The UK Babe Channels Forum

France 1940
Alan Shepperd 1990 (RBA Coleccionables 2009)



"The German victory of 1940 stunned the world. France, major European power and owner of the world's largest armies had fallen in less than seven weeks to the might of the German Wehrmacht. The secret of the Wehrmacht's success lay in its carefully thought out organization and the tactics of blitzkrieg. Fast moving tank divisions supported by armoured, mobile infantry swept over opposition, helped by both conventional bombers and deadly Stuka dive-bombers. Alan Shepperd's highly detailed text examines the tactics, organization and equipment of the Allied and German forces, and provides a daily account of the most crucial period of the battle, the fall of France and the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force at Dunkirk" (publishers blurb)

This is a solid enough entry in the Osprey Campaign series although there is the usual issue with the maps missing places which are mentioned in the text and too may pointless pictures and drawings.
The author served in WW2 but I don't know if he was a member of the BEF. This is his only entry in the series but he must have been knocking on a bit when this was originally published.
These spanish editions were published under licence from Osprey as Battles of the Second World War. They don't have an ISBN but do have an ISSN even thought they are hardback books and no more of a periodical than the original Osprey editions.

Persuasion
Jane Austen 1818 (Penguin 1994)



"Persuasion is the last novel completed by Jane Austen. It was published on December 20, 1817, along with Northanger Abbey, six months after her death, although the title page is dated 1818.

The story concerns Anne Elliot, a young Englishwoman of 27 years, whose family moves to lower their expenses and reduce their debt by renting their home to an Admiral and his wife. The wife's brother, Captain Frederick Wentworth, was engaged to Anne in 1806, but the engagement was broken when Anne was persuaded by her friends and family to end their relationship. Anne and Captain Wentworth, both single and unattached, meet again after a seven-year separation, setting the scene for many humorous encounters as well as a second, well-considered chance at love and marriage for Anne in her second bloom." (from wikipedia)

My first Austen, from a supermarket charity stall. I'm ususally disappointed when I read a "classic" novel and this is no exception. The obsession with rank, status and class in Georgian society is tedious even when the author is satirising or poking fun at it. At only 250 pages I had no trouble finishing it but I won't be reading any more Austen. This one is usually ranked in the top two or three of her six novels but to me it was just posh Mills & Boon.

Menagerie Manor
Gerald Durrell 1964 (Penguin 1987)



"In Menagerie Manor Durrell recalls how he became Lord of the Manor of Les Augres on Jersey and fulfilled a lifelong ambition by founding a private zoo. With the help of an enduring wife, a selfless staff and a reluctant bank manager, the zoo grows: one by one the reader is introduced to the village idiocy of Trumpy, the grey winged trumpeter; the riotous tactics of Claudiud the tapir; the devastating youth and moving romance of N'Pongo, an african gorilla; and the antics of a whole menagerie of orang-utans, lions, bears, porcupines, and other creatures." (publisher's blurb)

It's missing the exotic locations and eccentric johnny foreigners of Durrells animal collecting books but it's still an enjoyable easy read.

Whizz for Atomms
Geoffrey Willans and Ronald Searle 1959 (Armada 1973)



"Nigel Molesworth is a fictional character, the supposed author of a series of books about life in an English prep school named St Custard's. The books were written by Geoffrey Willans, with cartoon illustrations by Ronald Searle.
The Molesworth books were the result of an approach by Willans to the cartoonist, Searle, to illustrate a series of books based on a column he had been writing for Punch. Searle had grown disillusioned with his (very popular) St Trinian's School series but had promised his publisher Max Parrish another Christmas best-seller. Searle was initially sceptical about another school-based project but was won over by the examples he was given to read by Willans. Between the initial publication in 1953 and Willans' death in 1958 (aged 47) three books were completed and most of a fourth (Back in the Jug Agane) written; the Compleet Molesworth anthology was also under way. The first book, Down with Skool!, was published in October 1953 and by that Christmas had sold, according to Searle, 53,848 copies" (from wikipedia)

This is the third Molesworth book and was recommended by a friend. The books were very popular back in the day and you still see them referred to in the media, most often with the Molesworth expression "any fule kno".
There were a few touches of whimsy that made me chuckle such as the headmaster having to run a whelk stall to supplement his income but on the whole I have to admit that I found it almost unreadable, but at least (Clive Barker please note) it was only 126 pages including the Searle drawings.
Apparently J.K.Rowling was a fan and she pinched the word Hogwarts from one of the books.

