Daren

Ion Idriess writes an excellent biography of Aboriginal Gambu Ganuurru, known by his tribe as Red Kangaroo, a youth with clear potential in the Gunn-e-darr tribe, fulfilled by becoming the chief or the tribe at an early age. His ability to think beyond strict traditions, to innovate and bring new military tactics into play set him apart from others. Idriess refers to him as the Red Chief, although that is Idriess's addition, not something recognised in the historical documents.

Idriess tells us in his 'Author's Preface' the tale of how he came into possession of a written history of Red Kangaroo, provided by an elderly man who had become the last of his tribe. This occurred in 1887 when the Red Chief's grave was dug up by the town doctor, who wanted to obtain an Aboriginal skull, and this with the bones were sent to the Australian Museum, but have since been lost. The story was recorded by a man interested in Aboriginal culture and history, and therefore preserved. Idriess tells us that he changed very little, just added some detail to the peripheral characters, based on known cultural norms and behaviours.

As usual, Idriess has created a readable, fast paced narrative, based on fact. At 226 pages it is very manageable, contains a series of black and white photos which give context the locations and examples of people. I was surprised to see a note thanking Frank Hurley for some of the photographs - famed Antarctic explorer and photographer.

I don't intend to share the story of Red Kangaroo, only to say that Idriess reinforces positive aspects of Aboriginal culture in this story, where the Red Chief acts in best interest of his tribe, and while it is a violent and masculine, it is an accurate portrayal of live at the time - the Red Chief died around 1845. The tribe live in the area that is now the town of Gunnedah in north-west New South Wales.

4.5 stars, rounded up.

n 1890, a group of London merchants organised an expedition through the Arctic Ocean to Russia - more specifically to Yeneseisk on the Yenesei River to establish a trading route. Julius Price accompanied them as a 'special artist' for the London Illustrated News, in order to provide his excellent sketches of the journey. Upon reaching his destination, Price was told he could travel wherever he wanted, provided he continued to send back his artwork and written descriptions.

This book collects his sketches and a full written description of his journey by sea to Russia, through Siberia, Mongolia and China, arriving at the Yellow Sea ten months later.

While the sketches steal the show (and these are excellent, capturing all aspects of society as Price witnesses it, from people to buildings, Siberian prisons, street scenes, animals, landscapes etc), the writing is also very good. It is descriptive, captures conversations, snippets of history and culture. It doesn't come across as archaic or dated, it reads very easily.

Price travels, initially on the chartered Norwegian steamer Biscaya from Blackwall, London through the Arctic Ocean and the Kara Sea where they were briefly icebound, finally reaching the mouth of the Yenisei river (a journey of around 2 months). Here they rendezvoused with the Phoenix to journey upriver to reach the trading post of Yeniseisk (Yeniseysk) some 14 weeks later. This journey was broken up only by short shops at small villages on the riverside.

In Yeniseisk Price becomes interested in the Russian prison system, visiting the prison here and interviewing jailors and captors, marvelling at the fact there is no death penalty and many of the prisoners are free to come and go, so long they abide by rules and return when required. This interest continues into other places visited. As well as prisons, Price visits and makes interviews in hospitals, private houses and the streets. Price spent 5 weeks in Yeniseisk.

He then purchased a sledge (and horses) for the onward journey - the first leg of which was a journey of 48 hours to Krasnoiarsk (Krasnoyarsk) In Krasnoiarsk he furthered his prison experiences, interviews locals and makes many sketches. He travels on to Irkutsk, describing his journeys well, I am skipping over the incidents and points of interest to capture his basic route. In Irkutsk the prison gets the most of his attention, but he also visits a gold mine, the hospital, the fire brigade and meets with other influential people to interview and sketch!

From Irkutsk he makes for the Mongol Chinese Frontier, a treacherous journey over the iced up Lake Baikal. Before the border he sells his sledge (for the price he paid) and buys a tarantass (horse drawn wheeled cart). Reaching Ourga (now Ulaan Baatar) Price is underwhelmed by the Yurts, the lack of hygiene and the general lack of cleanliness and the wild dogs. He doesn't take a liking to Mongolia much at all, struggling to pick out some positives, but he does spend a month there, so hard to accuse him of not trying!

His onward journey is by camel cart, through the Gobi Desert reaching firstly the Great Wall, and finally Peking (Beijing). He arrives in Peking at a tenuous time the anti-European riots and murders on the Yangtze had just occurred and did not feel welcome in the city. He got on splendidly with various officials (mostly British) and for the first time had difficulty in making his sketches. Whenever he paused in the street to sketch he found himself "absolutely hemmed in on all sides by a dense crowd of dirty insolent rascals, who, as a rule, seemed far more interested in me than in what I was sketching. It was absolutely useless getting my “boy” to ask them civilly to move on one side, as this only appeared to cause greater amusement among them, and, of course, it would have been absolute madness to lose one’s temper, so I generally gave in, and beat a retreat."

He soon headed on, by Chinese houseboat to Tientsin (now Tienjin), from where his journey home would commence. He mentions in his final lines that he decides to go via Japan and America, but the narrative ends here.

Overall a fascinating book, with its excellent sketches and amusing commentary.

Thanks to Fiona who found this gem, and to Project Gutenberg for having it on free download!

5 stars

Since Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev found a way to express the elements in a table form in 1869, scientists have been busy filling in the gaps. The most recent are Nihonium (113), Moscovium (115), Tennessine (117), and Oganesson (118), which were officially named in 2016. This book was published ins 2011.

Near the end of the book, he states: My aim in this book has been to show that the elements are all around us, both in the material sense that they are in the objects that we treasure and are under our kitchen sinks, but also around us more powerfully in a figurative sense, in our art and literature and language, in our history and geography, and that the character of these parallel lives rises ultimately from each element's universal and unvarying qualities.

