Steve Gross

The first half was better than the second. Ending seemed rushed and unbelievable.

Disappointing work by Chafets, who is an excellent writer. Eckstein does not come across as a particularly nice or interesting person and the book matches that with its prose about him.

It feels like Crais wrote this with hes eyes closed. Some confusing sentences. The shtik of seeing the world through the dog's eyes was interesting the first time but now it just felt recycled. Nothing new here. I expected better.

A slim book, written in a breezy manner. Mostly it talks about Wouk's books

This is a prequel to the John Rain series. Very suspenseful and contains a tragic love story. A little formulaic in the same way as the rest of the series.

Much like the first book in the series, The Thirty Nine Steps. Too many coincidences and strokes of luck. It is a fascinating peek into the world of 1916 Europe.

Second book in the Cork O'Corcoran series and every bit as good as the first.

Serious, but humorous introduction to computer algorithms. Not for first timers.

This is a better than average entrant in the Allon series, which have become repetitive. The author brings in too much past history and expects the reader to know what he's referring to.

Exhaustive detail on the Houdini-Margery episode. I was constantly stumbling over awkward sentences. It would have been better if it came to some kind of conclusion.

Think of Tony Hillerman except the Indians live in the frigid north of Minnesota rather than the deserts of the Southwest. Atmospheric and solidly written.

Lots of coincidences - it's aged, but still exciting and an interesting picture of Britain ca WWI

Long, sprawling history of MI6. Rather than an exciting recounting of multiple spy adventures, this book drills down into a little too much detail of five or six incidents. Less would have been more. I also winder how accurate it's stories are, especially the 9/11 rehash. Epilogue of long “What's the Secret Service for in 2015?” handwringing.

Better than average hard science fiction. The beginning is very well written but gets a little loose at the end.

Better than average Sherlock Holmes pastiche

Anecdotal biography of the author. Mostly interesting, a little repetitive and at times self-serving.

Ellis writes very well. This book describes the making of the Constitution, starting from preConstitution and going on into post-Constitution. Ellis's main point seems to be that we see things differently looking back then the Framers saw as they were working.

A handsome, colorful book outlining the history and solution of the famous Four Color Theorem. Gets somewhat technical.

Even though it's a very short book, some chapters seem to be almost a repetition of others. However, the idea is new and fascinating.

Very detailed, nuts & bolts description of all the various jobs on Broadway; what they are, who gets them and how much they pay. Bottom line: it's a very tough, closed competitive world with low pay and much risk.

A book about the world about Sherlock Holmes. Fun, but only for hardcore fans.

A collection of halacha columns from The Jerusalem Post. Each topic is 2-3 pages long. Various viewpoints are given (including some Conservative and Reform opinions). Very few columns come to a clear and decisive answer.

Play by play recounting of Israel's last ambassador to the USA, Michael Oren. Despite being a liberal and having great sympathy and admiration for Obama, it's the story of one setback and betrayal by the Obama administration (and the many Jews who work for him) after another. Plainly written.

Who knew that the New Jersey Department of Transportation has an archaeology department? Discoveries made while widening Landing Lane in Piscataway, NJ led to a thirty year excavation of a vanished port called Raritan Landing, a couple of hundred yards down the Raritan from New Brunswick. This is an fascinating look at a pre-Revolutionary settlement, who lived there and how they lived and most intriguingly, why it disappeared. Lots of illustrations and photographs.

Interesting biography of a passionate book reader. Things get a little tedious towards the end. THe author's vocabulary noticeably expands in the middle of the book.