Island at the Edge of the World

Pitts, Mike. Island at the Edge of the World: The Forgotten History of Easter Island. New York : Mariner Books 2026. Print.

First Sentences:

This story about statues begins on Easter Sunday, 1722, on what was then the remotest inhabited island on Earth. This was the day the first European set eyes on Rapa Nui, the start of the final century when Islanders were in control of their own world. It was the day when everything about the island began to change, so that within a few generations no one there could say what the statues meant or who made them.

Description:

No one can deny a secret fascination with Rapa Nui (Easter Island). After all, it's a barren island thousands of miles from the nearest land, with no trees, few inhabitants, and hundreds of huge stone statues of heads and bodies scattered throughout the land. How was this island ever discovered and by whom? Where did all those people go? Why are there no trees? And, of course, who carved the gigantic heads and for what purpose?   

 

Mike Pitts, in his extensively researched Island at the Edge of the World: The Forgotten History of Easter Island, looks deeply into original documents recorded by the first seamen who came across Rapa Nui in the 1700s, as well as the diaries and notes taken by early researchers, Katherine and Scoresby Routledge, who in 1910 lived for months on the island with to study and understand its people, culture, and history. DNA and radiocarbon dating were also studied. He also included research by Thor Heyerdahl from the 1960s, although Pitts feels many of Heyerdahl's conclusions, while extremely popular with the public, were based on legends, misconceptions, and racism which perpetuated many untruths about Rapa Nui and its history.

 

Little is known of Raga Nui prior to 1760, with only scattered eye-witness records of Europeans from 1722 on and before the slave traders, missionaries, and South American governments took a self-centered interest.

 

Author Pitts divides Island at the Edge of the World into sections to explore several major questions. He focuses his studies about each subject on related hard evidence and original documents to draw conclusions based on facts rather than legends and unsupported rumors:

• First settlers? - Pitts research indicates that Polynesians were the first settlers around 1200. They were masters of navigating long distances and had already colonized other islands using huge outriggers that could carry sufficient men, women, and children as well as animals, tools, and food to start a colony. Easter Island culture is full of Polynesian art, building style, traditions, etc.

• First Europeans? - In 1760 a Dutch East Indian Company ship stumbled upon the island on, guess what, Easter Sunday, 1760. Other voyages followed, including those of James Cook and explorers from other countries as well. Pitts searched out these first-hand observations as the most reliable accounts of island life and people.

• What happened to the people? - Pitts found records indicating the immediate influx of Peruvian slave traders who captured most of the population as slaves. A decade later when the Chilean government passed laws to stop this human trading and return captured islanders, the released captives brought back diseases which decimated the population even further. The arrival of Christian missionaries spread more disease, further diminishing the culture and population. Investors bought the abandoned homes and gardens of deceased islanders and turned it into sheep-grazing land, destroying cultural centers, farms, houses, and religious symbols. The island was "sold" by the Chilean government in 1897 to one man who turned all the land to sheep grazing. The population was rounded up and placed in a single large community behind walls and not allowed outside that compound. Only a hundred or so people survived in 1877, down from an estimated population of 6,000  only a decade ago.

• Who built the stone heads (moai) and why? - Although the earliest interviews with the islanders were recorded by the Routledges in 1910, the current people did not know the origin of the carvings and purpose even at that early date. Recent carbon dating puts the stone carving between 1200-1680CE. Pitts concludes that the slave trade removed the men who knew how to carve the statues, as well as those who understood the purpose and traditions the carvings represented. Recent archeological digs have uncovered human bones at the foot of these stone heads, indicating the giant heads might be grave markers and protectors of ancestors.

• How were the statues moved? - Almost 1,000 heads were found scattered all over the island. They must have been moved from the quarry to their varied locations. But this barren island never provided enough trees to use as rollers under the statues, a difficult undertaking with any trunks that were not perfectly cylindrical. Rope-walking the heads was also tricky as statues were likely to fall, unable to be raised again. Pitts tested and soon felt the answer was sleds made of palm fronds and a couple of trunks which could easily slide the heads into desired locations.

• What new research is there? - DNA and radiocarbon dating have become very sophisticated, allowing anthropologists and archeologists solid data on the age of the stone carvings, the tools used, the ancestral history of the surviving people through buried bones, and the beginning of understanding of the few pieces of writing and pictures found.

