The Feud:  I'm not great at reviews so I'll keep this short.  There are plenty of Hatfield and McCoy books out there and you just have to go with your gut when choosing one.  I went with this one after watching the Hatfield & McCoys History channel series with my pop.  This book is 464 pages and is packed with information.  The families and history involved in this feud are very complicated.  I think Dean King did a good job keeping it straight as best you can.  Not that I could keep all the family members straight.  There are so many involved it is crazy.  I'm sure it would be the same with most books chronicling these families.  I took my time reading the book and didn't try to plow through it so it took me maybe a year to finish.  I enjoyed the book and the story it told.  That's what you need to take away this.  I'll look at the TV series in my next post.

The Forgotten 500: This book is one I'd given my pop and finally got a chance to read myself.  He really enjoyed the book and so did I.  The story centers around airmen who partook in bombing missions in Europe and on the way back some bombers were hit by anti-aircraft or damaged by German fighters and the flyers would have to bail out.  Many ended up in Yugoslavia.  You'll learn about the amazing plan to rescue these those airmen while also getting the back story on many involved.  The country itself was divided internally by two different factions while trying to resist German occupation.  The Chetniks had fallen out of favor of the Allies but still did everything they could to protect the downed airmen even at the expense of their own.  The Chetniks were led by General Draza Mihailovich. After the war the Allies regretted which side they took as Yugoslavia became a Russian puppet state thanks to the Partisans they had backed.

 

 The Princess Diarist was the last of Carrie Fisher's books prior to her passing away.  I was excited as it was to be her Star Wars behind the scenes tales.  I wouldn't quite call it that. While it revolves around Star Wars it is not a behind the scenes book.  It talks little about the making of the movies or even what happened during the making of the movies.  She does speak quite frankly and at length about her affair with Harrison Ford while filming Star Wars.   I have to admit I was looking forward to what she had to say on the subject once I heard she'd be opening up on the subject in this book.  And it was fun to hear the details. But that is about it as behind the scenes notes. 

Don't take that to mean this isn't a good book.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and it is an easy read.  It is my first book of hers but I'm sure the style seen here is similar to that in her others.  She is very open, honest, self depreciating, and funny.  I find her honesty refreshing and enlightening.  It is nice to see her thoughts and I think many will either agree with her or understand where she comes from. 


Besides her tryst with Ford, her diaries during the making of Star Wars are also shared and she talks about the celebrity of being "Princess Leia" and the stardom that comes with it.  I would have liked to have seen more behind the scenes content but I won't hold that against the book - that is purely a personal preference and what I thought I'd be seeing.  Her writing style appeals to me and matched with her honest and humor had me hooked.  It won't take long to read once you get started (sans maybe the diaries which are introspective centric writings).  Anyone who is a fan of Star Wars should enjoy this book.  I did and it was nice to get to know Carrie Fisher more than just what I've seen on screen or short articles online.  Like thousands of others she is seared into my consciousness and someone I'll never forget even if you take a way the iconic metal bikini.  I recommend this book to anyone who remotely thinks it would interest them. 

Star Wars Battlefront: Twilight Company is a 2015 release I finally got around to finishing.  I wish I was better at reviewing books so please bear with me.  This book follows rebel soldiers during their battle with the Galactic Empire.  These are the boots on the ground  who don't get the glory but fight for the tough ground inch by inch.  This looks at their fights, their questions about leadership, questions about the rebellion and why they do what they do.  Along the way you are introduced to a core group who have been there, done that.  They fought all over the galaxy while never knowing how much, if any, difference they are making.  This is not that different from some modern day movies or novels based around the military.  While it isn't a movie it has a Rouge One feel to it.  Not everyone survives nor does every battle go their way.  I liked this book.  It is different than most Star Wars books in how it introduces completely new characters, the likes of which we haven't been introduced to before, and shows us what it looks like in the trenches.  Again it could look like many other military novels but they did a good job here.  Not all 496 pages will knock your socks off but I think it is worth the read. 
  

I wanted to pick up some NASCAR books for my pop's birthday a few years back and this book kept coming up as I researched the NASCAR books out there.  He really enjoyed it and gave it to me to read. My reading schedule hasn't been great but once I got started it was a book I didn't want to put down.  Mark Bechtel does a great job of describing the events of the 1979 Daytona race and how it catapulted the sport into the public's consciousness. But this book is so much more than that one day.  It provides so much insight into the beginnings of NASCAR as well as the great drivers early on and through the seventies. It also details the 1979 season itself which saw a great race for the championship.  Bechtel lays it all out in an easy-to-read way that provides an abundance of information with humor and insight.  If you at all like NASCAR you must read this book.  You won't be disappointed.   

The book Golden Lion by Wilbur Smith and Giles Kristian is not one I'd normally pick up but found myself without a book during a recent trip.  I enjoyed it.  The book is set in the 1600's set against the British fighting in Africa, ships, pirates and much more.  If any of these things are up your alley give this book a try.  I enjoyed it enough that I'll look for more books by Wilbur Smith and Giles Kristian. 

He saw his father executed in battle. He spent his youth avenging that death. And now Henry 'Hal' Courtney is a man with a ship – and a family – of his own.  But fate has not finished with Hal. On a voyage along the eastern shore of Africa, a powerful enemy abducts his wife, the fearless warrior Judith… and with her, Hal's unborn child. For Hal, a man all too familiar with loss, there is only one way forward: He must track his nemesis across desert and ocean, through the slave markets of Zanzibar and the dangerous waters of the coast, in pursuit of the woman he loves, the child he sired, and the glorious destiny that awaits him.

one of the last years of the Larry-Kevin-Robert trio.  In fact this would be Bird's next to last season in the NBA.  It details Chris Ford's first year as the Boston coach and an era of when the younger Celtics were looked to to make a contribution as that of Larry-Kevin-Robert declined.  Injuries played a big part of the big three's issues as well as age itself.  For his part, Parish actually stayed healthy in the regular season.  It was an unlikely season where Boston entered the playoffs as the #2 seed in the Eastern Conference after a year in which they started strong but injuries derailed the season.    In the playoffs they reached the second round only to lose to bitter rival Detroit.  Again injuries took their toll.  Back to the title of the book, these Celtics were so good that until injuries did them in, it looked like they were a true title contender.