David Petraeus is a retired United States General who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Andrew Roberts is biographer and historian specializing in warfare and those who conduct it (his books Churchill: Walking with Destiny and Napoleon: A Life are great!). So these two experts explore the major wars from 1945 to the Ukraine war. They just missed the Israel-Hamas war.

“Never, never, never believe any war will be smooth and easy, or that anyone who embarks on the strange voyage can measure the tides and hurricanes he will encounter. The Statesman who yields to war fever must realize that once the signal is given, he is no longer the master of policy but the slave of unforeseeable and uncontrollable events. Antiquated War Offices, weak, incompetent or arrogant commanders, untrustworthy allies, hostile neutral, malignant Fortune, ugly surprises, awful miscalculation–all take their seats at the Council Board on the morrow of a declaration of war.” (Winston Churchill, My Early Life (1930), p. 235)

Petraeus and Roberts show every word of Churchill’s warning about war came true in the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and Gulf War, and especially the United States’s longest war, Afghanistan. William Tecumseh Sherman famously said, “War is hell.” The section of Conflict dealing with the Ukraine proves Sherman’s assessment with plenty of proof. Not only did thousands of Ukrainian civilians die in the indiscriminate bombing, shelling, and drone attacks the Russians unleashed against them, the Russian invaders also encountered death and destruction: “There were also stories of Russian solders sabotaging their own vehicles’ gas tanks in order to avoid reaching the front line, a classic example of the demoralization of young conscripts who had been told they would be greeted as liberators but were instead experience almost universal hostility and loathing.” (p. 376) There were also reports that Russian officers were shot in the back by their troops.

Time after time, Petraeus and Roberts illustrate the pressure politicians put on the military to engage in warfare without knowing the risks. “[General Colin] Powell bristled when Madeleine Albright, the US Ambassador to the UN, snapped at him, “What’s the point in having this superb military you’re always talking about if we can’t use it?” (p.215). Mission creep and quagmire wars result from this kind of thinking.

The savagery and cruelty of war shows up again and again. Take the Iraq-Iran War in the 1980s. “Ayatollah Khomeini sent unarmed teenagers to certain death with instructions to pick up the rifle of the boy who fell in front of them… The Ayatollah gave them small metal keys that he promised would gain them admission to Paradise when they were martyred. Many were bound by ropes to prevent their desertion.” (p. 176) Hundreds of thousands of young people died in this conflict.

Getting into a war is easy, getting out is hard. “It is no coincidence that the United States lost its two longest wars–those in Vietnam and in Afghanistan. In both countries, it propped up unpopular and corrupt regimes…and was defeated by enemies enjoying cross-border sanctuaries and fighting to tire the American people and force the withdrawal of US armed forces from the conflict.” (p. 277). All wars cost lives and extended conflicts become money pits.

Conflict chronicles the major wars over the past 75 years with successes and failures. Petraeus and Roberts conclude by predicting what future wars will look like. Welcome, Terminators! GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction  — 1

1 The Death of the Dream of Peace, 1945-1953 — 5

2 Wars of Decolonization, 1947-1975 — 37

3 America’s War in Vietnam, 1964-1975 — 77

4 From the Sinai to Port Stanley, 1967-1982 — 135

5 Gold War Denouement, 1979-1993 — 169

6 The New World Disorder, 1991-1999 — 207

7 The War in Afghanistan, 2001-2021 — 235

8 The Iraq War, 2003-2011 — 279

Appendix A Security Incidents in Iraq, January 2004-August 2008 — 341

Appendix B Headquarters, Multi-National Force, Baghdad, Iraq, 15 July 2008  — 342

Appendix C Anaconda Strategy versus al-Qaeda in Iraq, September 2008 — 348

Appendix D The Battle of Sadr City, March-April 2008 — 349

9 Vladimir Putin’s Existential War against Ukraine, 2022 — 350

10 The Wars of the Future — 405

Acknowledgments — 443

Maps — 445

Bibliography —  457

Notes  — 475

Index — 519

The 5-4 Buffalo Bills host the well-rested 3-5 Denver Broncos in a Monday Night Football match-up. The weather should be benign: temps in the 40s with mild wind (November in Western New York can be brutal…but not tonight!). The Broncos are coming off their Bye Week and showing improvement. The Broncos held the Kansas City Chiefs to a mere 9 points in their game. The Bills are favored by 7 1/2 points. I think the score will be closer than that.