Each of Pitts' conclusions was reached after exhaustive research into ancient records and visits to Raga Nui himself. Interestingly, he located records from Katherine Routledge, (the first person to actually study the island and culture), including her diaries, maps, statue counts and descriptions, sketches of petroglyphs, and interviews with natives. These documents had long before been seized and suppressed by her husband, Scoresby, after he had her forcibly committed her to an asylum for her paranoid behavior. Pitts also visited and described what few artifacts exist in museums around the world, including several carved heads, some untranslated writing on wood planks, and a feathered helmet.

 

Sorry this review is so long, but it is a fascinating subject full of thorough research clearly presented to try to unlock the secrets of Rara Nui. Many of Pitts' findings counter Heyerdahl's and other popular theories, with Pitt feeling these accounts relied on unproved rumors and conjectures by the writers, and did much damage to the real story of these islanders by suppressing the cruel influence that Europeans had thrust upon them. 

 

So read or at least skim this book for what I consider the true history, culture, and fate of this most mysterious of isolated islands: Rara Nui, also known as Easter Island. 

   

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:]

 Heyerdahl, Thor. Easter Island: The Mystery Solved

Read Heyerdahl's own explanation of the history of Easter Island, the stone carvings, writings, and original settlers. He proposes very different answers to the questions raised about the island, its people, and carvings. (Note: Mike Pitts, in the above book, thinks Heyerdahl is mistaken in almost ever explanation he proposes, but it is interesting to contrast their research and conclusions.)  (Previously reviewed here.)

 Happy reading.

Fred

[P.S. Click here to browse over 500 more book recommendations by subject or title and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader.]

First Light

 Wellum, Geoffrey. First Light. New York : Viking 2002. Print.

First Sentences:

There are some days in the early spring when the weather is such that, no matter where you are, either in town or countryside, England is at her best and it's good to be alive. I notice that it is just such a day as I emerge from the underground at Holborn, turn left, and walk down Kingsway....I am seventeen and a half years old and, I suspect, a rather precocious young man. It was some six months ago when I first wrote to the Air Ministry...and very much wanted to fly an aeroplans, so could they give me a job, please?

Description:

I've only been up in a small plane a couple of times, but the thrill and freedom of soaring in the air made a lasting impression. So I was captivated by the very personal memoirs of World War II RAF airman Geoffrey Wellum in this memoir First Light. 

 

In this compelling stream-of-consciousness book, Wellum details his adventures learning to fly for the RAF and then entering numerous combat and escort missions during the War...all starting at the ripe old age of 17 1/2 years old. (He lied about his age and got into the RAF, even though he had no knowledge of planes or how to fly). One month after entering RAF training, England entered the War, making Wellum's flight instruction more intense and rushed (and real).

 

Wellum and his fellow students are rushed into action before completing their training. Aerial combat exercises were never undertaken. Nevertheless, he is assigned to the newly-formed 92nd Squadron and, at 18, is by far the youngest pilot. Unlike the older, veteran 92nd squadron pilots, Wellum has no dog-fighting experience, much to the consternation of his commanding officer who feels Wellum will be useless for the foreseeable future. 

 

Wellum is shown for the first time a new Spitfire plane, much different from the bi-wing planes of his training and, with no instruction, told to take it up to get used to it. What follows is a harrowing take-off, flying, and landing sequences that Wellum feels are so bad they will bump him out of further training and the RAF completely. His first night landing is so far off course that he clips a landing tower and takes off one of his Spitfire's wings. 

 

And we readers are with him in the cockpit throughout these and all his future flights as he clearly, if nervously, narrates his thoughts, fears, and unwillingness to give up. We are with him post-missions in the officers' mess and local pubs where friendships are sealed and recently-departed comrades remembered. 

 

We are all young, all paddling the same canoe, and as the evening progresses [at the local bar] the certain knowledge that few, if any, of us will survive to see the end of the war bind us even closer together....the thought of the possibility of being killed is not unduly worrying or upsetting. One just ignores it. Each is convinced that it cannot possibly happen to him. 

 

Wellum and the 92nd Squadron begin flying missions to defend England from attacking German planes. Two, even three sorties are required each day, all of them exhausting, tense, and death-defying. We readers experience what such fighting, terror, confidence, and survival tractics a pilot experiences during these encounters. 

