Have you ever wandered through a person's personal library or living room and noticed a variety of strange objects that are displayed? Those are oftenHave you ever wandered through a person's personal library or living room and noticed a variety of strange objects that are displayed? Those are often called conversation pieces in that they generate questions that lead to discussions. Aaron Mahnke thinks of The Enlightenment Room at the British Museum as a wonder room or cabinet of curiosities - in essence a collection of objects gathered by the British from around the globe that they saw and went "huh" about. In Cabinet of Curiosities, Mahnke and Marks have gathered some 160 of the stories that have appeared on his podcast arranged by topic.
Mahnke and Marks have gathered an interesting collection of tales that makes the reader wonder, go "Huh," and/or say "What!" in this collection of short tales. The first topic is Curious Americana with 10 tales (Time Traveler about a 124 old gentleman is one). The second topic is Wild Coincidences with 15 tales - "Luck of the Irish about a Irish girl working on the Titanic and other ships makes the reader question the concept of luck. The third topic is Fantastic Beasts with 12 tales - here you find tales of bears, horses, whales, and a lock-picking orangutan. Unbelievable Stunts is topic number four (9 tales). Among these tales is that of Walter who seemed to attract lightening and Ernie who survived plan crashes and 9 major concussions! Topic five is Bizarre Events with 11 tales that include the time South Carolina had an atomic bomb dropped on it and the time British Airways managed to loose a pilot mid-flight (well almost loose him)! Strange Literature with 12 tales is topic six. One such tale reads like a murder mystery while another dealt with a death prediction! Topic seven is Remarkable Inventions with 9 tales that lead to the creation of Braille and a chess playing robot in 1770 among other things. Eerie Mysteries is topic eight with 13 tales which include glider models found in Egyptian tombs and the locked-room murder of the King of Bridge. Topic nine delves into the Baffling Origins of 10 items such at the croissant, the Pinkerton Detective Agency, or Beauty and the Beast. Uncanny People is topic ten with 16 tales of poisoners, Chinese ladies, or folks who make music with rocks! Topic eleven takes the reader to Peculiar Places with 8 tales of the Crypt of Civilization, hidden chambers in France, and a very windy city in Iran. More than Human is topic twelve with 8 tales of folks doing the seeming impossible such as Carl who played the violin with his feet or folks that can remember pretty much every moment of their lives. Topic thirteen drops the reader int Puzzling Crimes with 11 tales of forged art, fake ghosts, and con artists. Wartime Wonders is the fourteenth and final topic with 15 tales about a game that brought the FBI to the game company's headquarters, soldiers running away from a horde of hares, and a cursed plane.
Majnke and Mark's Cabinet of Curiosities is a book to keep around and delve into when you just want something to entertain yourself without having to think too hard. Each tale is short, entertaining, and designed to make your wonder. And the nice thing about having these tales in written form is that Mahnke and Marks provide their sources for each story so the reader can follow up those that really catch their interest!
Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the fun of reading this title! ...more
Agent Blue was in Italy chasing the Reaper, part of the Maitriser group, who is targeting the owner of a theater in Naples. Unfortunately for Blue, hiAgent Blue was in Italy chasing the Reaper, part of the Maitriser group, who is targeting the owner of a theater in Naples. Unfortunately for Blue, his former wife Helena is a soprano at that theater. Blue is in a fix because he still loves Helena and does not want her in danger, but he needs her help to trap the French agent. Will they manage to make-up and capture the Frenchman or will they end up another set of casualties in the war of spies? A quick, fun read!
How up are you on American Civil War History? If you have read any histories, you have likely encountered Mosby, the Gray Ghost of Northern Virginia. How up are you on American Civil War History? If you have read any histories, you have likely encountered Mosby, the Gray Ghost of Northern Virginia. But what do you know of the Jesse Scouts? The Blazer Scouts? The various plots ran by the Confederate Secret Service out of Canada to burn down New York City, raise up an insurrection in the Midwest, and blow up the White House? You didn't know about these? Well then pick up The Unvanquished and dive into the heart of these operations!