And so, in his book, Aldersey-Williams has brought together a collection of anecdotes for each element. Many relate to the discovery of the element, others are about the discoverer, the location it was discovered, or references to the element in literature or art. He also travels to some of the relevant places, recreates some of the experiments in his garage, and makes an attempt to collect various elements (by ransacking his fathers old paint collection, his wife's makeup, purchasing products at art shops and hardware stores.

That diversity of descriptions and of anecdotes made it an interesting read. It didn't become to formulaic, which would have been the risk had he stuck to describing only the discoverer and discovery. Having said that there were sections that became a bit dry.

I will also throw it out there that the pictures were poorly reproduced in low resolution black and white within the text (possibly the publishers decision rather than the authors). I also found it frankly bizarre that the periodic table was not illustrated within the book, meaning on numerous occasions I had to bring it up via google to follow the progression or the relationship between one element and another. A half star off for that... I can't fathom it, really.

But as far as I can tell almost those elements known at the time of writing were mentioned, albeit many were grouped together as, for example, the rare earth elements are all very similar. I found four not mentioned at all and half a dozen that only got a passing mention.

I mention also that this isn't a fast read, or at least it wasn't for me. This one benefitted from being put down and picked up at will. I read another book in between starting and finishing, and the break mid way did me good.

4 stars.

I was provided with an ARC of this by the publisher, and for the purposes of the ARC it has been split into two parts. This review covers the first part - 400 pages.

A new novel from Adam Williams, an interesting author - the son of a Hong Kong Taipan, he is the fourth generation of his family living in China. He was also a part of the legendary trading company Jardine Matheson and rising to head its operations in China, although I gather retired to concentrate on his writing.

Williams has written a historical fiction serial killer mystery, set in Egypt in 1099. There is a short historical foreword that explains the setting - the first crusade, returning control of Jerusalem to Christendom. The commencement of the jihad by the Muslim faithful. The great powers of the eastern Mediterranean -

The Byzantines Greek Orthodox inheritors of the ancient Roman Empire, had lost their possessions in Asia and Africa to Islam. From their capital in Constantinople, its emperors longed to regain their territories in Asia Minor.

The Turkish tribes over the last centuries had conquered Asia Minor and the Middle East and now ruled from Syria and Palestine to Persia. The most powerful of these tribes were the Seljuk Turks who had made Baghdad their capital, maintaining still the Abbasid Caliph as a figurehead, and claiming to represent Sunni Islam.

The Fatimids, centred in Egypt were a strange ruling dynasty, even for its own times. Few of the subjects of its Arab monarchs shared their rulers’ unconventional version of Shi’ite Islam, but no one could deny that the Ismaelis, as they called themselves, with their half divine Caliph claiming descent by direct line the Prophet, presided over one of the most glittering and powerful empires in the world, with a capital, the double city of Qahira and Fustat (later known as Cairo).

It is within this wide sweeping framework that the story is set.

The blurb is on point:

Samuel, a Jewish doctor versed in alchemy, and Gregory, his English apprentice, are investigating a terrifying plague. The Nile has turned red with blood and fish are dying.

Near a small island, they wrangle a badly torn body from the jaws of a crocodile — but was this beast the killer? Samuel suspects foul play yet the authorities block his efforts to find the truth at every step. Ignoring the warnings from people in high places, and with nothing more to guide him than his scientific method, Samuel is determined to persist in his quest, especially after a series of gruesome murders seem to confirm his early suspicion.

Little does he know that the secret he will stumble on could shake the empire.

Assassins are on the prowl. A child is being hunted. Who finds him first will change the course of history.

The story was fast paced, it builds suspense to keep me reading this book, and not the other two I have on the go. There were twists and turns, some that could be foreseen, others that were cleverly revealed and I didn't see coming. There were enough characters to spread plenty of interest, but not so many that they couldn't be afforded the depth they need to flesh them out.

I am looking forward to the second part...

4 stars so far!

An early book from the Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte series from Arthur Upfield, published in 1937.

I have decided to plant the following on author and character in each of my 'Bony' reviews as background: - Upfield is an interesting writer, British by birth, emigrated to Australia at the age of twenty. He fought in the Australian Army in WWI. Following the war he travelled extensively in Australia working with stock and farming and developed an understanding of the Aboriginal culture which was to inform much of his writing. His 'Bony' character is a Detective Inspector in the Queensland Police Force, and is of mixed parentage - his mother an Aboriginal and his father white. It is rare to have a mixed race Aboriginal character held in high regard, and protagonist of a series of books.

In his book Bony is sent to the remote town of Carie in New South Wales where two people have been murdered in similar circumstances. In typical style, Bony turns up as a swagman, camps nearby and meets with a few other vagrants and locals, get a feel for the local gossip before making contact with the local police when the time is right for him, remaining under cover with all but those who gain his trust.

I won't got further into the plot, but this book matches up with the others I have read, in terms of readability and quality. I enjoy the Detective Inspector who has the cleverness of his white father and the patience of his Aboriginal mother. In this story however, there are no other Aboriginal characters, the local tribe all take off as a result of city police detective sent to solve the crime. Like most people, they disliked Sargent Simone, had little faith in his ability to solve the crime.

A typically enjoyable 3.5 stars.

This Penguin 70 collect two excerpts from Evelyn Waugh's Remote People, a book that I read around 10 years ago and enjoyed. I remarked in my review of that book that the description of the Coronation was fairly minimal, and it seems the rest of the book was superior to that section.

Collected here in an excerpt, the Coronation read quite well. Waugh was quite descriptive and provided a little background and explained who all the main characters were. He shared a fair amount of behind the scenes logistics and gossip from the other journalists. I probably enjoyed this excerpt more this time around.