 

And Wellum loses his friends and fellow squadron companions on a regular basis. Sometimes they are seen being shot down; others simply fail to return from a mission. And still the flying missions continue.

 

As the War begins to turn, Wellum' squadron is assigned to escort huge British supply convoys across the Channel from England to France, providing air cover and dog-fighting with any German planes which try to attack these ships. Sometimes the loss of these British boats and their contents signal a huge setback to the troops in France, while others that Wellum helps slip through enemy fighters provide relief that bolsters the Allies' war effort. Longer and longer distances to each flight are required as Allied forces push deeper into France, requiring air support for all troop movement even all the way to Malta.

 

The narration is breath-taking in its clarity of each flying situation and how Wellum responds. Sometimes he almost panics, sometimes he gets lucky, and sometimes he draws on extraordinary calm skills to see him through the flight and back to base.

 

I was fully engrossed in this man and his adventures aloft, constantly reminding myself that he was only a teenager taking on these incredibly taxing, dangerous missions. Fortunately, Wellum took copious notes daily of his missions and thoughts, so his accounts of life in the RAF are highly detailed and personable, reflecting his and other pilot feelings about fighting the enemy in the sky:

Coupled with fear, I now also feel a sense of anger. What right has this German to fly his snotty little aeroplane over our England and try to kill me? Who invited him?....The bloody arrogance of it! Well, you'll not shoot me down you black-crossed sod. 

For anyone interested in flying, World War II dog-fighting, and aviation training along with the teamwork and execution of aerial missions, First Light is your book. Highly recommended. 

Often, after take-off and on the climb up, especially if we are top cover at 25,000 or more, a wonderful remote feeling of unreality seems to come over me. It's almost like a drug. Complete freedom from earthly worries or fears for the battle that will almost certainly develop after we cross the French coast. I just can't be bothered to get scared any more....I find it an environment of great beauty. It brings on a happiness and, almost, I look forward to the next operation before the one I'm on is finished. It's like getting your second wind.

  

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:]

 Dahl, Roald. Going Solo

The children's book author relates his adventures learning to fly in World War II and later entering combat missions in Africa and Greece. Riveting as he takes you right into the cockpit with him and tells you his thoughts throughout each step in his aviation and combat experiences. (Previously reviewed here.)

 Happy reading.

Fred

[P.S. Click here to browse over 500 more book recommendations by subject or title and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader.]

So Help Me Golf

Reilly, Rick. So Help Me Golf: Why We Love the Game. New York : Hatchett 2022. Print.

First Sentences:

When I was one, my family was staying at a mountain cabin in Evergreen, Colorado. Apparently, my dad had hit a rough patch with work and we had no place to live, so we stayed in my grandfather's vacation cabin until things turned around. 

Description:

Do you love or at least enjoy watching or playing golf? The sweeping fairways, the brilliant shot-making, the unbelievable escapes and shanks, and the colorful players themselves? Well, then, I've got the book for you:  Rick Reilly's So Help Me Golf: Why We Love the Game.

 

This is a collection of his very short pieces about his life playing and writing about golf. Each essay is only 2-4 pages, giving you an clear, often very funny insight into the workings of the game beyond the scores and standings found in general sports reporting. Reilly interviews the ordinary people as well as the stars behind each profile, giving a human touch to every story.

 

And oh, the things you will learn about the game and the figures who make it unique. Here are just a few examples from Reilly's interviews and research:

• Bob Gustafson played 536 rounds of golf in one year, usually about 63 holes a day, rain or shine, which he worked in before work, between job breaks for lunch, before dinner, and a quick nine after dinner;

• In a 1943 German Prisoner of War camp, Stalag Luft 3, American aviator pilots found a woman's 7-iron, pulled together scraps of string and rubber from their boots to make a small ball, and constructed a golf course. (This was the same Stalag where the Great Escape took place, with prisoners digging tunnels underground while others played golf above them.)

• Ricky Meissner, a journeyman player trying to qualify, learned he could make enough money to get to the next tournament by robbing a bank in the tournament town. In one year, he robbed 19 banks before being caught.

