* Apollo 13 by James Lovell. Surprise, surprise...the movie wasn't entirely accurate. For instance, the adapted air filter was developed over a period of time (a day or two, if memory serves), not as a last minute emergency procedure. Still, the movie was great and I very much enjoyed the book.
* The Martian by Andy Weir. A popular novel that is not quite as good as the hype had led me to believe but better and far more original than most popular fiction.
* So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson. Loved it. Mostly about the use of Twitter as a cudgel against whoever happens to screw up in the wrong way at the wrong time. "Clever and thought-provoking, this book has the potential to open an important dialogue about faux moral posturing online and its potentially disastrous consequences." –Publisher's Weekly
* Frozen in Time: An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II by Michael Zuckoff. An interesting book with a not entirely satisfactory conclusion. The story of several planes lost in Greenland during World War II and the quest to find them and save their crews. Interwoven with the main narrative is an accounting, involving the author, of a recent effort to find one of the planes buried far beneath the surface of the ice.
* Inferno: The World at War, 1939-1945 by Max Hastings. "Compellingly different . . . a panoramic social history that not only recounts the military action with admirable thoroughness, crispness and energy but also tells the story of the people who suffered in the war, combatants and civilians alike."
—The Wall Street Journal
* The Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer. Written by a German soldier about his time serving on the Eastern Front. Very good book and apparently authentic.
* The Bunker by James P. O'Donnell. "A powerfully vivid documentary reconstruction of Adolf Hitler's final days." -- New York Times
* Finding Everett Ruess: The Life and Unsolved Disappearance of a Legendary Wilderness Explorer by David Roberts. Roberts is a good writer, and if you loved "Into the Wild" by Krakauer you will probably like this. It is a bit of a slog at times though.
* The Lost Explorer: Finding Mallory on Mt. Everest by Conrad Anker and David Roberts. Fascinating account of finding legendary climber George Mallory's body on Everest.
* Devil's Gate: Brigham Young and the Great Mormon Handcart Tragedy by David Roberts. Perhaps too detailed for the casual reader, but it was one of my favorite reads in recent years. (See short review below).
In 1856, two groups of Mormon emigrants using handcarts to transport their belongings got a disastrously late start on their westward trek to Utah. Unexpected October blizzards and the lack of restocked supplies left them stranded in Wyoming, coping with frostbite, starvation and disease. While Mormon retellings of this story have emphasized the subsequent daring rescue, Roberts sees the whole episode as an entirely preventable disaster from start to finish. Moreover, he fixes the blame at the top, arguing that Brigham Young, then president of the church, consistently undervalued human life, created dangerous situations with regard to provisions in order to pinch pennies and dissembled after the fact about not having any knowledge of the emigrants' late start. Roberts builds a persuasive case, arguing from dozens of primary sources and using the emigrants' own haunting words about their experiences. He competently situates the tragedy within the context of the 1856–1857 Mormon Reformation, a time of religious extremism. This is a solid and well-researched contribution to Mormon studies and the history of the American West. (Sept.)
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