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Issue 11
February 1, 2002

Photography
Winter Photos

Victoria Harbour Dock

St. Patrick's Church, Perkinsfield, Ontario

Photography Weblinks

Poem
"Lartigue Photo: 45. Solange, Neuilly, 1929"

Writing
A Short Character Sketch

Reading
Reading - Patrick O'Brian and W.E.B. Griffin

Reading - Nicola Griffith's The Blue Place

Golden Retriever Saga
2X Golden: "Winter and Such"

 


Reading 11

Patrick O'Brien and W.E.B. Griffin

I have been sorting books. My library had been in a major jumble before the move and by sorting the books I assembled several series of books. Must confess I have been rereading some old favourites from those listed below.

Patrick O'Brien's
Aubrey-Maturin series describes Royal Navy operations and Admiralty intelligence operations during the Napoleonic War period. It describes much more than that - the social customs of the land and the sea, the medicine and science of the time, and takes the reader from England to the Mediterranean, Antartica, Australia, India, and many more ports, seas, and oceans. They are full-blown studies of a world that transport the reader to the time and the people and their actions, thoughts, emotions, and beliefs. "The best historical novels ever written" (Richard Snow, The New York Times).

It is strongly recommended that if you read this series, read it in the order of publication which is the chronological order of the lives of Captain Jack Aubrey and Doctor Stephen Maturin.

  • Master and Commander
  • Post Captain
  • HMS Surprise
  • The Mauritius Command
  • Desolation Island
  • The Fortune of War
  • The Surgeon's Mate
  • The Ionian Mission
  • Treason's Harbour
  • The Far Side of the World
  • The Reverse of the Medal
  • The Letter of Marque
  • The Thirteen Gun Salute
  • The Nutmeg of Consolation
  • Clarissa Oakes
  • The Wine-Dark Sea
  • The Commodore
  • The Yellow Admiral
  • The Hundred Days
  • Blue At the Mizzen

Patrick O'Brian web site

 

W.E.B. Griffin

W.E.B Griffin's three series (he has been called the "poet laureate of the American Military")

Brotherhood of War - These novels look at the US Army from the end of World War II up to Viet Nam, with views of military operations and intelligence, and the inner "corporate" struggles of the Army as it changes during that time: the development of Special Forces, Army Aviation, and armed helicopters (a breach of agreement made with the Air Force). Locales described: Civil War in Greece, Korea, the Congo, Cuba, Germany, Dien Bien Phu, and Viet Nam in the time of the American "war". Memorable characters and situations abound.

  • Book I: The Lieutenants
  • Book II: The Captains
  • Book III: The Majors
  • Book IV: The Colonels
  • Book V: The Berets
  • Book VI: The Generals
  • Book VII: The New Breed
  • Book VIII: The Aviators
  • Book IX: Special Ops

The Corps - Marine Corps fiction beginning in China before World War II. Describes Marine Air and Ground operations at the start of the war, as well as OSS operations in the Pacific, the Marine Raiders, the home front, Guadalcanal, Phillipines Irregular Forces, cryptograpic "magic". I think that the first in the series is the best of the lot. Griffin's latest in this series carries the characters from the World War II books into the Korean War. President Roosevelt, General MacArthur, Admiral Leahy, Admiral Nimitz, and OSS Director "Wild" Bill Donovan and the co-operation and competition of these "highest levels" crew are the back drop for the activities of the main characters: Fleming Pickford, Ken McCoy, et al.

  • Book I: Semper Fi
  • Book II: Call To Arms
  • Book III: Counterattack
  • Book IV: Battleground
  • Book V: Line of Fire
  • Book VI: Close Combat
  • Book VII: Behind the Lines
  • Book VIII: In Danger's Path

Honor Bound - Set in Argentina during World War II and describes the intelligence operations of the OSS, FBI, the Nazis, and the Argentine Military (including Colonel Juan Peron). The hero of the stories is Cletus H. Frade, son of an Argentine Army Officer and an American mother, who is employed by the OSS to keep Argentina neutral and leaning toward the Allies rather than Germany.

  • Honor Bound
  • Blood and Honor
  • Secret Honor

William E. Butterworth (W.E.B.Griffin) has published over 125 books under eight pseudonyms and has over 27 million copies of his novels in print.

Official Web Site for W E B Griffin

Text copyright © William Joseph Gibson 2002
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