Book Review: Under a Wild Sky: John James Audubon and the Making of THE BIRDS OF AMERICA

Book Review: Under a Wild Sky: John James Audubon and the Making of THE BIRDS OF AMERICA by William Souder When John James Audubon arrived in Philadelphia in 1824, he carried with him a portfolio of beautiful bird paintings he hoped to turn into a book, and a backstory of childhood in Louisiana, being the… Continue reading Book Review: Under a Wild Sky: John James Audubon and the Making of THE BIRDS OF AMERICA

Book Review: London Falling

Book Review: London Falling by Paul Cornell It’s New Year’s Eve, and Operation Goodfellow is  about to end.  The years spent infiltrating Rob Toshack’s organized crime network, the money spent, it’s all produced nothing they can use to pin a charge on the kingpin.  So at midnight, the Metropolitan Police are pulling the plug.  But… Continue reading Book Review: London Falling

Book Review: Code Name Verity

Book Review: Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein In a Gestapo cell somewhere in Vichy France, a captured spy has been broken.  She writes a story telling of her secret mission, but in order to do that, she must first tell of the friendship between ATA pilot Maddie and SOE wireless operator Queenie.   The years… Continue reading Book Review: Code Name Verity

Book Review: The Inimitable Jeeves

Book Review: The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse Bertie Wooster may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, as he will sometimes admit.  But compared to some of his friends among the idle rich of England, Bertie’s a model of intellect and common sense.  For example, Bertie knows that keeping his valet Jeeves in… Continue reading Book Review: The Inimitable Jeeves

Book Review: Nine Strange Stories

Book Review: Nine Strange Stories edited by Betty N. Owen When I was a lad, one of the fun annual events I looked forward to was the Scholastic Book Fair.  Scholastic Publishing would send boxes of books around the country to schools so that kids could get the thrill of picking out their own low-cost… Continue reading Book Review: Nine Strange Stories

Comic Book Review: Action Presidents: George Washington

Comic Book Review: Action Presidents: George Washington by Fred van Lente and Ryan Dunlavey Our story begins with two modern tweens glued to their portal screen devices while Parson Weems bores them with the cherry tree legend.  The day is salvaged when Noah the Historkey appears and reveals that George Washington’s father Augustine didn’t raise… Continue reading Comic Book Review: Action Presidents: George Washington

Comic Strip Review: Meet Andy Capp

Comic Strip Review: Meet Andy Capp by Reg Smythe Andrew Capp is a working class chap from Hartlepool in Northeast England.  Despite his “class”, Andy’s hardly ever in work, roundly despising all forms of paid labor.  It’s up to his long-suffering wife Florrie to support them with charwoman jobs.  Andy enjoys sleeping, gambling, flirting with… Continue reading Comic Strip Review: Meet Andy Capp

Book Review: Enchantress of Numbers

Book Review: Enchantress of Numbers by Jennifer Chiaverini Augusta Ada King-Noel, Countess of Lovelace (1815-1852) is better known to us today as Ada Lovelace.  Her primary claim to fame is her “notes” on Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine, which anticipated uses for this theoretical calculating device far beyond mere number-crunching, and provide the first known published… Continue reading Book Review: Enchantress of Numbers

Book Review: The Beasts of Tarzan

Book Review: The Beasts of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs John Clayton, Lord Greystoke, and his lovely wife Jane have settled down in London with their infant son Jack.  I guess this is the end of the adventures of Tarzan since everyone knows that marriage and children mean that you’re never going to be interesting again. … Continue reading Book Review: The Beasts of Tarzan

Book Review: Time and Mr. Bass

Book Review: Time and Mr. Bass by Eleanor Cameron Long ago and long ago and even before that, came the Mycetians to Earth from Basidium, the Mushroom Planet.  Much of their history has been lost to Deep Time, but it is known that they were stranded on this planet, and eventually wound up settling in… Continue reading Book Review: Time and Mr. Bass