The Guardians by John Grisham

 The Guardians by John Grisham-375 pages

I am not sure what it is about Grisham books, but they grab my attention from the very beginning to the bitter end.  In this book he brings to light the plight of innocent people who are wrongly accused and sent to death row.  A group of dedicated people work at clearing their names and getting their sentences expunged.  He really takes you on some interesting twists and turns.  An exceptional read.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Throne of Glass
by Sarah J. Maas
404 pages










After she has served a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, Crown Prince Dorian offers eighteen year old assassin Celaena Sardothien her freedom on the condition that she act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. She will have to fight the most gifted thieves and assassins (all men, by the way) in the land. Will she be the victor?

The Last Battle: When U.S. and German Soldiers Joined Forces in the Waning Hours of World War II in Europe by Stephen Harding

The Last Battle:  When U.S. and German Soldiers Joined Forces in the Waning Hours of World War II in Europe by Stephen Harding - 223 pages

When I chose to read The Last Battle it was because I was interested in reading about the circumstances of how the United States and Germans teamed up.  However, I was unimpressed.  What is not clearly mentioned is that it was not truly the Germans who were participating.  Most of the so-called "German" soldiers were Austrians and they had joined the Austrian resistance long before the war ended.  The goal of this "last battle" was to protect a group of high-ranking French political prisoners (former ministers who opposed the Nazis) and kept at Schloss Itter, a medieval castle in the Tyrolean Alps.  Initially, after the true Germans guarding the prisoners leave, local Austrian-bred officers and soldiers plus one disgruntled former Bavarian SS Captain who deserted, Schrader,  help protect the prisoners.  Then one prisoner escaped to let the nearby American troops know what was happening and they came to the rescue in two waves.  The first is the focus of the latter half of the book, as the second wave is given only one paragraph.

Also a fact I disliked about the book was its focus on biographies over the actual event.  The first nearly one hundred pages were mini-biographies of the ensemble cast of about two dozen.  However, that same fact lets me unexpectedly claim this book towards this month's goal of sports and athlete related books.  One of the French prisoners was Jean Borotra, a world-renowned tennis champion and former Minister of Sports and Recreation, who was imprisoned for saying the Jews should be allowed equal opportunity to participate in sporting activities.  Also, the American soldier who led the troops to Schloss Ittler, John C. Lee, Jr., participated in swoardsmanship and horsemanship sports while enrolled in a military academy and played several seasons of semi-pro football after the war's end.  Both Lee and Borotra were the indispensable brains and brave souls whom without the battle never would have been won.

The Dodger: The Extraordinary Story of Churchill's Cousin and the Great Escape by Tim Caroll

The Dodger:  The Extraordinary Story of Churchill's Cousin and the Great Escape by Tim Caroll - 336 pages

The Dodger recounts the life of John "Johnny" Bigelow Dodge, a distant cousin of Sir Winston Churchill.  American-born but British-bred, Dodge became a British citizen when his mother married an English aristocrat.  During World War I, he served in naval infantry unit until he was wounded at Gallipoli.  After his recovery, he transferred to the army and led a machine gun group.  During the interwar years, Dodge traveled extensively as a business men (though he may have used that as a cover for spying) and was twice arrested in the Soviet Union.  When World War II began he reactivated his commission and served on active duty until his capture at Dunkirk.  Once in German hands, Dodge spent the next five years being moved from camp to camp and attempting multiple escapes, most notably the one from Stalag III featured in the movie The Great Escape.  During this time, the biography also tells the story of the men he lived and traveled camp to camp with.  The most significant of these seems to have been Wing Commander Harry "Wings" Melville Arbuthnot Day (I am inspired to look for his biography at a later point; he masterminded the great escape).

The book was highly variable in its appeal.  The first half covering pre-World War II was bare bones information and dry reading.  Once the point of Dodge's life in World War II was reached, it become more interesting but the focus was equally split between Dodge and his four main companions.  Worth reading?  Yes.  Is there something better?  Probably.

Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman

Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman- 298 pgs.

This book is getting a lot of buzz right now because of the TV show based off it airing on Netflix.  Because of that and a recommendation by a friend, I decided to give it a shot.  During an adventurous time in her life, Piper Kerman became tangled with a woman who involved Kerman in the drug world.  After delivering a large amount of cash for a drug payment, Kerman got scared and left the world of drugs  and started to live a normal life. Or so she thought.  10 years later, she was arrested and sentenced to a year in federal prison.  She learned a lot about herself and others during this stay.  This was a fast and enjoyable read.  It is a very good example of how your past can come back to haunt you.

Orange is the New Black, by Piper Kerman

Orange is the New Black, by Piper Kerman, 298 pages

The subtitle for this book is "My year in a women's prison."  I found this a fascinating read, and I usually hate those "my year doing a thing" books.  Piper made some bad choices after college- mainly the one time she smuggled a large amount of drug money past airport customs.  But after ten years pass by, she is indicted for that one big mistake and sentenced to over a year in prison.   This comes as a shock to Piper, her fiancee, and begins her long journey of self-realization and education about the US prison system.  Pretty good, as far as memoirs go.

The Rescuers, by Margery Sharp

The Rescuers, by Margery Sharp, 160 pages

Apparently, mice have a certain kinship with prisoners, and the Prisoners Aid Society (comprised of mice, obviously) have decided that they need a special mouse to free a Norwegian poet from an exceptionally guarded prison fortress.  Miss Bianca is a beautiful mouse of privilege, who leaves the lap of luxury to have the adventure of a lifetime.  They made the Disney movie based on these 1960s books, but I don't remember it well enough to compare.  I can say, though, that the language is of a higher level than most children's books today.  I had to look up some words (now I know what "bilious" means).