Books

The Killer Angels

A character driven novel that holds closely to the history of the Battle of Gettysburg. 

It adds enough depth to its characters for it to stand as just a novel, but it’s better to think of it as a work of history unburdened by the strictures of the academic mode of that pursuit. 

The result is a book that draws you in, informing you with remarkable details at every step without your feeling like you’re eating your vegetables. 

While I love military history, I am far from a civil war buff. I enjoyed it, and I think most readers will, too. 

Big thanks to @links for the recommendation.

Life

Keith Richards tells his story with humor and aplomb.

Anyone who’s been successful in the arts for so long or negotiated a fragile contract with substances for so long is going to have an interesting story. 

As you’d expect, Keith Richards has an interesting story. 

What you might not expect is how well told it is. He’s smarter, more sensitive, and wiser than I would have guessed. And his ghost writer let Keith’s voice shine through in an authentic way, so the whole thing sounds right. 

You get stories of boyhood, of the rise to fame, of substance abuse, of and of intra-band drama. And a whole lot of deep love for music. 

It’s pretty much pitch perfect. Even if you don’t like the man’s music, it’s just a great book. 

And incredibly, for all that hard living, you get a happy ending. Aside from the occasional fall out of a palm tree or off a bookshelf, he has a nice, fairly mellow life now. He reads a lot, and shouts out the Aubrey-Maturin series, one of my favorites. 

Can’t miss.