Review of "Silver Dollar" a novella by Alan Trustman

Review of

Silver Dollar: a novella by Alan Trustman ISBN 9781535537742

Four out of five stars

 Betsy is a woman that lives in New York City and she lives fast, going through several quality men without actually being promiscuous. She has two children, one of which was not fathered by the man considered to be the father. Both of the children are successful and she keeps her secret. The book opens when Betsy is young and ends when she is around seventy.

 The reader is introduced to the speedy way that Betsy lives her life on the first pages. After meeting a man named Joel on a blind date set up by her friends Dean and Mari, Betsy takes Joel up on his suggestion that they take a cab to JFK airport and fly around the world. A short time into their journey Joel and Betsy are sharing a room and when they returned to JFK they parted and Betsy never saw or heard from Joel until roughly thirty years later when Joel has only a few weeks to live.

 The interpersonal relationships that Betsy has with her men and female friends keep your interest, but the spy and terrorist aspects of the plot come close to destroying the book. At the end, Betsy’s current male companion helps thwart a major, multi-pronged terrorist plot against the crowd at a football game. This attempt to interject some suspense fails to do that and comes across as artificial. While it is true that the threat of terrorism is a major modern thought, it is not a reasonable addition to many plots.

Review of "Long Stretch at First Base," by Matt Christopher

Review of

Long Stretch at First Base, by Matt Christopher

Four out of five stars

 This is a story about familial loyalty within the context of a local baseball team. Bobby Jamison is a shortstop for the Redbirds youth team and while he has a great deal of range, so does his throwing arm. His throws to first are often just wild enough that the first baseman must dance around a bit to catch them.

 Fortunately, his brother Kirby, a first baseman, is an excellent fielder, capable to catching and controlling Bobby’s errant throws. However, Kirby is a very weak hitter, which contrasts with Tony, a great hitter and mediocre fielder at first. The season has progressed to the point that the members of the All-star team are to be selected and Bobby wants Kirby to be selected over Tony.

 Bobby hatches a duplicitous scheme to try to insure that Kirby is selected over Tony, but events transpire to show him how wrong his actions would be. At the end, it is Kirby that shows Bobby the way things should be, that loyalty to a brother should not get in the way of talent and ability.

 The story is a simple one, easy to read and understand. Like most books of juvenile sports fiction there is a moral and a clear and understandable path to doing what is right. Modern readers may find the story a bit quaint, but the message is timeless.

Review of "The Doolittle Raid: America’s Daring First Strike Against Japan," by Carroll V. Glines

Review of

The Doolittle Raid: America’s Daring First Strike Against Japan, by Carroll V. Glines

Five out of five stars

 There is no question that the sixteen bombers commanded by Lt. Col. James Doolittle that launched from an aircraft carrier and dropped bombs on Japan had a dramatic impact far beyond the actual destruction. After their stunning victory at Pearl Harbor and their naval forces taking over a buffer zone of all land masses in the western Pacific, the Japanese leadership told their people that bombs would never be dropped on their homeland.

 Yet, what is known as the Doolittle raid happened only four months after the the attack of Pearl Harbor. The Japanese response was strong, they recalled fighter squadrons back to the Japanese islands to defend them against air attack and they ruthlessly pushed forward into China and slaughtered entire villages that may have harbored the American air crews. All for naught as within three years entire Japanese cities were burned to the ground and in two instances vaporized.

 The account the the planning of the raid, the execution and the experiences of the crews after departing Japanese airspace are all covered very well. Particular attention is paid to what happened to the members of the crew after the raid. Nearly all of them were forced to bail out, one plane ended up at a Soviet airfield. Most quickly made contact with Chinese people very willing to help them, most of which paid with their lives. Those Americans unfortunate enough to end up in Japanese hands suffered a great deal.

 A very important point made in this book is one that constantly needs to be repeated. That is the viciousness of the Japanese forces in China. It is stated in this book that as many as 65,000 Chinese were brutally killed by the Japanese forces as they marauded across the country looking for the American fliers. Such behaviors should be remembered forever.