Wings Of Morning – Thomas Childers, 1995 ★★

"A Very Unnatural Way to Live"

Bomber duty in World War II left a particularly grim shadow. For those who served, life ground down into long stretches of tedium jabbed by bursts of tension and fear; and occasionally a hard, fiery death. The utter randomness of it all, dropping bombs on unseen targets and being potted at by flak guns, must have been cosmically unsettling. Its sense of absurdity would be encapsulated in a novel written by one bombardier veteran called Catch-22.

Rum Punch – Elmore Leonard, 1992 ★★★★

The Ups and Downs of Playing to Type

There is a pernicious notion I want to stomp out every time I scan Elmore Leonard novel reviews on Amazon.com: that each book of his is like every other, an interchangeable collection of hard guys and clever women who say funny things while circling each other like sharks looking for an opening to a big score.

Cobb: A Biography – Al Stump, 1994 ★★½

Printing the Legend

In a sport that attracts difficult personalities, Tyrus Raymond Cobb stands alone. He abused teammates, punched out umpires, spiked opponents, waded through a crowd to thrash a disabled fan, and showcased a hatred for black people so vicious it upset his fellow whites even in a more racist time.

The Pickwick Papers – Charles Dickens, 1836-37 ★★★★

Where's the Love for Mr. Pickwick?

Few novelists burst out of the gate with such energy and creativity, or garner such immediate popular acclaim, as did Charles Dickens. Reading The Pickwick Papers makes the case for instant greatness. It remains a marvel in terms of distance traveled, people met, and milieus satirized.