The Buffalo Bills play the Denver Broncos tomorrow on Monday Night Football. However, there’s plenty of NFL action today. This is the Make-Or-Break time of the year for many NFL teams. And, sadly, the number of injured players increases with 10 weeks of wear and tear on those athletic bodies. How will your favorite NFL team perform today?

I started reading John le Carre (aka, David Cornwell) in the 1970s and continued reading his spy novels over the decades. If you’re a le Carre fan like me, you’ll enjoy Errol Morris’s fascinating film, The Pigeon Tunnel, where le Carre talks about his novels and his bizarre childhood that did so much to affect his life and his writing.

Le Carre’s father was a con man. Ronnie Cornwell, le Carre’s conniving father, was involved in dubious (and criminal) enterprises all of his Life. Le Carre’s mother abandons her wayward husband and two sons by walking away from the mess. Le Carre was 5 years old.

Le Carre admits that he never fit into the social class his father projected him into. He told his father he was studying Law at Oxford University when in fact he studied Modern Languages. Le Carre was recruited to be a British spy. He didn’t like the first intelligence agency and moved to a second intelligence agency. He didn’t like that either…and turned to writing.

Le Carre’s experience in the world of spies led him to write about double agents and moles. Morris includes film from some of the movies based on le Carre’s spy novels. Le Carre says that all of his books started out with the working title of The Pigeon Tunnel. That title comes from the time le Carre and his father were at a hotel in Monte Carlo where pigeons were forced to fly down a tunnel and exit above the hotel where they became targets of guests with shotguns who shot at them. The pigeons that survived would fly back to the hotel’s roof cages where they would tempt death all over again the next day.

Le Carre died in 2020 so this film captures his final thoughts on his work and his Life. I found this to be an engrossing and brilliant expose of one of our great spy writers. GRADE: A

I started reading Agatha Christie mysteries in the mid-1960s. I was in High School with boring Study Halls so I started bringing books to read during those times. Agatha Christie paperbacks showed up on spinner racks (remember them?) everywhere so there were plenty of her titles to choose from. I gravitated toward the DELL paperbacks that had William Teason’s artwork on the covers. Teason would take clues from the books and use them in his clever covers. I binged on Christie mysteries for a year or so. Then I discovered Carter Brown and plenty of paperback Private Eye novels and moved on.

But my fondness for Christie mysteries was reignited in 1979 when the first edition of The Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion to Agatha Christie was published. In 1986, The NEW Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion to Agatha Christie (aka, The Second Edition) showed up. That’s the volume I’m reviewing here.

The NEW Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion to Agatha Christie is a browser’s delight. There are synopsis’s of all the novels, plays, and short stories (without spoilers!). There’s a Christie mystery map, cross-word puzzles, poems, and fan appreciation essays.

The features new to this edition are:

Edward D. Hoch on Christie’s short fiction

Emma Lathen on Jessica Fletcher (a liberated Miss Marple?)

Filmography and video listings…that are obsolete.

