Mike's Books

The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson: The Baseball Legend's Battle for Civil Rights During World War II by   Michael Lee Lanning 4 Stars The Court-Martial of Jackie Robinson is an extremely well-researched, well-written, and attention-holding biography of the former Brooklyn Dodger great.   As the title implies, the book centers on Robinson’s court-martial in 1944 over an incident stemming from his refusal to move to the back of a bus in Texas.   I thought I knew quite a bit about Robinson and this incident, but I learned much more than I knew from this work.   I’d recommend it to any baseball fan and anyone interested in the civil rights struggle during World War II. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51294353-the-court-martial-of-jackie-robinson

Do Not Go On by   Bryan Furuness   4 Stars Do Not Go On hooked me from the first page and kept me on the line until the very end.   The witness protection program is supposed to protect the people who choose to testify against the bad guys; to offer a fresh start to both the witnesses and their families.   But what happens when the wheels start to fall off the process, the witness and the family start to come apart, the government’s role isn’t entirely honest and honorable, and the bad guys aren’t really who they seem?   What happens is you wind up with a terrific story, full of characters that it’s easy to identify with and root for, extremely well-written, funny and poignant all at the same time – in short, a complete winner! https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49016708-do-not-go-on

When We Were Vikings by   Andrew David MacDonald 4 Stars When We Were Vikings introduces a powerful heroine, I loved Zelda’s story! Andrew David MacDonald’s debut novel was a treat to read.   It is the story of Zelda, a young woman with fetal alcohol syndrome and of her battle to defeat the villains in her world.   It’s well-written, fast-moving, and will make you want to laugh one minute and to cry the next.   In the end it will just simply warm your heart.   I can’t wait to see what MacDonald does for an encore.

Nuclear Spies: America's Atomic Intelligence Operation Against Hitler and Stalin by   Vince Houghton   4 Stars Nuclear Spies provides a first rate overview of America’s scientific intelligence operations before and immediately after the Second World War.   Houghton very effectively compares and contrasts America’s very successful intelligence efforts aimed at Germany’s suspected atomic bomb program during the war with the nation’s failed efforts to determine Soviet nuclear capabilities after the war, an effort that left most in the country’s leaders shocked when the Soviet Union successfully detonated an atomic bomb in 1949.   The book is well researched and well written, making it easy to read despite its serious academic approach to the subject.   I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the history of World War II, the Cold War, or American intelligence operations in general. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42833707-nuclear-spies