Paul McCartney: A Life by Peter Ames Carlin

Biographers without access to the subject are at a distinct disadvantage. That said Carlin does a good job of weaving many perspectives on McCartney. Ultimately, while interesting and insightful, not having McCartney's direct input makes this book unmemorable.

Decision Points by George W. Bush

The casual friendly tone of the the book captures, but the lack of substance and petty jabs turns what looked like a promising book into a boring, long winded story. There are lots of disappointing books, but this one is poignant in that it had so much potential for insight into what it takes to run our country.

The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly

Re-read again 8/16 five years later and enjoyed it, again. Really enjoyed this book, even as much as Lincoln Lawyer. Connelly's compelling fourth legal thriller featuring Mickey Haller (after Reversal) finds the maverick L.A. lawyer who uses his Lincoln town car as an office specializing in "foreclosure defense." Haller's first foreclosure client, Lisa Trammel, is fighting hard to keep her home, maybe too hard. The bank has gotten a restraining order to stop Trammel's protests, and she becomes the prime suspect when Mitchell Bondurant, a mortgage banker, is killed with a hammer in his office parking lot. A ton of evidence points to Trammel, but Haller crafts an impressive defense that includes "the fifth witness" of the title. Connelly has a sure command of the legal and procedural details of criminal court, and even manages to make the arcane, shady world of foreclosure interesting. While the prose may lack some of the poetic nuance of his early novels, the plot is worthy of a master storyteller.

In The Plex by Steven Levy

Fascinating insight into Google and the complexities of a growing company trying to keep values.

House Justice by Mike Lawson

Pretty good, the weakest in the series but still enjoyable - looking forward to the next one. After the head of the CIA, Jake LaFountaine, gives a secret briefing to a group of congressional leaders in Lawson's engaging fifth thriller featuring fix-it man Joe DeMarco (after House Secrets), someone leaks the information to the press. This slip results in the brutal killing of CIA agent Mahata Javadi (one of the bravest persons I ever met, LaFountaine tells a room full of reporters), who was working undercover in Iran. John Fitzpatrick Mahoney, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Washington's premier political puppet master, tasks DeMarco with finding the leaker. Despite three wild cards confounding the search—a Russian mobster, the wealthy head of a technology company, and a mysterious killer bent on revenge—DeMarco manages to remain alive and get himself a fabulous new girlfriend. The always present push and pull between the political machinations of alcoholic, egotistical Mahoney and De Marco's basic decency raises the ethical stakes.

Hit Man by Lawrence Block

Good read(s) - I didn't realize this was a compilation of short stories because they ran together so seamlessly. Look forward to reading Block again.

For some years now, Block's been chronicling the adventures of fatalistic hired assassin J.P. Keller. Now Block has revised and collected ten stories showing Keller doing what he does best. As he sallies forth from his First Avenue apartment to one American city after another at the behest of the old man in White Plains, Keller ponders whether he can kill a man he's grown to like, mops up after hitting the wrong target, serves as cat's-paw for killers initially more clever than he is, and agonizes over which of two clients who've paid to have each other killed he's going to have to disappoint. In between his methodical executions, he also checks out real estate in Oregon, consults a therapist, takes up stamp collecting, wonders if learning more about flowers would enrich his life, buys earrings for the woman who walks his dog, and worries how much of a commitment he can make to either the woman or the dog. It's the combination of the many things Keller ruminates about and the many things he tries not to (``This is the wrong business for moral decisions,'' the old man's secretary admonishes him) that gives him his melancholy fascination. Is the result a novel or a cycle of stories?

Dr. No by Ian Fleming

Better than I remembered. I'm surprised how good these books are after all these years, the stories are clever and must have been cutting edge in their time. Some far fetched things (e.g. giant squid) but it hold together. I'm enjoying this series more now than I did 25 years ago.

Sharpe's Siege by Bernard Cornwell

Real good, second in the series I've read and I suspect all of the books are good.


The invasion of France is underway, and the Navy has called upon the services of Major Richard Sharpe. He and a small force of riflemen are to capture a fortress and secure a landing on the French coast.
It is to be one of the most dangerous missions of his career. Through the incompetence of a recklessly ambitious naval commander and the machinations of his old enemy, French spymaster Pierre Ducos, Sharpe finds himself abandoned in enemy territory, facing overwhelming forces and the very real prospect of defeat.