Free Radicals – The Secret Anarchy of Science – Michael Brooks

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Avid Reader

Free Radicals – The Secret Anarchy of Science, is authored by a scientific insider – Michael Brooks, PhD. Michael pulls back the curtain to reveal the Great Oz of Science as he really is – a sometimes charlatan and showman, dabbling in the mysteries of the universe.

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Smoke Heads – Doug Johnstone

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Avid Reader

Smoke Heads by Doug Johnstone is a book for all you whiskey lovers out there – “cheers” indeed. Unfortunately, for those of you not susceptible to the charms of the good stuff, caveat emptor. It is a rollercoaster drunken ride through the famed Scottish Isle of Islay, with more drams and cocaine than you can shake a drunken stick at. If that sounds like fun to you, you’re right – it should be. However, this book has a fatal flaw: severe lack of credibility verging on the absurd.

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The Mythical Man-Month – Frederick Brooks Jr

Posted on October 2, 2011 by Avid Reader

Book review coming soon…

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The Tipping Point – Malcolm Gladwell

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Avid Reader

Review Coming Soon…

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Blood Brotherhoods – The Rise of the Italian Mafias – John Dickie

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Avid Reader

Review Coming Soon…

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The Leopard – Jo Nesbo

Posted on August 5, 2011 by Avid Reader

The Leopard by Jo Nesbo, the sixth and latest in the English-language series of Harry Hole novels, sees the return of the much vaunted and loved Harry Hole, from his druggy and escapist bolt-hole in Hong Kong. Harry is brought back to assist in solving the latest series of connected murders in Norway, which are seemingly the work of a serial killer, possibly in the mould of the infamous Snowman.

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Death in Breslau – Marek Krajewski

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Avid Reader

Marek Krajewski’s Death in Breslau, like its fellow novels, is a curious piece of work, set in 1930′s Breslau, which is present day Wroclaw. German detective Eberhard Mock is the chief protagonist, and Breslau is his literal stomping ground, where he happily lords it over his beloved ladies, and not-so-loved assorted criminal elements. This particular tale involves Mock sharing the limelight with his assistant Herbert Anwald, as they investigate a horrific double rape and murder, involving scorpions and ancient graffiti.

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Imperium – Ryszard Kapuscinski

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Avid Reader

Imperium by Ryszard Kapuscinski, is an excellent and unique book offering an unparalleled insight into life in the former Soviet empire, and life in the current Russia and former Soviet-bloc states. Growing up as a Pole from where is currently Byelorussia, Ryszard is ideally positioned to commentate and annotate life under the former Soviet regime. He is an exceptional, if not the most exceptional, proponent of “travel reportage” in any case, and here he works on reportage from an area he clearly has massive emotional attachment to.

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The Soccer War – Ryszard Kapuscinski

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Avid Reader

The Soccer War by Ryszard Kapuscinski is a collection by this one-of-a-kind author of his escapades, adventures and experiences in some of the 27 (yes, twenty seven) revolutions slash wars he personally experienced during the 1960s and early 1970s. Ryszard was a Polish journalist with responsibilities at any one time for over 50 countries in Africa and South America, and this book offers his insights and experiences into among others, Patrice Lulumba, the Algeria  of Boumedienne and Ben Bella, barbarous civil war in Nigeria, and the eponymous Soccer War between El Salvador and Honduras.

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The Redeemer – Jo Nesbo

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Avid Reader

The Redeemer is Harry Hole’s fourth English-language adventure, coming as it does after the dramatic finale of The Devil’s Star. This was an excellent and exciting read, and is the usual and typical Jo Nesbo in Harry Hole mode, fare. The eponymous Redeemer is a relentless Balkans assassin, who kills the wrong man one Christmas in Oslo, the repercussions of which drag Harry Hole into a race against time and death.

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