The second much shorter excerpt was one I would consider poorly selected. It had little context, not even sharing his location in Africa at the start, was principally a moan about boredom and whether boredom at home in England would remind him of his journey, or whether the journal he kept would read as boring when at home. In the end it turns out he was on a 4 day train journey to Djibouti, missed his connecting steamer and then explained some (fairly boring at it turned out) logistics in finding a new ship.

3 stars - albeit would have been 4 stars but the second excerpt dragged it down!

A short and amusing story from Robert Louis Stevenson - obvious from the title it is an Imp in a Bottle - a wish-granting Imp and a bottle with some catches - one being if you die in possession of the bottle you are damned to dwell in hell foe ever more, the other that you must sell the bottle to the next owner for less that which you acquire it.

Keawe, our Hawaiian protagonist buys the bottle from a man with a fabulous house and plenty of money, but who has grown old and must be rid of the bottle (the only thing the imp cannot control is aging of the owner).

There are various twists and turns in this short read, but mostly just a quick, fun experience.

4.5 stars

Excellent - I really enjoyed this memoir from a young British traveller who is starting out on his photography career. Stowers picks up the story in 1988 in Singapore, after a sea journey in a Bugis spice ship (around which his first book is based), when he is aged 20. Initially required to teach English to build up some money to spend on photography equipment and travel he soon concludes that he needs to ditch the other work and commit to the nomadic life of a freelance photographer.

While the book is largely linear in timeline, there are diversions back to previous travels to fill in gaps in the direction Stowers' life takes and to provide a bit of back story. I found the writing and storyline really engaging and immersive, the pace was good all the way through and the progress he made in his career trajectory and decisions in his travel all came across as legitimate and realistic. I was impressed with the writing and editing, and though it was a long book (470 pages) it kept me enthusiastically reading.

Stower's story takes the reading to an array of interesting locations and situations as Stowers' visits place to speculatively take photographs and pen articles or is commissioned to do so. While based in Singapore initially, hen Hong Kong for the majority of his time, he covers local events but more often to wide spread spots such as Pakistan, Indonesia (various locations), Borneo (Indonesian and Malaysian), Brunei, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan. He covers lots of things from dramatic events, political disturbances and captures pictures of prominent people.

Eventually he considers he needs to head 'home' to the UK. Like I did when I was living in Ireland, he decided to make the longest journey home that he could plan, and ended up travelling a lot of the route I took in reverse. Notwithstanding the fact he hopped about a bit to chase events, Stowers started in Hong Kong, travelled to China, Mongolia, Russia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia, Hungary, Germany, Netherlands and finally to the UK arriving in 1992. (Mine started in Lithuania, then Latvia, Russia, Mongolia, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia to Singapore, then a short visit to Melbourne before home to NZ).

The blurb mentions a few of his adventures, so me touching on those doesn't seem like spoilers, such as tear-gassed by riot police in Manila, and crosses an imploding Soviet Union by train, only to be abducted by a group of heavily-armed Serb militia. There was literally something going in each short chapter (again pointing the engaging writing and editing to keep the story moving at pace) and the regular change of location, some of which I am familiar with, only increased the appeal for me. Likewise I though Stowers explained the critical thought processes in his decision making, some of which were pivotal in his success in building relationships with employers / those who will purchase his photographs, many of which go into stock photo libraries and are purchased where relevant photographs are used for current articles.

Obviously the book contains a number of Stowers photos (which are obviously good!) but also some of the magazine covers on which his work is featured and numerous newspapers, but most of the photos are more candid featuring people in the story who he relied on to move is progress forward.

The title of the book comes from advice offered to him by a couple of much more experienced photographers to "shoot first, then ask permission. And when that fails, run!"

A digital copy of this book was provided to me by Earnshaw Books, the publisher to read and review.

5 stars

Hopkirk's magnum opus 'The Great Game' feeds into his other books (some of which I have read), but ostensibly tells the big picture of Russia vs Britain in the fight for Central Asia throughout the 19th century to around 1907 when it concludes.

There are currently a little under 800 reviews on GR and a little over 8,800 ratings, with an average of 4.33 stars. There is likely little I can say about it that hasn't already been said.

My opinion, this exceeded expectations, as I have read my fair share of Central Asian history, mostly around the Great Game periods. Hopkirk has managed to keep it punchy, in short chapters, each covering a discrete aspect of the overall narrative. He makes the complex overlapping and confusing nature of this period into a cohesive and engaging narrative. The Khanates, the cities, the countries of Central Asia all evoke for me a sense of wonder and mystery - unrealistic I am sure, but nevertheless I find it a fascinating history.

There is perhaps an aspect of balance missing - the British certainly are described far more positively than their opponent. The vast amount of records and information on the British version of events likely contributes to this, with much of the Russian information never made public, so that perhaps tips the balance in what can be accurately described by Hopkirk, but even so with the British agents brave and ingenious, the Russians skulking in the lawless steppe, the savage Afghans, etc it is certainly British-centric in its view.

One pertinent quote from the last page of the book brings into focus how much of a Russian and British story this is, and how little say those effected by the Great Game had. (From 1990 when published)

As for the Indians themselves, they were neither consulted nor considered in any of this. Yet, like their Muslim neighbours across the frontier, it was largely their blood which was spilt during the imperial struggle. All they ever wanted was to be left alone, something they achieved in 1947, when the British packed their bags and departed. But the peoples of Central Asia were less fortunate at their conquerors’ hands. For more than a century now the vast Russian empire there has served as a monument to the Tsarist heroes of the Great Game. How much longer it will continue to do so, in view of the violent turmoil threatening the Soviet Union, is impossible to forecast.

One worrying aspect is the massive bibliography and Hopkirk calling out some particularly interesting looking books which do nothing for my ever expanding to read list!

There are other great reviews which summarise events which I can't begin to frame!