If you’re an Agatha Christie fan, you probably own The NEW Bedside, Bathtub & Armchair Companion to Agatha Christie. But, if you don’t, inexpensive copies are available on-line. There are hours of fun in these pages! Are you a Christie fan? Do you have a favorite Christie mystery? GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Acknowledgments — xi

A portrait of Agatha Christie / Julie Symons –xii

Preface — xvii

A publishing phenomenon / Patricia Maida –1

A Christie fan congress “I get that familiar tingle when I see her books” — 2

A fan letter / Lillian Carter — 5

The mysterious affair at Styles / Dick Riley — 6

The secret adversary / Gerald M. Kline — 9

Murder on the links / Norma Siebenheller — 12

The man in the brown suit / Janice Curry — 14

Poirot investigates / Cindy Loose — 16

A nice cuppa : the english tea ritual / Joanna Milton –18

I wouldn’t go in if I were you : rooms to avoid in an English country house / Dick Riley — 22

The secret of chimneys / Peter J. Fitzpatrick — 24

The murder of Roger Ackroyd / Norma Siebenheller — 27

The big four / Jerry Speir — 30

The mystery of the blue train / Jim Mele — 33

The seven dials mystery / Lisa Merrill — 36

A little diversion : a Christie crossword / Dale G. Copps — 38

Partners in crime / Norma Siebenheller — 39

Murder at the vicarage / Jack Murphy — 42

The mysterious Mr. Quin / Gaila Perkins — 46

Murder at Hazelmoor / Anita McAllister — 48

Peril at end house / Russ Kane — 50

The cruder methods : knives, guns, and a concerto for blunt instruments / Dick Riley — 52

A macabre tea party / Joanna Milton — 55

The tuesday club murders / Robert Smither –59

The hound of death / Pam McAllister — 61

Thirteen at dinner / Cynthia A. Read — 63

The boomerang clue / Jan Oxenburg — 66

Black coffee / Granville Burgess — 69

How to trace your family mystery if you dare — 71

Crime, class, and country in Christie’s mystery / Sue Ellen York and Pam McAllister — 73

Murder on the Orient Express / Cindy Loose — 78

Mr. Parker Pyne, detective / Richard Regis — 81

Murder in three acts / Gerald M. Kline — 83

Death in the air / Richard Regis — 86

Poirot makes the big time / Michael Tennenbaum — 88

The “what’s your name” word find / Dale G. Copps — 91

The A.B.C. murders / Phil Clendenen — 92

Murder in Mesopotamia / Jack Murphy — 94

Cards on the table / Helene Von Rosenstiel — 96

Poirot loses a client / Peter J. Fitzpatrick — 98

Christiemovie : an annotated filmography / Michael Tennenbaum — 101

The condemned ate a hearty meal : some favorite English dishes / Joanna Milton — 108

Death on the Nile / Libby Bassett — 112

Dead man’s mirror / Joanna Sturman —115

Appointment with death / Peter J. Fitzpatrick — 118

Murder for Christmas / Joan Gerstel — 120

Easy to kill / Jerry Kill / Jerry Keucher — 122

“You need look no farther, Inspector-three stands your criminal” or, how did the British police get by without Poirot and Marple? / Elizabeth Leese –124

Life on the Nile / Michael Tennenbaum — 126

Ten little indians / Maureen Stoddard — 129

Regatta mystery / Dick Riley — 132

Sad Cypress / Anita McAllister — 134

The patriotic murders / Norma Siebenheller — 136

Evil under the sun / Brian Haugh — 138

N or M? / Robert Smither — 139

The romantic Englishwoman : Agatha Christie as Mary Weatmacott / Patricia Maida and Nick Spornick — 141

Ten little who? / Pam McAllister — 144

And then there were three / Michael Tennenbaum — 146

The body in the library / Helene Von Rosenstiel — 149

The moving finger / Paul and Kadey Kimpel — 151

Murder in retrospect / Cindy Loose — 153

Towards zero / Jan Oxenberg — 155

Death comes as the end / Richard Regis — 157

All my trails : scenes from the Old Bailey / Elizabeth Leese — 159

The poison pen : a guide to Agatha’s toxic agents / Richard Regis –162

Remembered death / Helene Kendler — 166

Murder after hours / Jerry Keucher — 168

The labors of Hercules / Joanna Milton — 170

There is a tide / Sue Ellen York — 173

Witness for the prosecution / Granville Burgess — 175

The making of witness for the prosecution / Michael Tennenbaum — 177

A guide to murders fair & foul : the Christie mystery map of southern England — 180