Briar Rose
Jane Yolen 1992 (Tor 1993)



"Briar Rose is a historically sensitive retelling of Sleeping Beauty set amid forests patrolled by the German army during World War II.
In the heat of midsummer 1942, deep in a forest in the heart of Poland, Briar Rose arrives at a castle that has fallen into the hands of an evil army. Corrupted by dark deeds and choked by a poisonous mist, the castle will soon come to be known as Chelmno extermination camp. And in that place of death, Briar Rose is plunged into a deep sleep....
Ever since she was a child, Rebecca has been enchanted by her grandmother Gemma's stories of Briar Rose. Becca would have sworn the stories were made up, but on her deathbed Gemma extracts from Becca a promise to fulfill three impossible requests: find the castle, find the prince, and find the spell-maker. Her vow sends Becca on a remarkable journey to uncover the truth of Gemma's astonishing claim: I am Briar Rose.
Yolen's graceful retelling of the German folktale of “Briar Rose”—known to some as “Sleeping Beauty”—sets the story amid forests patrolled by the German army during World War II. Yolen confronts the deeply tragic events of the Holocaust with lyrical prose and rich characterizations that tell a tale of good and evil, hope and despair." (from macmillan.com)

This book is part of a series that "retell and reinterpret traditional fairy tales". In this case the sleeping beauty story seems tacked on to the holocaust theme. Other than that the book is alright, it held my interest even though the preamble to the Poland trip is too long and the Becca character is blandly drawn. Also it has to be said that the author doesn't quite manage to convey the full horror of the German extermination programme.
I've now read all six of the nominees for the 1993 Nebula award and the one which should have won was Vernor Vinge's A Fire Upon the Deep

Science Fiction - The 100 Best Novels
David Pringle 1985 (Xanadu 1985)



"Critic David Pringle surveys the whole of modern sf. picking out the masterpieces of the genre and giving a readable and informative account of each one. The list is broad in scope, ranging from recognized classics such as George R. Stewarts Earth Abides to the recent and much acclaimed Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe. Some of the choices are more controversial, however, and the list is guaranteed to provoke fierce debate among fans and critics alike. The essays are arranged in chronological order, so that each book is firmly placed in its context, and as it progresses the author develops a critical argument tracing the growth of sf, which builds into a fascinating history of the art. Details of first and current editions are also provided, making the book an invaluable reference for libraries, dealers and collectors." (publisher's blurb)

The novels selected are all from the post war period up to 1984, just before the book was published. I've read 35 of the 100 novels and I only read the entries for those ones as they contain spoilers. They give a neat little two page summary of the significance of each book but not surprisingly I disagree a fair few of Pringle's choices. The first entry is for Orwell's 1984 which is a truly great book. The last entry is for Gibson's Neuromancer which I found incredibly tedious.
I'm planning on picking up some of the remaining 65 and will read them before looking at Pringle's essays.

The Marvellous Land of Oz
L. Frank Baum 1904 (Puffin 1985)



"Having escaped the evil witch Mombi, Tip and his friends set out into the Land of Oz to meet the Scarecrow, Ruler of the Emerald City. However, General Jinjur and her Army of Revolt have seized power, and it will take more than the Soldier with the Green Whiskers to return the throne to its rightful owner. But who is the true heir to Oz, and where in the world could they be?" (from Blackwell's)

Second of the Oz books, this one like the first, reads like the author was tripping on toadstools when he wrote it. General Jinjur and her army of girls capture the Emerald city armed only with knitting needles. In a strange fusion of the Guardian wimmins page and the Telegraph ladies section they enslave the men and then spend their time posting tik-tok videos making fudge. There's a gender transitioning theme as well which means that snowflake millenials will have something to enjoy now that they've cancelled J.K. Rowling. Tip the protagonist has to retransition back to a princess. He's not too keen but says he'll give it a go as long as he can go back to being a boy if he doen't like it. Yet another tragic victim of the Tavistock Clinic.

