Val McDermid

2014

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An easy-to-read and broad-ranging exploration of forensics. The fact that McDermid is a crime fiction author clearly makes a difference, as she writes with the ease of someone used to making these ideas accessible. The book ranges over all aspects of forensic science, perhaps being strongest on the physical aspects like fingerprinting and DNA profiling. What comes out most strongly is the need for an holistic approach to investigation, the ways in which all the different aspects of a case – physical, psychological, and circumstantial – need to be fitted together to form a consistent scientific and criminal narrative.

4/5. Finished 02 December 2015.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)

Barbara W. Tuchman

1988

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A broad and fast-moving account of the endgame in the American War of Independence.

I'm an enormous fan of Tuchman, but this is far from being her best work. She still has the same eye for detail, same same telling turn of phrase, but the narrative is a little confused and the timeline hard to follow. She deals with some of the same issues in The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam, a much better book. I think the weakness in this book stems from her taking an explicitly American perspective ("our country", "our leaders") which is missing from her other work: while she remains as even-handed as ever, and is far from being an American jingoist, it strikes an awkward note.

Having said that, there is huge satisfaction is hearing about the naval side of the war, the decisive influence of sea power on victory, as well as the details of 18th century naval warfare and the various characters involved. I was unaware of the degree to which France – and especially the French navy – was involved directly in the war, to the extent of dramatically affecting and constraining possible British strategic moves. Tuchman describes their motivations with exquisite care, as well as those of the newly-independent Dutch, showing how American independence was only part of the larger game of European power politics.

4/5. Finished 31 October 2015.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)

Michael Moorcock

1980

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"Justice is not the Law; it is not Order, as human beings normally speak of it; it is Justice -- Equilibrium, the Correction of the Balance."

This is one of the classic "swords and sorcery" series, a model for many that followed. Full of irony and wonderfully drawn scenes that a reader can visualise despite their fundamental and well-crafted alien-ness. I first read this work over twenty years ago, and my older self still loves it.

The story follows the adventures of Dorian Hawkmoon and companions as they fight the Dark Empire of Granbretan (nice touch, that) in a far post-apocalypic future. And defeat it, of course, though not before most of them die: this is fantasy fiction, after all. The plot is quite simple, in the sense that final victory is never seriously in question and momentary difficulties are quickly overcome. But that's to quibble, and to ignore Moorcock's skill as a fantasy writer, his ability to create a world that's fundamentally still human despite its strange features and magical powers.

5/5. Finished 10 October 2015.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)

Atul Gawande

2014

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An exploration of end-of-life care – something that's of interest to us all, of course, but very seldom addressed properly. And that's Gawande's essential point: people leave decisions about their last days until their last days, and so have a far worse time of it than perhaps they need to.

There's much more to this book that this, though. Gawande explores the different approaches to assisted living and hospice care, the ways in which focusing on social rather than medical aspects can lead to far better outcomes, and shares his own family's experiences with the difficulties that gradual illness can bring. (This is perhaps the greatest contribution of the book, and shows an enormous openness of spirit to share something so personal.) He demolishes the utopian visions of multi-generational living that sometimes cloud the debate, showing that this brings its own tensions: different to those of our more individualistic society, but certainly no less divisive. If nothing else, he shows that there is an alternative to medicalising old age, and that this is something we should all work towards in our own self-interest.

4/5. Finished 27 September 2015.

(Originally published on Goodreads.)