Patrick O'Donnell opens The Unvanquished with a preface and prologue linking the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and their activities to the "shadow war" conducted by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. He then divides the book into three broad sections - Part I: The Jesse Scouts, Part II: The Confederate Secret Service, and Part III: Sheridan's Scouts and "Come Retribution." While the headings provide some structure, the book basically starts in what is now West Virginia when Union General John Frémont brought the Jesse Scouts (named after his wife) from Missouri in 1862 and turned them loose to scout ahead of his forces, conduct raids behind enemy lines, and deal with local guerrillas. Under various names the Jesse Scouts played a role until the end of the war. In northern Virginia, John Singleton Mosby formed his Independent Ranger Company to operate behind Union lines, raid supply trains, and disrupt anything and everything that he could. In response to the Kilpatrick-Dahlgren raid that aimed to kill President Jefferson Davis and burn Richmond, the Confederate Secret Service tried to burn New York, raid Northern banks from Canada, promote dissent and rebellion in the Midwest, and sow discord. They also worked on several schemes to blow up the White House, kidnap President Lincoln and other officials, and finally to decapitate the Federal government.
While Patrick O'Donnell does a wonderful job of detailing the exploits of the various Jesse Scouts, Mosby's Rangers, and various members of the Confederate Secret Service, he doe not provide any sources that show a link between the ACW "shadow warriors" and the OSS or current special Forces. Despite that caveat, if you want juicy stories of daring Civil War exploits, The Unvanquished is the book for you!
Thanks Netgalley and the Atlantic Monthly Press for a chance to read this title....more
Shades of Mr. & Mrs. Smith only in Regency England! Lord Adrian and Lady Sophia Smythe are both agents in the Barbican spy agency, but neither knows tShades of Mr. & Mrs. Smith only in Regency England! Lord Adrian and Lady Sophia Smythe are both agents in the Barbican spy agency, but neither knows that the other is also an agent until one midnight when they both had an invitation to a meeting and found that they were in competition for the same spot with a murder to solve. Will they manage to solve the murder and regain their place or will something else happen? A fun romp in Regency England!...more
Roddy Ho has a girlfriend. But true to his luck, she is conning him. Now someone is trying to kill him. All this is going on against a terror attach oRoddy Ho has a girlfriend. But true to his luck, she is conning him. Now someone is trying to kill him. All this is going on against a terror attach on a remote English village, a bombing at a local zoo and other seemingly random acts of possible terrorism. When Jackson Lamb learns that one of his charges has gotten themselves into trouble, he rumbles into action and organizes action which lead to death, destruction and a way out that keeps Slough House and its inhabitants on their feet. An interesting addition to the series....more
Rain seems to be the theme of the book as it is present pretty much the whole time. But there is intrigue, action, and interrogation with plenty of baRain seems to be the theme of the book as it is present pretty much the whole time. But there is intrigue, action, and interrogation with plenty of back-stabbing and dogs coming home to roost in the Park and Slough House. River Cartwright is on the lam - undercover using a dead man's identity to walk back the suspect which cracks the case wide open. Along the way he finally meets his father in very awkward circumstances. Mick Herron continues to be willing to add to the carnage on London streets with accidents and dead bodies. A very interesting addition to the series....more
When a poofter decides to play silly games with MI5 using disgraced soldiers, things go way off-track. Rivers and company get drawn in and have to pulWhen a poofter decides to play silly games with MI5 using disgraced soldiers, things go way off-track. Rivers and company get drawn in and have to pull everyone's chestnuts out of the fire. Makes one wonder how MI% survived the Cold War!...more
Secret agents, sabotage, planned invasions, codes breaking and double agents are often the stuff of spy stories, but can be found in real life as wellSecret agents, sabotage, planned invasions, codes breaking and double agents are often the stuff of spy stories, but can be found in real life as well. Agent of the Iron Cross documents Lothar Witzke's story as German agent, running loose in the United States and Mexico from 1915 till his capture and trial in 1918.
