The One with Band of Brothers

114. Title & Author: Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne From Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest by Stephen E. Ambrose (312 pages)

Genre: Nonfiction--History & Military History

Completed: 14 September 2009

Summary & Review:

The historian Stephen Ambrose follows the path of one U.S. Army Airborne company, E company, from their original formation and training at Camp Toccoa, Georgia to their triumph in the European theater. Easy company suffered one of the highest casualty rates of any unit in WWII as they bravely fought in Normandy, Holland, and Germany. Those who made it out alive remained close throughout their lives.

I've owned the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers for years now and I absolutely love it, so it was about time that I read the book. Like the series, I loved the book. Ambrose did a good job accurately and fairly portraying all aspects of this incredible tale in a way that was extremely readable.

This was a birthday present from my excellent in-laws.

Rating: 8.5

The One with Chasing Darkness

113. Title & Author: Chasing Darkness (An Elvis Cole Novel) by Robert Crais (391 pages)*

Genre: Fiction--Thriller

Completed: 7 September 2009

Summary & Review:

As a fire burns in the hills above Los Angeles, the LAFD finds a man who has committed suicide. Near his body is evidence that appears to tie him to the murders of seven women throughout the city. Although the LAPD considers this an open and shut case, P.I. Elvis Cole thinks someone else, someone much more powerful and prominent, is really behind the killings.

I started this book while riding the Metro Gold Line down from South Pasadena to school at USC and the opening pages were about a fire near L.A., which was kind of eerie since there were (and still were as of the 7th) fires burning up the hills just north of Pasadena. Life imitating art or vice versa? Anyway, the book was entertaining even though Cole was a pretty forgettable character.

Rating: 6.5

The One with Nothing to Lose

112. Title & Author: Nothing to Lose (A Jack Reacher Novel) by Lee Child (531 pages)*

Genre: Fiction--Action

Completed: 3 September 2009

Summary & Review:

While on his aimless quest to travel from Maine to California, Reacher gets sidetracked in Colorado after encountering two towns: Hope and Despair. As he is visiting Despair, he is arrested and thrown out of town which only piques his curiosity as to what the weathered residents of Despair are hiding. He soon discovers that the owner of the town, who also happens to be the minister of an End Times congregation, is set on helping the apocalypse come as soon as possible.

I kind of enjoyed the first Reacher book I read (The Hard Way, #31) and kind of enjoyed the Reacher I listened to (Bad Luck and Trouble), but this book was a different story, no pun intended. Not only was the plot stupid and unbelievable, but it was nothing more than a vehicle for Child to express his political views, e.g. that religious people are all lunatics and that the war in Iraq was nothing more than a political sham. Reacher's character goes from being Hooah-hardcore-army-loyal to defending deserters. That's a bunch of crap. In fact, this book was so obnoxious it'll be the last one I read by Child.

Rating: 1.0

The One with The Last Patriot

111. Title & Author: The Last Patriot by Brad Thor (480 pages)*

Genre: Fiction--Thriller

Completed: 15 August 2009

Summary & Review:

Counter-terrorism operative Scot Harvath is pulled back into his old life as he stumbles into a centuries old battle while on a vacation in Paris. After saving a man from a car-bomb, Harvath learns that the man is working directly for the president to find and reveal Mohammed's last revelation--a revelation that could potentially end radical Islam. Unfortunately, men will kill to keep the revelation hidden.

I'm not going to lie, now that I am going to USC and the fact that Thor is a USC alum, I liked the book even better. Gotta support those fellow Trojans. Besides that though, the plot was interesting and it was well paced throughout the book. But, I did think the ending was a little weak and unfulfilling.

Rating: 7.0