Audible Books: Miscellaneous

Reading, or rather listening. On the history front I decided to broach my general ignorance of the Middle East (unless the battles of Rommel and the 8th Army count) of which I know very little, just the complex and disturbing pictures I see on the TV news. So I took an Audible recommendation of "Arabs" by Tim Mackintosh-Smith (see below, it helped that it came free with my Audible subscription [win-win], and it was very comprehensive, or rather it was very, very long [going back to before the Arab date "dot"] so although I do not remember "everything" I got the satisfaction of a "general feeling" and understanding of the 'diaspora of meaning' that the word Arab evokes - simply put no one interpretation will ever suffice):  

Following on from this I chased up on another recommendation form a friend that takes a very close look at the troubled history of Palestine, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon courtesy of Britain and France's colonial history in teh region, after the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Aspects of "The Great Game", which really should be entitled, "Be Very Careful For What You Wish For!" It was both deeply informative and deeply troubling, to extent that it just left you shaking your head in disbelief (see below, "A Line in the Sand" is a terrible read because it lays bare the worst part of human nature and international politics - (one of) the moral of the story being don't leave a French and British career diplomat alone is a room of a map of a country that is not theirs and really know squat about to draw a line on a map, between alcoholic drinks, coffee and pastries):   

Needing some "light relief" from the blood letting and treachery from the folded, furrow of deep history and cynical realpolitik's, I called out to my friends for more lighter recommendations and got something I would never have chosen myself (see below, a fantasy detective story set in the modern day, to my escapist delight I really enjoyed it and can see myself slowly walking through the series): 

Refreshed from the non-hard historical journey (although with a deeper appreciation of how many rivers there are in the London whereabouts) I took up my final recommendation (I do have "free will" too, honest. This one was with a slight game inclination, aka Science Fiction, set in a universe that most people who have played or tinkered with Traveller would recognise. Think "Merchant Prince" but working your way up through from the bottom, after life has dealt you an unexpected "bad hand" (see below, "Quarter Share", another series I think I am now hooked into following):  

Given my liking of the book and genre, I have been collectively told it is high time I started watching "The Expanse" on Amazon Prime while I still have the chance.

Final Note: I would recommend all of the above, but for very different reasons!

Audible - "A Savage War of Peace" Alistair Horne

Ever since reading, or should I say literally burned the print from the page with my mark one eyeball from Alistair Horne's "To lose a Battle: France 1940" - I knew I had to go on and complete his four part French Trilogy (akin to Douglas Adams five part Hitch-Hikers Guide to teh Trilogy). It was a bucket list "thing" for me to do. I devoured "The Price of Glory: Verdun 1916" but then came to an abrupt halt. Despite buying both the Franco Prussian prequel ("The Fall of Paris: The Siege and teh Commune 1870-71") and the de Gaulle sequel ("A Savage Wat of Peace: Algeria 1954 - 64"), the books never leapt into my hands. They have remained a "pile of pages" for decades, shameful look down. To jumpstart the much delayed process I saw Audible had "A Savage War of Peace" so downloaded it and jumped in feet first (see below, I had been warned from others that it was not a "happy book" and they were absolutely right, it made the Northern Ireland troubles look kindergarten by comparison):  

When I finally finished it, there was a sense of relief, "that's over". The only way I can try to describe it is as, "watching a good sports team play their professional game in a haphazard unprofessional amateur fashion. What they did well, was done in teh wrong places for the wrong reasons. The star goal scorer  (de Gaulle) was living off his past victories and prestige. I feel as if I now know how little I really know about France, having had but a small glimpse of their suffering and self inflicted post-Colonial malaise (of both indignation and sense of collective guilt). I now need a way to get into the Franco Prussian chapter - I seem to have read them all in the wrong sort of order.