For me 5 stars.

Published in 1975 this book, which at first I struggled to take very seriously, brings together all the previously writings the author can find on the lost worlds.

The first chapter covers Atlantis, but brings in Lemuria & Mu, which are considered variants. The content varies wildly, from the relatively sane - historical writings, references in saga's, geological explorations to the crackpots of occultists, mystics, theologians, theosophists, those with visions and those with access to secret historical documents from Tibet or India which have been shared with them by ancient keepers of knowledge - which of course nobody else may examine, or have now been lost, etc.

This section, by some distance the longest, is concluded with a summary.

Second on the list is a section on Lost Lands of the East, and covers the Garden of Eden, The country of the Queen of Sheba, the country of the Amazons, and the country of Prester John. These sections tend to outline the challenges around tracking down the locations of these people or places, then make some judgements without being very decisive!

The third and final section is titled Lost Lands of the British Isles largely dealing with Roman or pre-Roman legends and myths about The Cassitterides, St Brendan's Island, Avalon, Lyonesse. Most of these reach a conclusion of sorts.

This was a quick read which fits into a genre I read which can probably be described as quirks in geography, lost places, and myth tracing. St Brendan of course is the topic of Tim Severin's excellent The Brendan Voyage.

Amusing, albeit probably not ground breaking, and likely superseded by more recent publications!

3 stars.

Published in 1902 this very short short story is based on the 'Genie giving three wishes' concept. In this case a family are visited by an old acquaintance returned from India in possession of a monkey's paw, with a spell cast of it by a Fakir. The paw will grant three separate men three wishes each.

The old solider had been he second man, and gave nothing away about his three wishes, but cast the paw onto the fire saying it would be best destroyed.

Of course the man rescues the paw and the short story goes on to explain his three wishes!

Too short to write more, and give away the story!

Punchy and short, amusing enough.

4 short story stars.

Well, this is certainly an odd book. I am not sure what I expected, but it was not this.

Basically in the late 1970s a secret unit was formed within the US Army to research psychological advantages to be used in war. From the outright wacky (attempting to walk through walls) to the at best marginal - remote viewing, psychic spies, lsd experimentation, subliminal messaging, and of course the ability to kill goats just by staring at them!

Ronson is like a dog with bone, researching over a long period of time, regularly checking in with each of his contacts, pestering them with questions and asking them to recount events and eventually learning the names of other operatives who he can try to track down.

Much of the content is absurd, ludicrous even, but more worrying is the amount of money funneled into this military experimentation.

For all that, the book wanders about from person to person and topic to topic. It isn't able to be categoric about what actually happened and what didn't, what was real and what was speculation. There is a healthy dose of conspiracy theory mixed in, the entirety of linking what is happening now with what was experimented with in the 70s and 80s is the prime example - it just wasn't convincing.

For example in the 70s it was suggested that music was used to soothe natives as teh American military invade (or occupy, or whatever); in the early 2000's Iraq music was used for sleep deprivation through the continual playing of music (heavy metal, Matchbox Twenty or Barney the dinosaur - unclear which would be worse). The use of cultural humiliation - treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, offending them with sexually explicit behaviour strongly misaligned with their religion was also linked back to psychoanalysis done in the 70s an 80s, again I think unsuccessfully linked.

Not convinced I will go out looking for more from this author.

3 stars

In 1976 the author and his wife came to China (Beijing and then Shanghai) to complete postgrad studies in modern Chinese literature (although they didn't choose this specialty until later). Nine days after arrival, Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and leader of the country died, throwing China in a period of unsurety and political turmoil. Perhaps one of the most interesting periods to be a witness to the machinations of China, and likely a rare view from within, Andy Kirkpatrick shares his experiences of Chinese politicking along with his experiences at a university and almost mixing with Chinese people. I say almost, because any member of the public approaching foreign students was immediately taken aside for questioning, and the university system was set up such that they had only limited crossover.

While the author and his wife were not permitted to live together ("students may not marry", "But we re married...", "Students may not marry"), they were flatting with Chinese students, although these roommates were obliged to provide reports on the foreign students each week. Visiting a farming commune was part of the curriculum for all students (so academics are able to learn form the workers), but again, the interactions were controlled and kept to a minimum. They make several trips for a week at a time to various farms or factories.

There are plenty of amusing anecdotes from University life, many disenchanting experiences, but almost as many positive experiences, well maybe. It is clear the author made an effort to try and engage in the culture, joining a football club to try and mix with more Chinese, only to find no player knew any other player's name! He even met Margaret Thatcher who was on a tour of the University, and dobbed in the University for setting up false representations of how open they were (in this case they laid out international newspapers in the library, saying they were always available - of course they were available only when Thatcher was in the building...)

Overall an enjoyable read, a rare view of China in the 1970s immediately after Mao's death.

3.5 stars

While this book is short in length, its content is slowly paced, which made it quite a slow read for me. It covers Spanish authors return trip to Iran in 1994, having lived in Tehran as a student in 1973 and 1974. The trip in 1994 she spends a month and while based in Tehran travels to Chalus on the Caspian Sea and to Kashan south of Tehran.

The author is travelling with another Spanish woman Irene, who is married to a Persian man Bahram, and it is Bahram's extended family with whom the author spends most of this visit. The reader gets to learn the in's and out's of the family while recounting stories and experiences from her previous visit, thereby providing comparison between the days of the Shah and the Islamic revolutionary government of 1994.

The telling is thoughtful and slowly paced, often meandering then diverting into a short explanation of an aspect of Persian history. Interestingly being clad in a chador and therefore largely anonymous the author was able to visit mosques and other sensitive places that foreigners are not usually permitted - a inside view that the reader doesn't normally appreciate. The author shares an understanding of Persian society, religion and often cuisine, making it a well rounded read. It is followed by a postscript from her immediate return to Barcelona, and then two years on another postscript of a visit to New York, and a final in Barcelona, where the author says "Life goes on, and if I don't finish this book here, I never will."

