Monday, August 31, 2015

Now reading...

"The Return of Sherlock Holmes" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle



From Amazon.com:


In "The Final Problem," the tale that preceded this collection, the world's most famous detective had a seemingly fatal encounter with his nemesis, Professor Moriarty. When Sherlock Holmes's devoted fans refused to allow Arthur Conan Doyle to kill their beloved sleuth, the author complied with more stories. This compilation features all thirteen tales, which originally appeared in The Strand Magazine.

Holmes returns in "The Adventure of the Empty House," in which he explains his near-miraculous escape from death and accounts for his lengthy absence to the astonished Dr. Watson. Other mysteries include "The Dancing Men," involving a series of cryptic threats; "The Six Napoleons," concerning stolen jewels and images of the French emperor; "The Norwood Builder," a murderous attempt at revenge; and "The Missing Three Quarter," in which a rugby player disappears on the eve of a crucial match.

Monday, August 17, 2015

Now reading...

"The Last Chapter" by Ernie Pyle


From Amazon.com:

"No man in this war has so well told the story of the American fighting man as American fighting men wanted it told," wrote Harry Truman. "He deserves the gratitude of all his countrymen."

THIS is the final book of Ernie Pyle’s war reporting. After Africa, Italy, and D-Day on the European continent, Pyle took it the hard way again. There was still the Pacific war to win, and where the fighting was Ernie had to go, soul-sick though he was with the thousands of scenes of death and destruction he had already witnessed.

He was attached to the Navy early in 1945. In the Marianas first and then living with the boys who flew the B-29s over the Japanese homeland, Pyle was experiencing a side of the war that was new to him. Next he joined an aircraft carrier on the invasion of Okinawa. He made the landing with the Marines and saw Okinawa secured.

Then his luck ran out. A Japanese bullet killed Ernie Pyle on April 17th, 1945 on Ie Shima, and Americans lost their greatest and best-loved correspondent. Millions mourned the going of this modest man who wrote of the war with all honesty and no pretensions, and whose writings will stand as one of the most vital records of the struggle. LAST CHAPTER is a brief, brave little book to complete that record permanently. There is a sixteen-page picture section and an index of names and places.