(See my other trailer-related posts) – A new series is scheduled to begin on Apple TV+ 22 October 2021. The name of the series is Invasion and it is a science fiction story about Earth being invaded. The story is told through the experiences of different people all around the world. The official synopsis per Apple TV+ is: Earth is visited by an alien species that threatens humanity’s existence. Events unfold in real time through the eyes of five ordinary people across the globe as they struggle to make sense of the chaos unraveling around them.
The trailer looks intriguing. I have been a science fiction fan since I was in Middle School. I look forward to watching the series when it begins in October. This first season includes 10 episodes.
(See my other coffee related posts) – All of us coffee drinkers have ended up with containers of beans or ground coffee sitting on a shelf. It is not that we don’t use our coffee, we just are tempted by so many new flavors and blends.
That leaves us with the question of how long coffee will last before it goes bad. The article Does Coffee Go Bad? can answer that question whether you have beans or ground coffee to store. The short answer is a week for ground coffee and up to three months for beans if stored properly.
(See all my Book Reviews and Author Interviews) – Author and Historian Bill Yenne https://www.billyenne.com published the book “MacArthur’s Air Force: American Airpower over the Pacific and the Far East, 1941–51” in 2019. Mr. Yenne has published more than three dozen books, including both fiction and non-fiction.
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 begins with a brief history of Douglas MacArthur. The book chronicles the actions of the US Army Air Force that were under his control. He had Air Force units under his command from the beginning of WWII through the occupation of Japan and the Korean War. Most of the book focuses on the 5th Air Force and its efforts against the Japanese.
I enjoyed the 11 hours I spent reading this 445-page WWII history. This is the second book by Yenne that I have read. About a year ago I read his Aces: True Stories of Victory and Valor in the Skies of World War II. It was another enjoyable book. This book gives a bit of a different look at the Pacific war. It is full of details but a very readable history. It shows a more positive side of MacArthur than most of the books I have read. I like the chosen cover art. I rate this book as a 4.3 (rounded down to a 4) out of 5.
If you have an interest in the WWII era of history, you may find these three pages of interest.
The “World War II Resources” page is a constantly growing collection of more than 560 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.
I first purchased and read this book back in 2004. The TV series premiers soon on Amazon Prime. We wanted to refresh our memories of the long Wheel of Time saga. We chose to listen to the audiobook this time while we were driving. I categorize this book as ‘R’ because it contains scenes of violence.
There are two primary characters in this book. One is Aes Sedai Moiraine Damodred. The other is soldier Lan Mandragoran. When the story opens, Moiraine is only an Accepted. The Aes Sedai are women who are able to tap into the One Power. Depending on their training and inherent skill they can wield quite powerful magic. Mandragoran should have been a king. The lands he would have inherited fell many years earlier to the Trollocs. They are part of the forces of the Dark One. Moiraine and Mandragoran race against the Servants of the Dark One to find the Dragon Reborn.
After three days of battle raged outside the city of Tar Valon the opposing forces disengage. One of the Aes Sedai in Tar Valon has a vision of the future. She blurts out the vision and then passes. Present when the sister utters her foretelling is the young Moiraine. Soon after she is raised to be a full Aes Sedai.
Moiraine sets out to find the subject of the vision. The Dragon Reborn. While on her quest she meets Lan Mandragoran. He had fought in the battle outside of Tar Valon. Together they meet several challenges and their futures are drawn together. They learn that the Black Aja, Dark Friends within the Aes Sedai are real.
I thoroughly enjoyed the 13 hours I spent listening to this 417-page fantasy. Reading this book first is not essential. It does help set the groundwork for the remainder of the series so I would recommend it. I like the chosen cover art. I rate this book as a 5 out of 5.
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 is a compilation of memories from several people who lived through WWII. Primary among them are the author and his father.
I spent an hour browsing through this 193-page WWII history. The book is very short. The first 25% was not bad as it did focus on the war. After that the stories seemed to drift all over the place though from the war period. It was not an easy book to read. I like the cover art though it is not really tied to the content of the book. I rate this book as a 2 out of 5.
If you have an interest in the WWII era of history, you may find these three pages of interest.
The “World War II Resources” page is a constantly growing collection of more than 560 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.
(See my other Podcast related posts) – I have been an avid podcast listener for many years. Recently I have been on the outlook for those relevant to WWII. One of the podcasts I recently subscribed to is For You the War is Over. The series is available from Apple Podcasts.
This podcast touts itself as A PODCAST ABOUT ALL THINGS WW2 POW ESCAPES PRESENTED BY A HISTORY NERD AND A TECH GEEK. The series recently completed its second season. There are now 19 episodes available. Each episode looks at a different POW camp escape during WWII. I have listened to the first 11 episodes so far. The episodes are well done. The hosts are self-proclaimed History Nerd Dave McRobbo and Tech Geek Dave Harrysson. Most have been about men and escape attempts that I had never heard of.