3 stars

My lack of research before I bought this book has come back to bite me. I didn't enjoy this book, and had I understood its premise I would not have bought it... so let me explain...

This is the GR blurb: It is 1912, the age of Antarctic exploration. Scott's journey has ended. Mawson's is just beginning. This book transports us to the last days of those expeditions in the white continent. Sweeping through deaths and disasters, this book lays bare the forces that drove these explorers.

The back of the book however says: It is 1912, the age of Antarctic exploration. Scott's journey has ended. Mawson's is just beginning. Adrian Caesar's stunning stroke of imaginative re-creation transports us to the last days of those perilous expeditions in the heart of the white continent.

And so, there is my problem "imaginative re-creation". In other words this author is fictionalising the known facts and filling in his own gaps.

So both RF Scott and Douglas Mawson were carrying out Antarctic expeditions over the period of 1911 to 1913, independently of each other, although they did have history together. Scott was racing to be first to reach the pole, against yet another expedition - led by Amundsen the Norwegian. Mawson was on an Australian expedition exploring the Antarctic coast closest to Australia.

This book concentrates on the end of both Scott and Mawson's journeys. In each case he has diaries of the men on the expeditions and in Mawson's case various information released after his return - Scott of course dies (not a spoiler to most I expect!).

I found it ironic that Caesar mentions more than once that when carrying out his research at the libraries where the archives of the respective explorers are held, the staff at Scott's said the hoped it wasn't another hatchet-job, and the staff at Mawson's said they hoped it wasn't another hagiography... because that was exactly how this book read.

Nothing about Scott was very upbeat and Caesar was critical of everything. For Mawson it was more that events conspired against his planning. I didn't find the writing very even-handed. But worse that this, there was far too much speculation in this for me - speculation about conversations with the other men, speculation about things the mend did and things they thought. There were even several examples of where the author outlined a dream these men had and what it meant...

This type of speculation just does not appeal to me, and I really should not have started reading this book, let alone finished it... so really my fault...

2 stars

This is the first of Roy Chapman Andrews' books I have read. This one documents his "Second Asiatic Expedition" 1918-1920 in Mongolia and Northern China.

As the blurb says, the book is written entirely from the sportsman's standpoint and has purposely avoided scientific details which would prove uninteresting or wearisome to the general public.

Andrews makes his way through the narrative with various companions, including his wife who gets credit for the many very good photographs in the book, and towards the end it breaks into chapters of which each is a separate outing, with a range of companions.

Making use of of various modes of transport, including cars, horses and walking and seldom with out a rifle in hand, Andrews collects mammal specimens for the American Museum of Natural History (of which he is the associate curator). While the needs of the museum dictate the animals 'collected' it is obvious that Andrews is also a keen hunter, and along with his companions they take most opportunities to bag their prey. Many of the villages eat well after their outings!

The irony of his suggestion that ...because of unceasing native persecution, lack of protection, the continued destruction of forests and the ever increasing facilities for transportation to the remote districts of the interior, many of China's most interesting and important forms of wild life are doomed to extermination in the very near future... is not lost on the modern reader.

Among those animals collected in the general narrative are antelope, bustards, geese, cranes, gophers, wolves, marmots, wapiti, various deer species (including roebuck and sika, muskdeer) and wild pigs.

At the end there are separate chapters on the great ram of Shanxi, the Mongolian "Argali," the horse-deer of Shanxi, the Wapiti, Roebuck and Goral, wild pigs, and the hunting parks of the eastern tombs.

Within the middle of the book Andrews describes village life in Urga (now Ulan Baatar), including descriptions of Mongolian men and women, their lifestyle and beliefs, lama's and religion.

Other than details of the animal species they were hunting, this book provided an insight into the variety of landscape in Mongolia. Despite having spent 4 weeks in Mongolia myself, I still think of Mongolia as the Gobi Desert, of desert and desert scenery. Andrews visits other parts of Mongolia which are forested and valleys carpeted with flowers, rivers and swamps.

3.5 stars.

I thought this looked a quick read, but it wasn't particularly. Peregrine Hodson travelled in Afghanistan under the name of Abdul Baz, "my name, unabbreviated, was difficult to pronounce while in its shortened form it sounded like a word in Dari meaning 'fairy' or 'female angel': so I was given the name Abdul. I added the word 'baz', which means falcon."

He was there for just over three months in 1984 to provide the Sunday Times with a report on the 'People's War'. This book is not his report, but a record of his journey. He kept a detailed diary and used a tape recorder to capture many of his conversations. Hodson spoke fluent Farsi (the modern Persian language); and therefore could communicate well in Dari (one of two official Afghan languages) languages which are mutually intelligible, especially in written form, although they have some differences in pronunciation, vocabulary, and usage.

The 'People's War' refers to the Soviet-Afghan War, where the Soviets moved massive numbers of troops into Afghanistan ostensibly to assist the Afghan Government (and therefore the Afghan Armed Forces) to put down the Islamic militants - the Mujahedin. And, of course, it is with the Mujahedin that Hodson travelled. From Pakistan he crossed the border by foot with a group of Mujahedin returning to their homes and to defend them against the Soviet forces - who by this time had resorted to bombing raids by their air force which was very successful given the Mujahadin had little capacity to shoot down fighter jets.

The journey is described in detail - it was a tough journey, Hodson was unwell for practically all of his time in Afghanistan - which which was inevitable really, with the water quality, the poor diet and limited sanitary conditions, mosquitos carrying Malaria and the high risk of hepatitis. Hodson followed a looping course through northern Afghanistan (the provinces of Lowgar, Wardak, Bamiyan, Takhar, Kunar and Nuristan). He moved from village to village, met with the Mujahedin leader in each, was provided with hospitality and accompanied by guides and assistance, although generally he joined groups of men moving from one area to the next. In reality he only had limited ability to determine his own route, and was regularly under threat of war, often being rushed from a village to lie in the relative safety of trenches while jets dropped bombs.

