Some years ago, I started keeping a list of most of the books I read each year just for myself with some occasional comments. I received a slew of new books for Christmas and near the end of the year purchased a few so I have an even higher stack than usual awaiting me. You …
Author Archives: JWF
Booknote: WWII Berlin in fiction and diary
Although I left Berlin sometime ago, I can’t seem to leave it behind. While in London, I bought a first novel about a German couple in Berlin during the Second World War. This soldier and his “mail order” wife are on the German side ; the novel portrays the brutal conditions of the fighting on the Russian front …
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Berlin: History & Rebirth
I did not fall in love with Berlin at first sight–but I’m warming up to it and it’s growing on me. We are staying in the eastern part of the city and upon arrival at our hotel, I initially thought we were in the middle of nowhere and I wasn’t particularly impressed with the architecture either. …
Booknote: Robert Peace
One of Jeff Hobbs’ roommates at Yale was a young black man from outside Newark, NJ. He was smart and personable, but kept to himself. He also dealt drugs the entire time he was a science major. Robert Peace lived a bifurcated life; he grew up on poor and mean streets without a live-in father …
