Christmas Gift Reads

 There are only a couple of people in my life who are bold enough to buy me books as presents, and oddly enough they are generally my two friends who are also brothers. Samwise (really just Sam but how could I not?) got me two books and Garrett got me another. Because these two are not strangers to me and my book choices my gifts involved arctic exploration gone terribly wrong, daring WWII rescues and Russian science fiction short stories.  Clears throat ~~~~~These are a few of my faaaaaaavorite thiiiiiinngs"~~~.

"In the Kingdom of Ice: The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeanette" by Hampton Sides

There was a stretch of time there when polar exploration was all the rage in the United States. Trying to find a way, by water, across the top of the world was on the front of everyone's mind.  For a long time it seemed like there was an endless cycle of excitement sending off an expedition, a few years wait where people got increasingly nervous about what happened to the expedition, a different expedition being sent to find the original one, and having no luck, then the people in the rescue expedition being like "oh man this arctic place is enchanting" and then it starts again. That was certainly the case for the USS Jeanette. A rabble rousing newspaper man underwrites the cost of this expedition and a mostly seasoned crew take off from San Francisco to see what they can find. Though they are well equipped and careful they are no match for the ice packed waters which embrace their boat in a grip that they can't escape from. Then it's a fight for survival for this crew - and the poor dogs that are with them. The dogs, always the worst for them when it comes to arctic expeditions gone wrong.

"Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission" by Hampton Sides. 

Samwise kept with a theme with the same author for the second book. This is the story of a group of POWs who were captured and imprisoned after the fall of Manilla. The book literally starts with a different group of POWs being burned alive by panicking Japanese soldiers and it was the most jarring start to a book that I've read in a long time. So there is a certain prison camp that the US military is worried will be liquidated (aka all the POWs killed) as the end of the war becomes more obvious and a daring rescue mission is brewed up! It is also one of the, if not THE first, mission by what becomes the Army Rangers. You get to know the men in the camp, the men doing the rescuing and one or two really amazing civilians who worked to get food, medicine and supplies (including a Greek Old Testament) to the POWs. What I always find super interesting about these stories is that there are some men who served in these positions that are lifelong military men who come from long military families, went to West Point, whatever. But there are just as many, if not more, men who are just regular, every day men who are put into these positions of power and leadership but after the war they just go home and lead civilian lives and what an extreme change that must be. Was a great read, edge of my seat but doesn't shy away from the scary and graphic subject matter.

My friend Garrett got me a collection of Isaac Asimov's short stories called Nightfall. In truth, I haven't read this one yet but I'm sure I will soon!