• Reilly, while preparing for his Mall of America book signing, noticed there were 200 chairs set up and ropes in place to control the lines of expected attendees. Food and beverage were available. But when he finally got started, only one scruffy man was sitting in the sea of chairs, urging Reilly to give his full presentation. When done, Reilly asked if he had any questions, and the man responded, "Can we eat them cookies?";

• On the Tour, the caddy of the winning player has to buy the other caddies a chicken dinner with beer, originating the phrase, "Winner, winner, chicken dinner."

• After falling from a horse following the second round, Mike Reasor, a 10-year Tour player was still required to play the final two rounds in order to qualify for automatic entry into the next tourney. With a separated shoulder, two torn ribs, and damaged knee ligaments, he went out on Saturday and Sunday with just a 5-iron and putter (those were the only clubs he could swing ...one-handed), and shot 123 and 114...but got his automatic entry into the next tourney;

• World Champion poker player Daniel Negreanu made a $500,000 bet with fellow pro poker player Phil Ivey that Negreanu, in one year, couldn't shoot an 80 on a chosen course. Negreanu took the bet, but ignored practicing for it for 11 months. Finally, in last-minute pratice, managed to shoot an 86. But with one week to go, he started a fantastic round that ended up with one putt on the final green to win that bet: a 5-foot putt worth $100,000 a foot; 

• RJ Smith of Minnesota went out every day with his wife to collect balls while she played (he did not like the game). He'd bring his haul back to their barn, sort them (by brand, number, style, as well as themed ones like NFL teams, Super Bowl balls, car manufacturers, etc.), and eventually collected over 70,000 balls carefully organized into egg cartons and crates.

Sorry to be so long in this review, but there were so many great, funny, off-beat stories to share with you I couldn't decide which ones to choose. Also included in the chapters are Reilly's own stories about his troubled relationship with his alcoholic father, an family environment that drove him to golf.

 

A well-written, humorous, easy-to-get-lost-in book that is perfect for these warmer days of spring and our own chance to get out on the course or at least watch the pros hit their magnificent shots. Enjoy. 

 

Will Rogers said. "Golf is good for the soul. You get so mad at yourself you forget to hate your enemies." 

 

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:]

 Reilly, Rick. Who's Your Caddy?

Author Reilly humorously documents the year he spent as a caddy for famous golfers and celebrities, recalling their wisdom, cheating, and his own ineptitude, all the while rejoicing in the beauty of the game of golf.

 Happy reading.

Fred

[P.S. Click here to browse over 500 more book recommendations by subject or title and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader.]

Moby-Dick

Melville, Herman. Moby-Dick: or The Whale. Oak Park, IL : Top Five Books 2026. (originally published 1851). Print.

First Sentences:

Call me Ismael. Some years ago -- never mind how long precisely -- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation. Whenever I find myself growing grim about the mouth; whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul; whenever I find myself involuntarily pausing before coffin warehouses, and bringing up the rear or every funeral I meet; and especially whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off -- then, I account it high time to get to the sea as soon as I can. This is my substitute for pistol and ball.

Description:

Please do not be afraid of taking on Herman Melville's Moby-Dick: or The Whale. I know, I know, there are many reasons to avoid this masterpiece of literature and history. 

• Too long (600+ pages with 135 (short) chapters); 
• Too much whale info (from species differences to killing to processing to the value/use of spermaciti); 
• Too difficult a language (in 1850s style, why use one adjective and a short sentence when ten adjectives in a 50-word sentence works even better?); 
• Too much symbolism (everything comes in three's, too religious, fate vs. free will, etc.); 
• Too tragic (obsessive, vengeful doomed captain vs. maniacal, equally vengeful whale); 
• I simply don't have the time and don't care about this book.

But you will be denying yourself one of the greatest work of historical fiction ever created. You would want to at least give such an immersive novel a chance, wouldn't you? I thought as much so keep reading. 

 

To warm you up, I have included several more opening sentences above, more than just the first words of this novel. After all, who doesn't know "Call me Ishmael," probably one of the familiar opening three words in literature? 

 

But you need to notice and absorb the rest of these enticingly rich, revealing opening sentences to get a sample of what lies ahead. What you are presented with immediately are the evocative, highly-personal musings of the narrator, Ishmael, as he contemplates his current lack of funds, boredom with life, thoughts of death, the growing dominance of his "hypos," along with a weakening "moral principal" which prevents him from "knocking people's hats off," and his growing attraction to "pistol and ball" to end his life. 

