Book Review 2013-2018
2013-2018 Book Review
Summary
Finished: 17
Pages:
This was a pretty rough period of “reading” in life for me. I was busy with college, then with a new job, so I didn’t find much time to read for pleasure.
| Book Title | Author | Series Name | Genre | Rating | Date | Pages | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genghis: Birth of an Empire | Conn Iggulden | Conqueror | Historical Fiction | 5 | 2018 | 403 | Fiction |
| Genghis: Bones of the Hills | Conn Iggulden | Conqueror | Historical Fiction | 5 | 2018 | 434 | Fiction |
| Genghis: Lords of the Bow | Conn Iggulden | Conqueror | Historical Fiction | 5 | 2018 | 547 | Fiction |
| The Killer Angels | Michael Shaara | Civil War Trilogy | Historical Fiction | 5 | 2016 | 466 | Fiction |
| Isaac’s Storm | Erik Larson | Historical Fiction | 5 | 2015 | 338 | Fiction | |
| Midnight Rising | Tony Horwitz | Historical Fiction | 5 | 2014 | 382 | Fiction | |
| The Martian | Andy Weir | SciFi | 5 | 2013 | 385 | Fiction | |
| Dispatches from Pluto | Richard Grant | Travel | 4 | 2018 | 322 | Non-Fiction | |
| The House on the Borderland | William Hope Hodgson | Horror | 4 | 2015 | 192 | Fiction | |
| Ghost in the Wires | Kevin Mitnick | Cyber | 4 | 2014 | 433 | Non-Fiction | |
| The River of Doubt | Candice Millard | Historical Fiction | 4 | 2014 | 434 | Fiction | |
| Flyboys: A True Story of Courage | James Bradley | Military | 4 | 2013 | 562 | Non-Fiction | |
| The Art of Deception | Kevin Mitnick | Cyber | 3 | 2015 | 355 | Non-Fiction | |
| AWOL on the Appalachian Trail | David Miller | Travel | 3 | 2013 | 347 | Non-Fiction | |
| The Monuments Men | Robert M. Edsel | Military | 3 | 2013 | 468 | Non-Fiction | |
| How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life | Scott Adams | Self-Help | 2 | 2016 | 302 | Non-Fiction | |
| The Art of Intrusion | Kevin Mitnick | Cyber | 2 | 2016 | 290 | Non-Fiction | |
| The Field of Fight: How We Can Win the Global War Against Radical Islam and Its Allies | Michael T. Flynn | Political | 2 | 2016 | 209 | Non-Fiction | |
| A Walk for Sunshine | Jeff Alt | Travel | 2 | 2013 | 357 | Non-Fiction | |
| Digging For The Truth | Josh Bernstein | Archeology | 2 | 2013 | 208 | Non-Fiction | |
| What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures | Malcolm Gladwell | Essays | 2 | 2013 | 433 | Non-Fiction | |
| 12 Rules for Life | Jordan B. Peterson | Self Help | DNF | 2018 | 416 | Non-Fiction | |
| The Gulag Archipelago Abridged | Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn | Communism | DNF | 2018 | 675 | Non-Fiction |
What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures
Well, it’s Malcolm Gladwell so it was decent. The first Gladwell book I ever picked up.
Flyboys: A True Story of Courage
Excellent WWII narrative of pilots, especially around the Pacific Theater.
The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History
Great WWII story about the location and preservation of Axis looted artifacts.
A Walk for Sunshine: A 2,160 Mile Expedition for Charity on the Appalachian Trail
I read this as part of my “I’m going to do the AT” reading. It’s fine for what it is.
Digging For The Truth
A sort of “History Channel” look at archeology. Not bad, but not good either.
AWOL on the Appalachian Trail
I don’t remember much about this book other than it was enjoyable. Excellent if you are interested in the AT. Otherwise, maybe not worth the time.
The Martian
A wonderful sci-fi book. I would actually recommend this to someone looking to jump into the sci-fi genre for the first time because it’s relatable, funny, well written, bordering on “hard science fiction” (full of technical detail), and has a big budget Hollywood movie to dip your toes into first.
Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker
I read this shortly before I started my undergraduate Cybersecurity degree. From what I understand Kevin Mitnick is a bit of a jerk. Regardless, the book was entertaining and the wild cyber-infused goose chase Mitnick gave the FBI is super interesting to read about. I’d recommend this to anyone who finds exploiting technology, and white-collar crime interesting.
Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War
So good. An amazing bit of pre-Civil War history.
The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey
I don’t remember much about this book, but Teddy Roosevelt was certainly a bad ass.
The House on the Borderland
I listened to this book while on an Internship. Thank you, William Hope Hodgson, for giving me something to do 100+ years after you published this book.
Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History
An excellent historical fiction novel about the 1900 Galveston hurricane. Riveting.
The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security
Maybe the best book on social engineering I’ve ever read (also pretty much the only one). I don’t have a ton to say here other than I’d only recommend this book if you are interested in cybersecurity. It might be a nice educational book for your older family members to teach them about the dangers of Phishing/Scam phone calls, perhaps?
The Art of Intrusion: The Real Stories Behind the Exploits of Hackers, Intruders and Deceivers
I honestly have no memory of this book. I remember reading it while I studied for my CEH. I guess it was good enough to finish, but not good enough to remember. That might be unfair, though, since I consume a decent amount of cyber* related information. It might have just been lost to the noise.
The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War
An absolute classic - highly recommended historical fiction novel.
How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life
A fairly generic self-help book. I don’t recall any messaging or lessons-learned from this. It didn’t strike me as bad, though.
The Field of Fight: How We Can Win the Global War Against Radical Islam and Its Allies
I don’t really remember anything about this book, other than I read it quickly on a flight. I read it because Flynn was the incoming Natl. Security Advisor and was curious about his position on things. Sort of interesting how things turned out…
Dispatches from Pluto: Lost and Found in the Mississippi Delta
Sort of makes you wan to move to Mississippi? But also, not want to move there ever. Schrodinger’s Mississippi.It’s a fun travel book, with interesting history!
The Khan Dynasty Series
I read three of the “Khan Dynasty” Series (Conqueror Series) back-to-back:
- Genghis: Birth of an Empire
- Genghis: Lords of the Bow
- Genghis: Bones of the Hills
Unfortunately, I did not get around to reading “Empire of Silver” or “Conqueror: A Novel of Kublai Khan” although I really should!
12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos – DNF ❌
I think I only made it ~1/2 through the book. I may revisit.
The Gulag Archipelago Abridged – DNF ❌
So depressing. I’ll revisit this, but I only got about 1/2 through before I got distracted by other novels.