The Planet that Wasn't
Isaac Asimov 1976 (Sphere 1979)



"The astonishing story of the planet Vulcan, an astronomical oddity that intrigued scientists for over a century, is the jumping off point for Isaac Asimov in the scintillating, easy to understand explorations of everything from ecology and space colonies to witchcraft and UFOs. Here is Asimov at his best, where his wide-ranging intellect can play with such amazingly eclectic topics as the notorious Martian canals, the possibility of life on the Jovian satellite Titan, the deadly dangers of cholesterol and aerosol cans, the smell of electricity, and nine explanations for the Star of Bethlehem. Equally amazing is the manner in which his stories unfold, from a lovely description of how rainbows are made, to the water clear logic in his refutation of the "judo arguments" - scientific proofs of the existence of God. Provocative, entertaining, and, as always, generously interspersed with sparkling Asimov wit, The Planet That Wasn't debunks old myths and offers fresh perspectives on the wonders of our solar system and ourselves."

Lots of good stuff here with the usual smattering of politically biased claptrap. The three (yes three) essays about ozone were written shortly after it was discovered that man made chemicals were depleting the Earth's ozone layer but a decade before the antarctic hole was discovered. Another excellent one is the title essay about how perturbations in the orbit of mercury led to the belief that there was another undiscovered planet even closer to the sun, until Einstein's theory of gravity explained the apparent discrepancy.
The article on cholesterol is very good but also quite poignant. He says that he ignored his wife's advice to cut down on cholesterol. The following year he had a heart attack and a few years later triple bypass surgery. The blood transfusion he received during the operation infected him with HIV and he died of AIDS in 1992.

Tet Offensive 1968
James R. Arnold 1990 (Osprey 1999)



"The 1968 Tet Offensive was the decisive battle for Vietnam. Masterminded by the brilliant North Vietnamese General, Vo Nguyen Giap, it was intended to trigger a general uprising in South Vietnam. However, the bloody fighting for Saigon, Hue and other cities actually resulted in a catastrophic defeat for the North. In this excellent assessment of the key battle of the Vietnam conflict, James Arnold details the plans and forces involved and explains how, despite the outcome of the battle, the American people and their leaders came to perceive the war for Vietnam as lost." (publisher's blurb)

Vietnam isn't a big interest of mine but I often find that the more I know about a subject the more interesting it becomes and this excellent early entry in the Osprey Campaign series has done it's job in that respect. Easy to read and well balanced with adequate maps, as far as I can tell it gives a good overview of what became a turning point in America's war.

The Eureka Years
Annette Peltz McComas (editor) 1982 (Bantam 1982)



"In Fall, 1949, an extraordinary publication was born--The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction Fiction. In their half dozen years together, editors Anthony Boucher and J.F. McComas set a standard of quality that has never been surpassed. They published the finest authors of their day, and discovered such stellar talents as Richard Matheson, Zenna Henderson, Gordon R. Dickson and Philip K. Dick. Now, this volume captures the special magic of those early years through fiction, articles, poetry, reviews, and the editors' own witty, compassionate and insightful correspondence--including courteous by critical editorial advice not only to fledgling writers, but to some established authors as well. The Eureka Years is a rare and intimate glimpse into the founding of science fiction and fantasy's most respected voice." (publisher's blurb)

The twenty or so stories are nothing special but the exchanges of letters between editors and authors are quite revealing. The editors were constantly demanding changes to the stories and even established authors usually acquiesced meekly. Boucher and McComas were realatively benign in that most editors changed the stories themselves without authorial permission.
Andre Norton says in her letter to the editors that "short story writing is not natural to me" and her story here "Mousetrap" isn't much cop. I may just stick to her novels from now on.