He spoke with many men, from all levels of society, on many topics. The narrative is wide ranging, but all comes back to the hardships of the Mujahedin, their resistance of the Soviets and the complexity of the power struggle of rival factions of the Mujahedin.

For me there were two major insights. The first was the authors ability to communicate directly with the Afghanis. This meant no reliance on interpreters who would notoriously tailor their translations to their perspective, to assist themselves or to tell the journalist what they think they want to hear. This gave Hodson a huge advantage in the presentation of his story.

The other insight was the Islamic responsibility for hospitality. In the absolute worst of circumstances, people with the least to offer provide food, shelter and assistance to the author and other foreign journalists who are basically coming to Afghanistan to gather stories to sell. It astounds me the lengths people go to in assisting the author and his companions (the last third of his journey he makes with two other journalists).

Worth seeking out.

4 stars.

Despite a torturous opening page (upon reading I was ready to give up), once underway ACD has a tidy short story about three University students in rooms one above the other. At the top, Abercrombie Smith, below him Edward Bellingham and below him, William Monkhouse Lee.

While Smith our protagonist is a medical student, Bellingham is a languages scholar, who engages in Egyptology and a hobby. In fact he takes his hobby quite seriously, judging by the mummy kept within his room.

Short stories need no more plot outlining for fear of spoiling the whole story, but one can clearly imagine that the mummy, which was purchased at auction (lot 249), is at the centre of strange goings on on campus, and Smith becomes the vigilante to put this to an end.

I do believe I enjoyed this more than some of his Sherlock Holmes short stories.

4 stars.

A fantastic book in which the author describes he taking up employment in 1955 as a trader in the Northwestern Territories of Canada (as it was known then - now Nunavut, which is largely the area Pryde lived, is a separate territory).

As a brief introduction (given in the book blurb, and covered at pace at the beginning of the book), Duncan Pryde is a Scotsman who left school at 15 and joined the Merchant Navy. He was involved in an accident that resulted in some damage to an eye, which meant he had to leave his job. The details of this aren't explained and he describes no effects of this on his time in the North. After working in a factory and finding that dull he responded to an advertisement by the Hudson's Bay Trading Company for a trader in Canada's frozen north.

"Fur traders wanted for the far north... single, ambitious, self-reliant young men wanted... far north of Canada... must be prepared to life in isolation... willing to learn native language... fur trade... salary $135.00 per month

And so begins his time, first as an apprentice trader in Baker Lake, under the watch of Sandy Lunan."

For a man with limited schooling, Pryde proves himself very able to write, and his meticulous learning of the Inuktituk language (this book makes use of the terminology Eskimo throughout, although the reader will be aware this is not used as any slight, it was simply the usage of the time) through recording words in phonetics his own dictionary, one not being available at the time. Prydes writing is nothing short of excellent in his ability to communicate complex concepts, describe techniques for sled and canoe setups, fishing and hunting etc, but also to explain to the novice the Eskimo culture and way of life.

As Pryde gains experience with running the trading station, and beginning to learn the Eskimo way of life he changes his own lifestyle, understanding that it is far more suited to the environment he is living in. He is respected for his eagerness to be involved in learning the language, in participating in hunting and fishing and in genuinely bonding with the people. Soon Sandy retires, and a new trader is brought in while Pryde remains for the transition, and is then transferred to run his own trading station at Spence Bay.

Before long he is asked to take on a more remote trading station at Perry Island, where there are some significant issues that the previous trader was unable to resolve, and in fact contributed to with his lack of control. This involved many of the local men giving up trapping to draw welfare, excessive drinking and violence. The trading stations, probably because they were intimate with the community, also administered the welfare payments (as well as playing a role in medical care and also radio communications for the community). So Pryde had to come in with a heavy hand, cut all welfare, stop supply of the raw product being bought to make the dodgy booze (methyl hydrate, provided for the lighting of kerosene primus stoves in the very cold) and force the men back out to trap to earn money to survive. This is a tough role for a young man without the support of another whiteman (another of Prydes terminologies he uses for non-Eskimo people in the NWT) for hundreds of miles. There were some touchy moments and violent reprisals to be dealt with for the rules he instigated - again all very well told in this book.

Wrapped around the story of Pryde's trading life are stories of his many hunting, trapping and fishing expeditions, his dog sledding and canoe explorations and very good descriptions of Eskimo life. The period of late 1950s and early 1960s was a major cultural shift for the Eskimo people. Pryde describes how the way of life has already changed by the introduction of the traders. The Eskimo have gone from being subsistence hunters to being trappers because the traders have product they want, and their only currency is furs. They have gone from running three husky's to needing teams of 13 husky's to carry the furs. The consequence of which is needing to hunt and fish extensively to feed the dogs.

In the 1960s they were on the cusp of the motor age with the first introduction of snowmobiles. Rifles were already established of course, and outboard motors. When Pryde arrived the only permanent buildings in the places he lived were those of the trading company. The Eskimo lived in snowhouses in winter and tents in summer.

Also well described in the book are the birds and animals of the area, of which the Eskimo have a deep understanding. Caribou, seals, polar bears, artic foxes, wolves, wolverine and the multitude of birds in particular.

Towards the end of the book Pryde is convinced to enter politics, and due to the time constraints of that role he ends his employment with the trading company, but with a significant reduction in income he maintains living in the Eskimo lifestyle, trapping to make up his earnings. In his role as a member of parliament Pryde and his other far northern colleagues provide meaningful representation for the Eskimo. They effect change to the remote schooling and hunting quota system.

