pacific during WWII. The primary character is US Navy pilot Lieutenant Bobby Steele.

Steele has recently earned his wings as a Navy dive bomber pilot. His assignment is to an American Aircraft Carrier. While flying over Guadalcanal, he is shot down. He spends a brief time in the thick of things with US Marines on the ground.

He no sooner gets back to a carrier when it is sunk by the Japanese. He finds himself adrift but a US ship picks him up. After further naval action, he ends up on a Philippine island. He finishes his war there at first avoiding the Japanese. Eventually, he stops being hunted and leads others against the invaders.

I enjoyed the 8.5+ hours I spent reading this 315-page WWII action-adventure novel. The range of experiences the hero goes through stretch believability. Still, I liked both the plot and the character of Bobby Steele. The author works many historical events into his plot. This is the third book (The other two were The Commodore and Red Swan) of Mr. Deutermann’s I have read and I think he is consistently an enjoyable author. I like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a 4.5 (Rounded up to a 5) out of 5.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

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If you are interested in the WWII era of history, you may find these three pages of interest. 

• The “World War II Sources” page is a constantly growing collection of more than 450 links to museums, memorials, websites, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and other sources with information on the World War II-era in history.
• The “World War II Timeline” page expands almost daily and shows events leading up to WWII, as well as during the war. Events are broken down into the Pacific and European Theaters by date.
• The About WWII page is a collection of links to posts that I have made over the years that are relevant to WWII.

Book Review: “The Second World War Through Soldiers’ Eyes: British Army Life, 1939–1945”

(See all my Book Reviews and author Interviews) – Author James Goulty published the book “The Second World War Through Soldiers’ Eyes: British Army Life, 1939–1945′ Eyes ” in 2016. Mr. Goulty has published three books.

I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this book as ‘PG’. The book examines life in the British military during the years of WWII. This includes women serving in the nursing corps and the ATS.

The major questions answered: How were they trained? How were they transported to their theater of operation? How did they spend leisure time? What was their entertainment? What was medical care like? How was it to be a POW?

I enjoyed the 6.5+ hours I spent reading this 208-page history. There were many details but the book was easy to read. I do like the selected cover art. The focus was not on combat, but the life behind the battle lines. I give this book a 4 out of 5.

Further Information about WWII in Europe

1. Fighting Through to Hitler’s Germany
2. Fighting the People’s War: The British and Commonwealth Armies and the Second World War
3. The History of WWII Podcast – episodes 31-36

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

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If you are interested in the WWII era of history, you may find these three pages of interest. 

• The “World War II Sources” page is a constantly growing collection of more than 450 links to museums, memorials, websites, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and other sources with information on the World War II-era in history.
• The “World War II Timeline” page expands almost daily and shows events leading up to WWII, as well as during the war. Events are broken down into the Pacific and European Theaters by date.
• The About WWII page is a collection of links to posts that I have made over the years that are relevant to WWII.

Book Review: “Fall Rotten”

(See all my Book Reviews and author Interviews) – Author Eric Serrell (https://ericserrell.com/) published the novel “Fall Rotten” in 2019. Mr. Serrell has published two novels.

I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as ‘PG’. The story is set in France in the months just before and after Germany invades in 1940.

An international group of thieves comes together to pull off a big caper. Their target is a very wealthy Frenchman who turns out to be pro-Nazi. They go through one challenge after another to get away with their loot.

Complicating things is the approaching end to the Phoney War. The Gestapo appears to have taken a keen interest in some of the gang. So too has a French policeman. He knows many of the gang members and seems to have an interest in them. Can they find their loot, escape detection, and make it out of Europe ahead of the invading Germans?

I enjoyed the 10+ hours I spent reading this 428-page WWII era mystery. The story was a little slow at times, but overall I liked it. I am not a fan of the selected cover art. I give this novel a 3.8 (Rounded up to a 4) out of 5.

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

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If you are interested in the WWII era of history, you may find these three pages of interest. 

• The “World War II Sources” page is a constantly growing collection of more than 450 links to museums, memorials, websites, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and other sources with information on the World War II-era in history.
• The “World War II Timeline” page expands almost daily and shows events leading up to WWII, as well as during the war. Events are broken down into the Pacific and European Theaters by date.
• The About WWII page is a collection of links to posts that I have made over the years that are relevant to WWII.

Time-Lapse Video – Battle of Midway

While this video was uploaded to YouTube almost a year ago (October 2019) I just recently came across it.

The Battle of Midway took place 4th-7th June 1942. I have read much about the Battle of Midway, but I enjoyed seeing it displayed visually. The video was produced and uploaded by The Operations Room. I have enjoyed and mentioned a few of their other videos before. I think they do a very good job of making history come to life.

 

Read/Listen to More about WWII Naval Action in the Pacific

• WW2 Podcast– Episodes #12, #20

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If you are interested in the WWII era of history, you may find these three pages of interest. 

• The “World War II Sources” page is a constantly growing collection of more than 450 links to museums, memorials, websites, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and other sources with information on the World War II-era in history.
• The “World War II Timeline” page expands almost daily and shows events leading up to WWII, as well as during the war. Events are broken down into the Pacific and European Theaters by date.
• The About WWII page is a collection of links to posts that I have made over the years that are relevant to WWII.

Book Review: “Churchill’s Flawed Decisions: Errors in Office of The Greatest Briton”

(See all my Book Reviews and author Interviews) – Author Stephen Wynn (http://www.stephenwynn.co.uk) published the book “Churchill’s Flawed Decisions: Errors in Office of The Greatest Briton” in 2020. Mr. Wynn has published more than 40 books.