Dartmoor-the deadly heath / Pam McAllister — 182

Crooked house / Regina Sackmary — 186

The mousetrap and other stories / Deborah J. Pope — 188

A murder is announced / Brian Haugh –191

They came to Baghdad / Edwin A. Rollins — 193

The under dog and other stories / John Sturman — 195

The mousetrap double-crostic / Dale G. Copps — 198

The quotable Christie — 200

The selling of Christie / Michael Tennenbaum — 202

It’s not a play, it’s an institution : the mousetrap / Elizabeth Leese — 203

Mrs. McGinty’s dead / Paul and Kadey Kimpel — 204

Murder with mirrors / Mark Fischweicher — 206

A pocket full of rye / Anita Greenfield — 208

Funerals are fatal / Joan Daniel — 210

Spider’s web / Jan Oxenberg — 212

Hercule Poirot : the man and the myth / Jerry Keucher –214

Poirot and I : a Hungarian-born fan tells why he identifies with Poirot — 219

So many steps to death / Marcia Clendenen — 222

Hickory, dickory, death / Jean Fiedler — 223

Dead man’s folly / Beth Simon –225

What Mrs. McGillicuddy saw! / Jan Oxenberg — 227

Unexpected guest / Granville Burgess – 229

They gave their lives for art ; a study of the Christie victims / Janice Curry — 231

The Miss Marple double-crostic / Dale G. Copps — 234

Ordeal by innocence / Norma Siebenheller — 236

Verdict / Jan Oxenberg — 238

Cat among the pigeons / Regina Sackmary — 240

The adventure of the Christmas pudding / Pam McAllister — 242

Double sin and other stories / Richard Regis — 244

The marvelous Miss Marple a profile / Norma Siebenheller — 245

Margaret Rutherford : the universal aunt / Michael Tennenbaum — 249

The pale horse / Ruth Farmer — 252

The mirror crack’d / Pam McAllister — 254

Rule of three / Granville Burgess — 256

The clocks / Deborah J. pope — 259

The womanly arts: gossip and intuition as detective tools / Jan Oxenberg — 261

A Caribbean mystery / Ann Cohen — 264

At Bertram’s hotel / Peter J. Fitzpatrick — 266

Third girl / Edwin A. Rollins — 269

Endless night / Richard Regis — 271

The Agatha Christie title crossword / Dale G. Copps — 273

Ariadne Oliver : Dame Agatha’s alter ego / Beth Simon — 274

Out of the top drawer or, how they dressed / John Sturman — 278

By the pricking of my thumbs / Gaila Perkins — 282

Hallowe’en party / Albert Norton — 284

Passenger to Frankfurt / Richard Regis — 286

The golden ball and other stories / Catherine DeLoughry — 288

He and she : two fans tell how they turned each other on to Christie — 290

“How do you feel about that, Jane?” : if I were Miss Marple’s shrink-a fantasy / Ro King with Pam McAllister — 295