There was much more covered in this book than I have touched on here (albeit I have rattled on into quite a long review, even for me). Clearly this book preserves clear description of a way of live now forever changed, and as such is important. Obviously, I recommend this anyone with an interest in this culture and way of live, or is interested in a well written biography. The only note I would add it that the Eskimo way of life involves hunting and killing of animals - this in intimately described in the text, so those sensitive to this are unlikely to want to persist with reading.

5 stars.

Wing Leader is the biography of RAF Spitfire pilot JE Johnson, known as Johnnie Johnson during World War II.

Johnson has a way of writing that often takes you on his journey. Remarkably, when he describes flight after flight and explains events that are occurring around him in flight during flying maneuvers with his 'wing' or individual dogfights, it doesn't feel to the reader like constant repetition, although of course it is the same sequence of events almost every time.

Johnson's diaries must have been extensive because he describes the many pilots around him, the many flights and enemy engagements in great detail, often dropping out of the story of one polit to pick it up again later when he returns to the scene. He had kind words to all of those lost, their bravery and sacrifice, and manages to surprise when some of the pilots find their way back overland when considered lost.

He describes the evolution of the Spitfire, as the planes are constantly improved throughout he war, as are the enemy planes, and as the technology improves one side gains the upper hand and certain maneuvers and so tactics have to change accordingly.

While luck plays a large part in the successful career of a fighter pilot, and how well your colleagues protect you is a big factor, we know too few of these pilots survived the entire war, and Johnson has a plethora of post-nominals (CB, CBE, DSO & Two Bars, DFC & Bar, DL) indicating his efforts, dedication and luck.

Having read the diaries of a New Zealand Spitfire pilot in Spitfires & Spots translated from the handwritten remnants and edited by Jeff West's grandson Jameson Alex West it was nice to be reminded of that book, and for 15 or so pages the two flew together before West was deployed to Malta. Johnson's flying was over the Channel and into German occupied Europe (France, Belgium and later Germany). Throughout most of his time he was flying with Canadians as part of

Wikipedia did a better job of collecting statistics that I would, so I will quote it here: Johnson was credited with 34 individual victories over enemy aircraft, as well as seven shared victories, three shared probable, ten damaged, three shared damaged and one destroyed on the ground. Johnson flew 700 operational sorties and engaged enemy aircraft on 57 occasions. Included in his list of individual victories were 14 Messerschmitt Bf 109s and 20 Focke-Wulf Fw 190s destroyed making him the most successful RAF ace against the Fw 190. This score made him the highest scoring Western Allied fighter ace against the German Luftwaffe.

There are a number of black & white photos throughout the book, and a thorough index. Douglas Bader wrote a brief foreword, which he opens with the sentence: 'Dear Johnnie, I did not know that you could read and write!..."

4 stars

We bought a copy of this book for my daughter as she has just played the character of Skimbleshanks (the railway cat) in a youth theatre production of Cats. This was obviously the basis for Andrew Lloyd Webber writing the stage show of Cats... and while much of the content of this book is word for word, there are sections in there that were not carried through to the stage show (well at least the youth version) and plenty of content added in to make it a continuous narrative.

I have no idea how to rate or really even review this short book, but I read it through and now know a few more of the lyrics that despite seeing the show several times I couldn't pick up.

Well this will likely be the only book of poetry I read this year, but regardless I quite like the rhyming song lyrics (as they have been for me), and didn't dislike this at all.

4 stars

Rowena Hawkins has written a summary of her life in Singapore as the daughter of a senior policeman in the 1960s. Singapore at this time was evolving from a British Colony to being a part of the Federation of Malaysia, then on to independence. Her parents, both of whom were descendants of Sultans exiled to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) from Batavia and Sumatra, emigrated to Singapore where their children were born - Rowena with her brother Ari and elder sister Yuwari. Ensconced in their colonial bungalow on New Bridge Road, the family were under no illusion they lived a privileged life.

Hawkins' writing is deceptively simple, outlining events and anecdotes from her childhood while providing an underlying understanding of the cultural & ethnological situations and family relationships. Her nostalgic outlook of events is not without scorn of the behavior of children in the present day, as she describes the canings handed down by her authoritarian mother who ruled the household, where even her father fell into line. While the author was fairly quick to step out of line, her brother was even more so, and was quick to share of divert the blame; this makes for plenty of amusement throughout the book. The book is also an affectionate portrait of her father to whom she was understandably close.

The book itself works well divided into short chapters in largely linear timelines and introduces the reader to her family, household full of servants and the wider family as they progress. School, piano lessons, supernatural events, religious celebrations, her brothers coming of age ceremony, family weddings, a visit to Ceylon and any number of other life events fill out the chapters. This short memoir also clearly captures a view of a Singapore now forever changed.

This easy, yet fulfilling read is worth seeking out.

4 stars.

For transparency, the publisher provided me with a copy for review. Thanks Earnshaw Books.

I am a little confused, having read this book, returned to the blurb, and had a look on the internet for the 'documentary film' referred to in the blurb. Author Franz, brother Edgar and a friend Bayer, all German, set out for the Amazon to make a film.

The narrative of the book is all about a (quite terrible and cliched) fictional film about an action man type figure making miraculous escapes, getting the girl, losing the girl, surviving scrub fires, Indians, drowning, a piranha attack, any number of other events associated with the Brazilian Amazon. At the conclusion of the book the author refers to the film being called Kautschuk.

IBDB and Wikipedia credit Franz Eichhorn as a writer of a film with this name, which is the story of how the British broke the Brazilian monopoly on natural rubber - ie Englishman Henry Wickham, who smuggled rubber seeds to England in 1876 to break the Brazilian monopoly. Franz's brother Edgar is credited as a photographer.