 

To address his musings, Ishmael turns to his usual remedy: he takes to sea and impulsively joins the crew of the Pequod whaling ship.

 

Thus Melville introduces the character whose role is to observe and relate his tale to any land-lubber readers unfamiliar with a seaman's life and whaling. From his first musings and descriptions of the world and people around him, Ismael reveals his serious eye for detail and contemplation, a masterful use of language, and even some humor. He becomes an ordinary man on board a whaling ship in the 1850s among a company of shipmates with distinctive personalities. In these first sentences, we are given a penetrating picture of this thoughtful character.

And his fellow Pequod crew members are all under the leadership of captain Ahab who, Ishmael soon discovers, only took on the captaincy of this whaling ship so he could pursue and take vengeance on Moby Dick, the white whale that chewed off Ahab's leg on a previous voyage. Collecting valuable spermaieti from whales, the PequodI's investing owners' goal, would be only a secondary task to Ahab and his crew.

 

Here are the main characters:

• Ishmael (narrator) - "A simple sailor";
• Quequeeg (harpooner) - A heavily tattooed Islander who could hit a spot of tar across the ship deck with his harpoon (which he shaves with), and a friend to Ishmael;
• Starbuck (First Mate) - Voice of reason who tries to convince Ahab to abandon his quest of vengeance;
• Stubb (Second Mate) - Happy-go-lucky, pipe-smoking officer who enjoys eating raw whale meat; 
• Flask (Third Mate) - "A short, stout, ruddy young fellow...who somehow seemed to think that the great leviathans had personally and hereditarily affronted him";
• Fedallah (Ahab's harpooner) - Parsee (fire-worshiper) and predictor of the future; 
• Ahab (Captain) - Glowering, facially scarred, peg-legged, tragically-driven, vengeful leader of the voyage and crew.

  

We all know the story of Moby Dick and its tragic ending, so I won't re-tell it here. But beyond the plot, what makes this book fantastic is the depth Melville explores in so many areas. Whether describing the thoughts and actions of Ishmael's crew mates, musing over the roles of Fate vs. Free Will in decision-making, sharing the workings of a real whaling ship and voyage (a significant industry to readers of 1851 when the book was published), and even the cataloging of the different species of whales and harpoons, Melville is the master of observation and encyclopedic knowledge. He intersperses references to Shakespeare and the Bible alongside the history of whaling tools and the men who created and used them. All these inclusions are to support Melville's broad survey of the importance and reality of whaling in the 1850s. 

 

Moby-Dick is not a page-turning thriller although there are many suspenseful situations. It also is not a straightforward story that moves from Point A to Point B clearly and succinctly. If you are looking for a quick distraction, this is not the book for you.

 

Rather, it's as if we, the readers, are placed at a table with a magnificent gourmet feast in front of us. But before we can sample the food, the chef enthusiastically explains the workings behind the meal: from the growing of special crops and meat and their preparation; the people who cultivated and cooked the ingredients; the kitchen layout and utensils employed; the table setting; and even the atmosphere of the room. 

 

While this may sound tedious and frustrating ... "Just let me get on to the food!" you might think ... these vital details reveal the complex world behind the meal, a necessity to fully enhance for the novice diner the gourmet experience and the food itself. Through this chef's concern about presenting these details, we diners come to understand and appreciate the totality of this feast far beyond just the mere consumption of the food. 

 

There are plenty of fast food or even sit-down eating experiences out there if you preger those. No judgment. But Moby-Dick is a "meal" to be contemplated, savored slowly, and appreciated on a variety of levels. If you want a quick bite, an action-based story with everyday characters, you'll not find these in Moby-Dick. 

 

But there is oh, so much more that turns this novel from a hunt for a whale into a higher level that contemplates the battle between predestination, tragic obsession, and commercial whaling. Melville's language is so rich that it cannot be skimmed over. A reader must deliberately slow him/herself down to savor the 19th century words, the layered phrasings, and the concepts possibly unfamiliar to us living 175 years after Melville wrote. 

