Review of "Bloody Omaha: My Remembrances of That Day"

Bloody Omaha - My Remembrances of That Day by James Robert Copeland is different from most military memoirs. It isn't a harrowing account of back to back battles with non-stop action. It's just the story of one, regular guy from West Virginia. That regular guy happened to be a U.S. Army Ranger on the beaches of Normandy. We get to learn about Mr. Copeland's life from beginning to end in this book, and the war is really a pretty small part of the book. This is the story of an ordinary man taking part in extraordinary events. It is the story of America. I enjoyed it.

This book isn't written by a professional historian or writer. It's written by someone who knows J. R. Copeland. There's a bit of hero worship in it, and the writing could be better in places. That doesn't detract from the value of the story, though. In no place did it prevent me from following and enjoying the story.

"Bloody Omaha" is well worth the price I paid for it. I appreciate hearing Mr. Copeland's story. We've been losing thousands of these stories a week for years. Before long, there won't be anyone left to tell them. I was very pleased to see Mr. Copeland had the chance to tell his before it was too late. This isn't "Saving Private Ryan", but, then again, neither was the war for most people. It's a good book worth picking up. I say who cares if there's some hero worship in this book.

Men like Mr. Copeland deserve a bit of hero worship.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Bloody-Omaha-Remembrances-Copeland-ebook/dp/B003R0LNZQ/ref=cm_cr-mr-title

Review of "Ty Cobb" by Charles C. Alexander

I think Ty Cobb by Charles Alexander is a must read for any fan of baseball. I've read other books about Cobb, but none compare to this one. Alexander presents us with a very balanced, fair view of Ty Cobb that I found quite interesting and well written.

This book is mostly recording Cobb's on the field accomplishments. It does talk about his personal life a bit, but it sticks mostly to baseball while he was still playing. I found some of Cobb's off the field antics quite interesting. I think there were some stories in this books that I hadn't read about in other Cobb biographies. Once Cobb is finally out of baseball, the last part of the books deals with his personal life in a more in-depth fashion. It also gets into his business life a bit. All of it is informative and interesting.

I enjoyed this book a lot. Ty Cobb was a fascinating character. He was an extremely complex person psychologically. This book is a must read for anyone that calls themselves a fan of baseball.

"SAT & BAF!" won Second Place!!

I'm happy to announce that "SAT & BAF! Memories of a Tower Rat" got second place in Reader Views Literary Awards (History/Science Category) for 2011!!

I haven't stopped smiling for days. Here's the complete list of winners for this year's contest.
Reader Views Literary Awards 2011 Winners

It's entered in several other contests that should be announcing finalists and winners over the next couple months. If nothing else, "SAT & BAF! Memories of a Tower Rat" won in this one. Thanks to everybody for your support. It's been a great week.
Doug

Reader's View Literary Awards

I just got word that my book "SAT & BAF! Memories of a Tower Rat" has made it as a finalist in the 2011 Reader's Views Literary Awards!! It made it under History/Science. The winners should be announced in the next few days. I'm so excited. I entered several contests, but this is the first one where I've done anything. This is exciting!! Wish me luck.
Reader's Views Literary Awards 2011 List of Finalists

Review of "Jack the Ripper: The Simple Truth" by Bruce Paley

Bruce Paley has written a great piece of Ripper literature. "Jack the Ripper: The Simple Truth" is meticulously researched, well written, and quite entertaining. It paints a picture of Whitechapel and East London that made it quite real to me. He lays out a convincing case against Joe Barnett. Paley's thesis was quite original when he first introduced it. There is very little actual evidence against Barnett, but Paley uses modern methodology to point right at the person who would be one of the first suspects today. The boyfriend of one of the victims.

The Kindle version does have some formatting problems, but I didn't find any that interfered with the flow of the book. I'm reviewing the book, and I found it very well done. It's well worth a read to anyone interested in Ripperology, Victorian London, true crime, or serial killers. I liked this book very much and could barely put it down. I can't say if this is the best Ripper book out there, but I can say that I enjoyed it a lot.

I also found the meticulous endnotes and research very useful for further study.
Jack the Ripper: The Simple Truth