If you like to listen to podcasts and you are interested in WWII this would make a good addition to your subscriptions.
If you have an interest in the WWII era of history, you may find these three pages of interest.
The “World War II Resources” page is a constantly growing collection of more than 560 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.
(See all my Book Reviews and Author Interviews) – Author John R Bruning https://theamericanwarrior.com/ published the book “Race of Aces: WWII’s Elite Airmen and the Epic Battle to Become the Master of the Sky” in 2020. He is the author or co-author of twenty-two non-fiction books. Four have been New York Times bestsellers.
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 ‘R’ because it contains scenes of violence.
This book examines the race between the pilots of the 5th Air Force. Their goal was the title of the leading Pacific Ace during WWII. WWI US Ace Eddie Rickenbacker had toured the Pacific Theater in 1942. With morale low, he made a challenge to the fighter pilots. The first to break his record from WWI would earn a bottle of bourbon. His record of 26 enemy aircraft shot down was their target.
Commander of the 5th Air Force, General George Kenney, promoted this “race of aces”. There were many Aces. The leaders were Richard Bong, Tommy McGuire, Neel Kearby, Charles MacDonald, and Gerald Johnson. Over the next three years, the press kept the US apprised of their progress. Their scoreboard showing progress towards 26 appeared often.
The pilots often had to live in less than ideal conditions. They not only fought the Japanese, but also the weather and disease. Few survived till the end of the war.
I enjoyed the 12+ hours I spent reading this 545-page WWII history. The book is full of facts, but very well written. The result is a very readable account of the race to be the top Ace. I like the selected cover art. I rate this book as a 4.4 (rounded down to a 4) out of 5.
If you have an interest in the WWII era of history, you may find these three pages of interest.
The “World War II Resources” page is a constantly growing collection of more than 560 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.
(See my other trailer posts) – I have been a fantasy fan for many years. As many have, I read and enjoyed J. R. R Tolkien’s Hobbit books.
One of the other fantasy authors I have enjoyed is Robert Jordan. Jordan is a pen name for James Oliver Rigney Jr. While he wrote other works, he is best known for his Wheel of Time series. The series comprises 14 novels, plus a prequel.
Jordan completed the first 11 books. Fantasy and science fiction author Brandon Sanderson wrote the remainder. Jordan discovered that he was terminally ill in 2006. Jordan and his wife arranged for Sanderson to complete the series to their outline. Sanderson did a wonderful job completing the series. He is another author I have read and enjoyed.
I finished the series a few years ago and really enjoyed it. I was pleased when I heard that a TV series was being developed around the novels. The first episode is scheduled to appear on Amazon Prime on Friday, 19 November 2021.
(See all my Book Reviews and Author Interviews) – Author Timothy Donald Pilmaier published the novel “The Flight of U-463” in 2019. This is his first publication.
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 violence, mature language, and mature situations. The primary character is Peter Teufel.
Teufel is just finishing an engineering degree in Stuttgart when the story begins. He is the son of a US diplomat and has lived in both Japan and Germany. Teufel was in each long enough to be very familiar with the languages and customs. Against the wishes of his parents, he remains in Germany to finish his degree when they return home to the US.
Teufel graduates in December of 1939 and decides to spend some time touring Europe. He cannot imagine being in any danger from Germany. Teufel is fluent in French and finds a job in a French vineyard. When the Germans invade, they believe he is a native.
He is conscripted with other Frenchmen to work in Germany. After helping to build U-boats, he is drafted into the Kriegsmarine. He ends up serving aboard the vessel he has recently helped build. His language skills lead to his assignment to a U-boat heading to the Pacific. With this, his true adventure really begins. In all this, Teufel even has time for a little romance.
I enjoyed the 6.5+ hours I spent reading this 299-page WWII thriller. The 20-year-old Teufel character meets important people. He also has one far-fetched adventure after another. I thought that the novel was a fun read! The cover art is a bit dull but reasonable for the story. I rate this novel as a 4.4 (rounded down to a 4) out of 5.
If you have an interest in the WWII era of history, you may find these three pages of interest.
The “World War II Resources” page is a constantly growing collection of more than 560 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.
The Texas Military Forces Museum Foundation hosts a talk this coming Saturday evening. Foundation Board member John Eli will speak on his experiences in US Army Delta Company of the 27th Infantry Regiment. This is a great opportunity to learn a little about our military history and to support the Museum.
The talk will be held at the Museum from 5:30 – 8:00pm on Saturday 18 September. It is free for Foundation members and only $5 for non-members. To join the Foundation go to https://www.tmfhf.org. Directions for visiting the museum can be found here.
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John's Notes 