Category Archives: Book review

Book review: Ernest Hemingway

Posted on June 29, 2019 by secondbysecond

Ernest Hemingway: A Biography — by Mary V. Dearborn Only after visiting ‘Hemingway House’—Ernest Hemingway’s former home, now a museum, in Key West, Florida—did I become a keen fan of Ernest Hemingway, the writer. For me, the appeal came partly … Continue reading →

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Book review: Sleeping Beauties

Posted on January 31, 2019 by secondbysecond

Sleeping Beauties — by Stephen King and Owen King The first novel by Stephen King that I chanced upon and read some years ago was Salem’s Lot—a book about vampires. It was written well before vampires came back into fashion … Continue reading →

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Book review: Mrs. Hemingway

Posted on October 21, 2018 by secondbysecond

Mrs. Hemingway — by Naomi Wood Ernest Hemingway maintained that the mark of a good writer was the ability to focus on key details, those unique, perhaps evocative, observations that would stand out and render each scene more memorable. (For … Continue reading →

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Book review: Camino Island by John Grisham

Posted on July 28, 2018 by secondbysecond

My list of all-time favorites by thriller writer John Grisham includes The Pelican Brief, The Firm, and The Rainmaker. All are about lawyers and the law. Last week, I read one of his more recent novels: Camino Island (Dell Books, … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Les Parisiennes — by Anne Sebba

Posted on April 4, 2018 by secondbysecond

What is it that Rick (played by Humphrey Bogart) says in the movie Casablanca when Ilsa (played by Ingrid Bergman) asks if he remembers Paris? Rick says, “I remember every detail. You wore blue; the Germans wore grey.” Those lines … Continue reading →

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Book Review: March Violets — by Philip Kerr

Posted on December 25, 2017 by secondbysecond

After the success of the Nazis in the election of 5 March 1933, swarms of Germans scrambled to jump onto the bandwagon by joining the Nazi Party. Such latecomers were termed ‘March Violets’ by the old-time Nazis. March Violets is … Continue reading →

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Book review: A Rancher and a Warrior

Posted on May 1, 2017 by secondbysecond

In her book A Rancher and a Warrior: The life of Dale Robinson in Wyoming and WWII, Jessica Robinson describes the life of her grandfather-in-law, as a cattle rancher in Wyoming and as a soldier during World War II. Photographs, … Continue reading →

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Book review: A Chill Wind Blows

Posted on August 30, 2016 by secondbysecond

The Second World War ended more than seventy years ago and there is no shortage of photographs of jubilant crowds celebrating the liberation of cities such as Brussels or Paris. The German occupation was over. The Nazis had left. Yet … Continue reading →

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Book review: Spitfire Spies

Posted on July 7, 2016 by secondbysecond

There are two intertwining stories within the Second-World-War novel Spitfire Spies by John Hughes (Austin Macauley Publishers, 2016). One story could naively be labeled male, the other, female. The first concerns the men who are sent to England to spy … Continue reading →

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Book review: Hotel Boy

Posted on May 18, 2016 by secondbysecond

The novel Hotel Boy by John Trythall (Austin Macauley Publishers, 2013) takes the reader through the early years of the Second World War from the viewpoint of ten-or-so-year-old Michael Treloar. In that sense, Hotel Boy can be compared to John … Continue reading →

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