Fordlandia

Greg Grandin weaves a tale of duality and irony in his “Fordlandia.” Ostensibly it’s an examination of Henry Ford’s nascent rubber empire in Brazil. As the machinations to acquire land and not have to pay taxes take place Henry Ford’s point of view about his machine and the industrial empire it created slowly evolves through the pages of the book into a paternalism that both stifled the original intent of producing rubber for his machines and revealed how brute force (the same that he used to build his cars) did not have a chance against the intricacies that nature had evolved in the tropical rain forest.

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Through the Looking Glass

What do you get when you cross a penchant for chess with a fertile, but bizarre imagination? Why, Through the Looking Glass, of course. Lewis Carroll’s fascination with chess is quite apparent in the reading of this supposed children’s tale. Not only are the chess pieces abundantly in evidence (Red and White Queens, and knights that have a tough time sitting their steeds) but so are the moves across the board to make the transformation from a pawn to a queen.

If you wish to read more of my comments on this book, as well as comments on 64 other books then you can find all of them in "Book Blogs," available on Amazon in either softcover or digital:
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Allan Quartermain

Africa was the “dark continent” for much of the 19^th Century and because of that captured the imagination of the English reading public. Haggard knew that and capitalized on it with his books set in various parts of the real Africa and then devolving into the mythical regions.

Allan Quartermain is a sequel to “King Solomon’s Mines” and has adventure at its core. Rather than seeking riches Quartermain is bent on recapturing the feelings and flavor of his life in Africa. His son has died so there is no reason for him to remain in England when the call of Africa is so strong.

If you wish to read more of my comments on this book, as well as comments on 64 other books then you can find all of them in "Book Blogs," available on Amazon in either softcover or digital:
https://www.amazon.com/Book-Blogs-William-Behr-Mueller/dp/1479375446/ref=sr_1_25?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1479445121&sr=1-25&keywords=william+behr+mueller