Nemesis / Anita McAllister — 298

Elephants can remember / Robert Smither — 300

Akhnaton / Dick Riley — 302

Hercule Poirot double-crostic / Dale G. Copps — 304

Postern of Fate / Cynthia A. Read — 306

Poirot’s early cases / Anita Greenfield — 309

Curtain / Beth Simon — 311

Sleeping murder / Pam NcAllister — 314

Christiemovie II : and then there were more / Michael Tennenbaum — 316

Tommy and Tuppence : partners in “the great game” / Bruce Cassiday — 321

Waste no words : the short fiction / Edward D. Hoch — 324

Agatha : the movie that almost wasn’t : Michael Tennenbaum — 326

I was murdered at an Agatha Christie mystery weekend / Bruce Cassiday –329

Agatha in the eighties / Pam McAllister — 334

Inside the detection club / Ann Romeo — 336

Christie on the BBC / Michael Tennenbaum — 339

Jessica Fletcher : a liberated Miss Marple? / Emma Lathen — 340

The impact of gender on Agatha and her craft / Pam McAllister –342

Agatha Christie made me do it! — 345

Had enough yet? — 346

Christie on video — 347

The unread Christie / Norma Siebenheller — 348

AGATHA CHRISTIE Editions Currently in Print — 349

Christie books arranged by Detective featured — 352

Plays and Short Story collections — 353

Illustration Credits — 355

About the Contributors — 358

Title Index — 360

Sounds of the Seventies: 1978 is Volume 10 of a 37 CD Time-Life series. And this 20 song compilation is a very mixed bag. Randy Newman’s “Short People,” a song hated by our short friends, and Eric Capton’s annoying “Lay Down Sally” show up on this disc. On the plus side, Steely Dan’s “Peg,” a favorite of our friend Peggy O’Neal, and Joe Walsh’s snarky “Life’s Been Good” raise the ante. Disco was still hot in 1978 so Alicia Bridges’ “I Love the Nightlife” represents as does Chic’s classic, “Le Freak.”

I always loved Linda Roostadt’s version of “Ooh Baby Baby” and Queen’s anthem, “We Are the Champions.” Rod Stewart’s “You’re In My Heart” never gets old. How many of these songs do you remember? Any favorites? GRADE: B+

TRACK LIST:

1	Warren Zevon–	Werewolves Of London Music By, Lyrics By – Leroy Marinell*, Robert Wachtel, Warren Zevon	3:31
2	Eddie Money–	Baby Hold On Music By, Lyrics By – Edward Mahoney, James Lyon	3:33
3	Patti Smith Group–	Because The Night Music By, Lyrics By – Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith	3:22
4	Meat Loaf–	Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad Music By, Lyrics By – Jim Steinman	5:25
5	Nick Gilder–	Hot Child In The City Music By, Lyrics By – James McColloch*, Nick Gilder	3:08
6	Eric Clapton–	Lay Down Sally Music By, Lyrics By – Eric Clapton, George Terry, Marcy Levy	3:32
7	Foreigner–	Hot Blooded Music By, Lyrics By – Lou Gramm, Mick Jones	3:04
8	Joe Walsh–	Life’s Been Good Music By, Lyrics By – Joe Walsh	4:41
9	Steely Dan–	Peg Music By, Lyrics By – Donald Fagen, Walter Becker	3:58
10	The O’Jays–	Use Ta Be My Girl Music By, Lyrics By – Kenny Gamble And Leon Huff*	3:22
11	Queen–	We Are The Champions Music By, Lyrics By – Freddie Mercury	3:01
12	The Bee Gees*–	Night Fever Music By, Lyrics By – Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb And Maurice GIbb	3:35
13	Alicia Bridges–	I Love The Nightlife (Disco ‘Round) Music By, Lyrics By – Alicia Bridges, Susan Hutcheson	3:11
14	Exile (7)–	Kiss You All Over Music By, Lyrics By – Nicky Chinn And Mike Chapman	3:30
15	Randy Newman–	Short People Music By, Lyrics By – Randy Newman	2:56
16	Kansas (2)–	Dust In The Wind Music By, Lyrics By – Kerry Livgren	3:27
17	Chic–	Le Freak Music By, Lyrics By – Bernard Edward And Nile Rodgers	3:35
18	Foreigner–	Double Vision Music By, Lyrics By – Lou Gramm, Mick Jones	3:32
19	Rod Stewart–	You’re In My Heart (The Final Acclaim) Music By, Lyrics By – Rod Stewart	4:29
20	Linda Ronstadt–	Ooh Baby Baby Music By, Lyrics By – William Robinson*, Warren Moore	3:15

I’ve been a fan of Fritz Leiber’s works since 1963 when I bought a copy of Fantastic and read Leiber’s marvelous “Bazaar of the Bizarre.” I was hooked!

