It occurred to me that I haven’t mentioned the books I’ve been reading lately. So let’s discuss books.
I’ve read a few.
The End.
Oh — You want to know a few details? (You probably don’t, but humor me. I need the content.)
I finally finished David McCullough’s Path Between the Seas. Seems like I’d been reading it for the longest time — mostly because I had been reading it for forever.
This book was a Christmas gift in 2010, but it finally made it off the shelf and into my hands late in the fall. I read it because it was McCullough, I like the man’s work, more than the subject matter. A book covering the 44-year dig of a giant ditch?
It was much more than that, of course. And in true McCullough fashion he did not disappoint. Folks that don’t like history should find something they find interesting from McCullough’s catalog and give it a try. He makes all of his stories, even this one about a canal, about the people.
On Amazon there are two two-star reviews. One says the book was boring and wordy. This reader was, undoubtedly, not an engineer. That’s OK, this is niche reading. The other two-star review starts like this: “Not enough research done.”
This is a 700-page book (Another reason it took a while to read.) ,so who knows how much he did not put into the final publication. The reviewer then goes on to share his “personal knowledge” of an explorer not mentioned in the book. And by personal knowledge he means he once saw a documentary on a man … The guy then concludes with a personal note to the author, encouraging McCullough to contact him via email for further verification.
It was a thoughtful offer to be sure.
I rushed through Kalee Thompson’s Deadliest Sea: The Untold Story Behind the Greatest Rescue in Coast Guard History in two nights. That’s impressive for me, some people skim a book, but I try to spend a well appreciating the work the authors have put in their craft. (It is a useful exercise. You learn a lot studying how others use the language.)
This was a book I ordered from Amazon over the holidays because I’d noticed it on a bookstore shelf one day and was intrigued by the subject matter. I cheated and moved it to the top of the must read pile just to give it a good go. Thompson’s book is a worthy read because the story is a gripping one. She’s a freelance reporter, so she writes in a breezy, informative style. And she tells a dramatic story without getting in the way of the events unfolding on the page.
If anything, there could perhaps be a little less backstory — it helps your investment to know the backgrounds of some of the people stuck on this fateful fishing boat, but maybe we learn too much in the flashbacks sometimes. What I would have liked is more detail of the sinking and rescue itself. That’s the purpose of the book, and it isn’t lacking, but a little more could be good if you can get more verified information. It may be that the story was thoroughly exhausted, however, so this is more a wish than point of contention.
There are two one-star reviews on Amazon, but they aren’t about the book but rather their order. So, if you like heroism, contemporary events and maybe an adventure of derring do this might be for you.
Who doesn’t like book reviews?
