Books of June 2010

5 Books
1075 pages


The Road to the Rim
The Hard Way Up
A. Bertram Chandler
ISBN 0-441-73100-7-175?
340 pages
June 6

I had actually spent most of the first week of June working on Dan Simmons "Olympos".  After 100 pages there were more characters than our local phone book.  My Greek mythology is strong enough to recognize many, but I just couldn't keep track.  The story didn't grab me either, so it became one of the very, very few books I gave up on after starting.  (The "Insanely ambitious..." review blurb on the front cover should have clued me in...)  Picked up some fun old-school science fiction instead for a quick refreshing read.  Why do they always smoke on spaceships in 1960's sci-fi?

The Children's Story
James Clavell
ISBN 0-440-20468-2
96 pages
June 13

Aimed more at an american audience with the pledge of allegiance, but very interesting nonetheless.  One of the things that scares me about sending kids to school is how impressionable they are.

The Book of Stratagems (Tactics for Triumph and Survival)
Harro Von Senger
ISBN 0-670-83962-0
397 pages
June 22

Been working on this for a while.  Got most of the way through, then misplaced it for a while.  A very interesting book.  Started strong, but I felt it grew weaker towards the end.  The examples of the different stratagems in particular seemed to get less and less relevant.  I am convinced that China is the country of the future because of their long-term thinking.  (And taking over the US, one "Made in China" sticker at a time.)

The Referee's Survival Guide:  Practical Suggestions For Soccer Officials
Jeffrey Caminsky
ISBN 978-0-9790106-0-6
242 pages
June 29

A good read.  I've been looking for a practical (as opposed to 'laws') refereeing book.  Some good tips to help me become a better referee.