My next step was to search for Fritz Leiber paperbacks. I found a few: The Big Time, The Silver Eggheads, and Night’s Black Agents. Leiber leapt to the top of my Favorite Writers list. Over the years, I bought and read every Fritz Leiber book that came my way. One of my favorite Fritz Leiber books is The Book of Fritz Leiber. You won’t see an Editor credit on this book because Fritz Leiber chose all the stories and essays included in this great DAW volume from 1974.

In his “Forward” Leiber writes about influences on his work. The first is Shakespeare (his father was a Shakespearean actor) and his writing on “King Lear” in this volume is masterful. The second influence is H. P. Lovecraft who can be the spirit behind “To Arkham and the Stars.” “Beauty and the Beasts,”  a Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser story, captures the wonder of sword and sorcery.

The stories and essays in The Book of Fritz Leiber reveal the talent and genius of this exceptional writer who is too little known. GRADE: A

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

• [2] •  The Book of Fritz Leiber (frontispiece) • (1974) • interior artwork by Jack Gaughan
• 7 • Foreword (The Book of Fritz Leiber) • (1974) • essay by Fritz Leiber
• 11 • The Spider • (1963) • short story by Fritz Leiber
• 24 • Monsters and Monster Lovers • (1965) • essay by Fritz Leiber
• 37 • A Hitch in Space • (1963) • short story by Fritz Leiber
• 48 • Hottest and Coldest Molecules • (1952) • essay by Fritz Leiber
• 52 • Kindergarten • (1963) • short story by Fritz Leiber
• 55 • Those Wild Alien Words: I • (1974) • essay by Fritz Leiber
• 64 • Crazy Annaoj • (1968) • short story by Fritz Leiber
• 70 • Debunking the I Machine • (1949) • essay by Fritz Leiber
• 72 • When the Last Gods Die • (1951) • short story by Fritz Leiber
• 79 • King Lear • (1934) • essay by Fritz Leiber
• 85 • Yesterday House • (1952) • novelette by Fritz Leiber
• 115 • After Such Knowledge • (1974) • essay by Fritz Leiber
• 118 • Knight to Move • [Change War] • (1965) • short story by Fritz Leiber
• 128 • Weird World of the Knight • (1960) • essay by Fritz Leiber
• 131 • To Arkham and the Stars • (1966) • short story by Fritz Leiber
• 143 • “The Whisperer” Re-examined • (1964) • essay by Fritz Leiber
• 148 • Beauty and the Beasts • [Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser] • (1974) • short story by Fritz Leiber
• 151 • Masters of Mace and Magic • (1974) • essay by Fritz Leiber
• 157 • Cat’s Cradle • (1974) • short story by Fritz Leiber

Our Japanese Red Maple tree graced our house for 36 years. But after the Blizzard of 2022 and a Spring with a number frosts, our Japanese Red Maple tree stopped looking like the top photo and degenerated into the middle photo. Diane finally contacted an arborist who came out and looked at our sick Japanese Red Maple tree. He started pulling bark off the tree and looking at the wood underneath. “This is all dead, ” he said. And, then the arborist shocked us by saying, “I think this tree has been struck by lightning.”

There were two sections of the tree that were barely alive. The arborist gave Diane two options: we could remove the dead parts of the tree and treat the remainder next Spring with hormones and see if it would live. But Diane decided to take option 2 which was remove everything. And that happened Monday.

Al’s Tree Service showed up and a team of four workers brought down the tree and removed it. They also had a machine that ground up the stump. They were done in 20 minutes! The lead worker said, “Wow, now everyone can see the front of your house!” Diane will be talking to our landscaper next Spring to figure out what should take the Japanese Red Maple tree’s place.