At the opening of World War I, Witzke was a midshipman on the German cruiser Dresden and wounded in the final battle with the British Navy off the coast of Chile. He escaped from the hospital at Valparaiso, Chile, and disguised as a Danish seaman who had lost his papers made his way to San Fransisco. Consul Bopp employeed Witzke as a courier until he hooked up with Kurt Jahnke and became a saboteur. He helped plant explosives on merchant ships and with involved in the Black Tom Island and the Mare Island Naval Station explosions. In 1917, Witzke and Jahnke moved to Mexico to stay in communication with their HQ while continuing their operations. One such operation involved creating labor unrest at mines in southwestern United States so that local US Army troops would be called out while also having blacks in the South rise up in insurrections followed by the Mexican Army invading and occupying parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and California. All this mayhem would keep the United States out of the war in Europe. Fortunately, for the United States there were some competent undercover agents and double agents embedded in the German camp so that this plot could be thwarted. As part of the plot, Witzke crossed the border into Texas and was arrested, his luggage searched and a code found. The contents of the coded message played its part in the court-martial trial in convicting Witzke of espionage and sentenced to be hanged. After judicial review in 1919, the sentence was changed to confinement at hard labor. In 1919, Witzke and two other prisoners broke out of Fort Sam Houston prison but quickly recaptured and he ended up in Leavenworth for several years until released in 1923. Witzke moved back to Germany and joined the Abwehr under Canaris before World War II started. After the war Witzke served in the Hamburg legislature from 1949-1952. He died on January 6, 1962.
If you are interested in spies, secret agents, double crosses and feats of daring, pick up a copy of Agents of the Iron Cross and pick up a few little known facts! ...more
I reread this title for about the 4th or 5th time because of a Kindle Challenge - it was one of the list of Page to Screen titles and my local libraryI reread this title for about the 4th or 5th time because of a Kindle Challenge - it was one of the list of Page to Screen titles and my local library had it available to loan for Kindle. I have read the whole Matt Helm series years ago, but it is fun to dip back into this series when the mood hits. While The Wrecking Crew is not my favorite of the series, it is not a bad read. Matt Helm is back in the game after being out for 15 years. Just needs to identify the villain and take him out, but circumstances keep interfering. In the end, Helm does manage to finish the job and get ready for the rest of his career. ...more
Gabrielle Paluch started hearing stories about Olive Yang shortly after she became a journalist in Myanmar/Burma. Supposedly she had controlled an armGabrielle Paluch started hearing stories about Olive Yang shortly after she became a journalist in Myanmar/Burma. Supposedly she had controlled an army in the Golden Triangle that raised opium and helped the CIA in arming anti-Communist rebels on China's southern border. This story intrigued Pauch, so she started digging and found some kernels of truth in-bedded in the stories. But the facts lead to a complicated tale of rebellion, gender roles, romance, strained family relationships, and politics that still shape Myanmar/Burma today. Paluch engages the reader with the stories told about Olive Yang as she hunts for the facts behind the stories. An interesting bit of history not often told about a country that keeps popping up in the headlines....more
Taiyo Asano has managed to survive everything thrown at him so far. But his role as the husband of Mutsumi Yozakura and her chief protector keeps gettTaiyo Asano has managed to survive everything thrown at him so far. But his role as the husband of Mutsumi Yozakura and her chief protector keeps getting him involved with all sorts of problems. Hatoda, head of PoPoPPo Toy Company, is trying to win Mutsumi's hand. Then there is the government spy agency - Hinagiku - that wants him out of the way, but later has crazy need for Taiyo's assistance. Plenty of action and plenty of crazy situations makes this a fun title to read! ...more
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