In the book Franz and a local cowboy named Jose star in the shooting of the film. The narrative follows their adventure in reaching the film locations, trying to entice local talent to feature in the film, and physically filming. There are plenty of heart stopping moments, much illness, injuries and other difficulties associated with travelling around and up the Amazon. The plot of the movie is filmed out of sequence, and aspects of the plot are shared as they film, so the reader never gets a real overview (unless they could be bothered reassembling the parts in order), but as the film they made doesn't seem to exist in the form they filmed it I am really at a bit of a loss as to how it all ties together!

Within the book are fifty black and white photographs, which almost all tie in with the narrative. Many are of flora and fauna (they are big on birds) and people they meet. They are pretty good photographs. Along the way they are helped hugely by a number of individuals who take on guide and fixer roles helping with locations, transport , actors and often inspiration.

While the book isn't confusing per se, the blurb and the actual outcome with films do not all tie up.

A confusing 3 stars!

Picked up for a couple of dollars at a book sale, this turned out to be an excellent read. Sierra Leonean

Ishmael Beah shares the story of his life from age 12, when he was separated from his parents when rebels attacked the village he lived in. With his brother and two friends they moved about staying clear of the clashes of the rebels and the soldiers, and trying to find a safe place and relocate his family, feared dead.

As you might expect, it would be a terrifying prospect for any 12 year-old. Rural Sierra Leone at that time (and probably as it remains) was made up of very small villages, not particularly close together. The zone of war, where the rebels and soldiers were fighting started out quite contained, but was liable to spill out in any direction, and over time villages were attacked, looted and destroyed by both sides whose paranoia meant they trusted no civilians.

Likewise villagers trusted no outsiders, especially groups of youths, who many villagers thought could be spies for the rebels. They were regularly run out of town or threated, but occasionally found sympathy for short periods. Over this period the boys became separated, and Ishmael carried on alone before joining another group of boys, a couple of whom were from his village and he knew from school.

As the situation in Sierra Leone deteriorated, and the warzone expanded the boys found themselves in a village that had been fortified by the soldiers, and used as a base. Here they were safe until the soldiers lost many men and could not maintain their resistance to attack. At this point the villagers were told that they all needed to contribute to the war effort. There were sufficient women to cook, so all the boys had to join the army, or leave the village.

It was at this point that Ishmael became a child soldier, and became indoctrinated into the war effort. Ishmael did a good job of describing this period of his life. The soldiers were provided with drugs - heroin and cocaine mixed with gunpowder (which they snorted) both of which them energy to fight, and marijuana to help them relax. The boys either failed and were quickly killed in the conflict, or became efficient at handling their weapons, and became efficient killers. Their days were filled with fighting rebels and looting villages for food, ammunition and petrol (for generators).

Against the run of events, suddenly the youngest soldiers are relieved from duty, and are ordered to go with a group of UNICEF civilians (and Military Police). They are taken to a camp for rehabilitation, which of course the boys resist.

Again Ishmael describes this process well. The boys don't understand why the military, who are their family and support network now suddenly don't want them. They fight, using violence as a defense. They act out, resist, sell things provided for them to get money for drugs and generally run amok. It is along and slow process that is successful for some boys but not others. Luckily for Ishmael, he finds people he can trust to help him.

There are many twists and turns I have not shared, and much more to the end of this story that I won't mention, so there is much more to be gained from reading this book.

It is not a complex read, really quite quick. While it had some shocking violence, I didn't find it particularly hard to read, as it is well written to provide shock but not sustained impact. Other reviewers didn't necessarily feel this way. I thought is a well considered decision by the author not to sensationalise this story by including more descriptive violence.

On reflection, this is the story of the experiences of Ishmael Beah. It is not the story of many Sierra Leonean boys; it is absolutely the exception, not the rule. You would have to think for every successfully rehabilitated boy there must be a hundred, 300 hundred, maybe 500, who did not survive escaping, or soldiering, or rehabilitation. Many of the boys 'escaped' and returned to the front line. It is incredibly sad; but Ishmael Beah is an inspiration in the way he was able to move his life forward.

This was far better than I expected, and lived up to the high ratings it has received on this site. another book which clearly demonstrates that there are no winners in a civil war. While there were some unresolved threads to the story, they were not the important things to me as a reader.

4 stars

Keay's book is extensive, but I have to say it got bogged down at various points, and I had to push myself through those places to complete the read.

It covers everything to do with the seaborne spice route, although touches on overland routes (such as the Silk Road) to provide an overall context of how spices came to Europe.

Picking up on Ibn Batuta, Sir John Maundevile, Herodotus, Marco Polo, Pliny and other early history recorders, wading through their regularly inaccurate and unreliable information on spices and their origins, Keay attempts a structure to bring these in and out of his narrative as they become relevant. It is quite well managed, without bringing too many in at any given time. One of the challenges is the archaic names for various spices compared to the modern names, in some cases the same name evolving from one spice to another.

Pepper from the Malabar coast (and then many places in Indonesia), cloves from the Molucca's, nutmeg and mace from the Banda islands, sandalwood from Timor, cinnamon from Sri Lanka and Frankincense from Arabia are the main heroes of this story, but the bigger surprise of how in some cases their origins remained secret.

Initially trade was small scale and took place in small vessels, moving spice from their islands of origin only moving them a small distance before trading them on to another. The Arab, Chinese and Indian merchants were all active in this, and as there were so many steps in the chain only very small amounts made it as far as Europe.

As the Portuguese become the big sea-faring players they develop the initial spice route, linking places they controlled to be the first to bring larger quantities to Europe. After a surprisingly long period of dominance, the Spanish, Dutch and British followed.

Although other reviewers appeared less bothered by the repetition and the slow spots which dragged for me, I dropped a star to end up on three stars. ***