I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this book as ‘G’. The book looks at several of Winston Churchill’s more controversial decisions

While the scope of time begins before WWII and ends afterward, much of the book focuses on the war years.

I enjoyed the 4.5 hours I spent reading this 173-page history. I found little new material in the book, but it did give a comprehensive overview of Churchill’s questionable decisions. This is the fourth book (the others are: City of London at War 1939–45, The Lancastria Tragedy: Sinking and Cover-up, and VCs of the Second World War: Ten Stories of Bravery and Courage) by Mr. Wynn that I have read. I have enjoyed all of them. I do like the cover art. I give this novel a 3.5 (rounded up to a 4) out of 5.

Further reading/Listening on Churchill

• The History of WWII Podcast – Episodes 81-98, 102-107, 119

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

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If you are interested in the WWII era of history, you may find these three pages of interest. 

• The “World War II Sources” page is a constantly growing collection of more than 450 links to museums, memorials, websites, Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and other sources with information on the World War II-era in history.
• The “World War II Timeline” page expands almost daily and shows events leading up to WWII, as well as during the war. Events are broken down into the Pacific and European Theaters by date.
• The About WWII page is a collection of links to posts that I have made over the years that are relevant to WWII.

Theme Music from Murdoch Mysteries

(See my other Music related posts) – My wife and I came across the “Murdoch Mysteries” a couple of months ago on Hulu. This is a Canadian TV series that first appeared in 2008 and is now in production for its 14th season. I recently came across this YouTube post from January of 2019 with the theme music.

The series is based upon the characters in the Murdoch Mystery novels by Maureen Jennings. There are only eight novels in the series, but by now more than 200 episodes of the TV program have been produced. The series focuses on Detective William Murdoch of the Toronto, Canada. It is set starting in 1895 thru the early 20th century. Murdoch is a scientist and inventor in addition to being a detective. He uses many many gadgets and scientific methods, at the cutting edge of his time, to solve his cases.

We have found the series most enjoyable not only from the good mysteries but also from the entertaining way they introduce various well-known figures from that time. About halfway through the series (we are currently watching season 12), we switched from Hulu to Acorn. Acorn lets us watch the program without any advertising interruptions.

If you like mysteries, especially period works, you may find Murdoch Mysteries enjoyable.

If you like the music, you may want to take a look at Murdoch Mysteries: Original Soundtrack Vol. 1 & Murdoch Mysteries: Original Soundtrack Vol. 2. Those are both on YouTube. They all make for some easy listening instrumentals.

USA, Nevada, Las Vegas – The Cupcakery

(See my other Dessert related posts) – A while back when we were in Nevada my brother-in-law suggested we try The Cupcakery. It is located at 9680 South Eastern Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89123.  That is just behind Hot’n Juicy Crawfish.

It is also located very near two other very good bakeries – Le Paris Brest Cafe and Gama Mexican Bakery & Cakes. As the name implies, this bakery specializes in cupcakes of all kinds.

 

 

Their selection was not as good as we would have liked, but we were there in the afternoon. It is best to order in advance to get what you want.

We were able to pick out a few that were very good. I can’t remember what the flavors were now but we liked them all. Cupcake flavors vary from month to month. Check their online order form to see what is currently available. At the time I write this there are 27 different cupcakes available for order at $3.60 each.

The Cupcakery opened in January of 2006 and sold more than 275,000 cupcakes during their first year in business. If you like cupcakes, check this place out if you are in the Las Vegas area.

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See my other Food & Location posts

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Book Review: “The Augmented Man”

(See all my Book Reviews and author Interviews) – Author Joseph Carrabis (https://josephcarrabis.com/) published the novel “The Augmented Man” in 2019. Mr. Carrabis has published more than a dozen novels.

I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this novel as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of Violence and Mature Language. The story is set in the near-contemporary US.

The Augmented Men were created by the US to take brutal warfare to the enemy. All but one have, by the time of the story, died. The last one, Nick Trailer, surrenders himself to Captain James Donaldson. Donaldson is one of the men who created the Augmented men.

The two are left alone for days to talk about what has happened and how Trailer can if possible move forward with his life.

I had to call a Rule of 50 after 5+ hours reading this 313-page science fiction novel and abandon it. I had read 46% of it by then but I felt it was so dull and seemed to be going nowhere. I kept going on hoping that the story would develop, but, with disappointment, I just had to give it up. The author did a good job of writing, but I could not get interested in the plot. I do not like the cover art. It has as dark a feel to it as the story does. I give this novel a 2 out of 5.

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

USA, Nevada, Henderson – Kneaders Bakery & Cafe

(See my other Dessert related posts) – One of the places we visited the last time in Nevada was a Kneaders Bakery & Cafe location. The one we tried is located at 11271 Eastern Avenue, Henderson, NV 89052. This is a chain with 47 locations at the time I write this spread across the states of Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Texas, and Utah. 

Kneaders began in Orem, Utah in 1997. From baking bread, their menu expanded. Now it includes sandwiches, soups, salads, and pastries.

They serve breakfast items including their signature Chunky Cinamon French Toast.

 

 

 

 

 

Of course, we were only looking at the pastries the day we visited. I know we tried the Cinamon Rolls and cookies. These were good. Kneaders does have a wide variety and it is a large cafe. The one we visited was busy.

On the whole, we enjoyed Kneaders. It is a chain though and the items we found at small independent bakeries like Gama Mexican Bakery, Le Paris Brest Cafe, and Chef Flemmings were better. That said, I would certainly visit a Kneaders again.

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See my other Food & Location posts

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