The Operators - reading

Finished "The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America's War in Afghanistan" by Michael Hastings, the Rolling Stone reporter whose article about General McChrystal helped bring about that general's resignation.

Much of the book is excellent, and demonstrates the difference between the inside and outside views of such things as the war itself, President Obama's military dealings, the military vs. civilian views of the war and the view of the soldiers as well. Much of the book is unnecessary and should have been edited out. Though many parts were very good, I wasn't exactly compelled to finish it.

[Redacted] - reading

Finished [redacted]. This was the 564-page draft of a novel written by [redacted], a friend/coworker. I had a few minor issues with some parts of it, but the overall story, characters and setting shows real promise. It held my interest throughout and I hope to see more!

Nine Princes in Amber - reading

Finished "Nine Princes in Amber" by Roger Zelazny. This is my second time with this series. The stage is set, the world is understood (to an extent, I guess) and I have nine more books to go!

Operation Mincemeat - reading

Finished "Operation Mincemeat" by Ben Macintyre. You could know this story as a paragraph you read on the web (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Mincemeat) or as a mention in a documentary, or you can know it in detail from the people planning and executing the operation to the people who caused it to succeed. I liked the latter. This was a story about Operation Mincemeat, a WWII operation where a body with false intelligence was floated along the coast, picked up and channeled through Spanish officers and made their way to Berlin and to Hitler. The effect was that Hitler defended Greece and Sardinia more heavily allowing the allies to land on Sicily more easily and with fewer casualties on both sides.