 

In short, you need to commit yourself to 1850 and life in the whaling industry to fully appreciate and identify with the characters and action of this book just as you would slowly, appreciatively relish each bite of a gourmet dining experience, even if there are courses that are not to your initial liking. It is the entire experience that shines and will stay with you long after the meal is over or the final pages are read.

 

 

 

As an elementary school kid I had repeatedly poured over my Classics Illustrated comic book version of Moby-Dick. (Note: Familiarity with the plots and characters in these 169 graphic interpretations of great novels, e.g. Silas Marner, Pitcarn's Island, Kidnapped, etc., carried me through my English classes in high school, my college BA and Masters in English). Later I had a wonderful high school teacher who took one entire day on the opening sentence of this novel and taught me how to appreciate its enormity. 

 

This month, when I learned that there was a re-release of a 1930 edition of Moby-Dick illustrated by Rockwell Kent, one of my favorites artists (these are his illustrations), I decided it was time to give the novel another, more adult look. Not a glance, not something to be quickly skimmed, but something I really wanted to understand in-depth. And boy, what I ever satisfied.

 

Maybe the 600+ pages is daunting to many readers. Or the language too unfamiliar. Or the diversions in whales, whaling, and the world of 1850 is too tiring to pursue when we have the internet, social media, and the television to captivate us more quickly. 

But I stand here today to highly recommend Moby-Dick  to everyone willing to at least sample, even if only for 50 pages or so, what powerful writing, themes, and stories can be. It will be time well spent, and, if nothing else, something you can brag about to friends and family.

 

[P.S. Those who notice such things may wonder why there is a hyphen in the title, Moby-Dick, but only the unhyphenated name "Moby Dick" is used in the book. No one knows why this is, although the rumor is that Melville's brother changed the proof in the title at the last minute because he liked hyphens, but didn't have time to do so throughout the book. Melville himself used a hyphen in his sea-faring adventure novel, White-Jacket, but really who knows (or cares)?  It's still a fantastic book, with or without a hyphen.]

[P.P.S. Here is a beautiful graphic map to help you understand what happens where and when on the voyage]:   https://bigthink.com/strange-maps/moby-dick-map/

Of course, it gets my Highest Recommendation. Enjoy. And let ne know your thoughts if you do read it or decide to give it a pass. I'm interested.

 

 

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:]

 DeFoe, Daniel. Robinson Caruso

One man is shipwrecked on a deserted island and make his way along, contemplating the world, his fortune, and his survival until jhe discovers a companion.

 Happy reading.

Fred

[P.S. Click here to browse over 500 more book recommendations by subject or title and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader.]

A City on Mars

Weinersmith, Kelly and Weinersmith, Zach. A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through?. New York : Penguin 2023. Print.

First Sentences:

Wherever you are on this planet, you've recently given some thought to leaving it. Space is looking more promising every day. There's no political corruption on Mars, no war on the Moon, no juvenile jokes on Uranus. Surely space settlement presents the best chance since about 50,000 BC to try out something completely new and leave all the bad stuff behind.

Description:

I'm always interested in all things space-related. A new topic in this area has cropped up recently:  the possibility of flying humans to Mars and creating a permanent settlement there. 

Many exciting possibilities are envisioned in this scenario, including establishing a new environment for humans should the Earth prove unlivable; a chance to put new technology to work; possible mineral riches to be mined; and even the design of a new community free of political and social strife.

 

Husband and wife authors Kelly Weinersmith and Zach Weinersmith examine every issue imaginable regarding the travel to Mars and a potential settlement there in their new book, A City on Mars: Can We Settle Space, Should We Settle Space, and Have We Really Thought This Through?  

 

Here they probe into the dreams, reality, and potential obstacles to Mars travel and communities on both Mars and our Moon, including:

• Lack of data for extended time in space; 
• Health issues;
• Space sex, reproduction, and radiation;
• Solar panels, underground lava tubes, and launch sites on the Moon; 
• Martian landscape (-60C with no breathable air, dust storms, and toxic soil);
• Rotating space wheel environments;
• Outer space habitats;
• International space politics and treaties;
• The human factors involved in living in a transportation rocket for six months and then settling in a close-knit colony;
• Advantages and disadvantages of waiting some extended time before trying to colonize Mars;
• Alternative potential space habitation locations (planets, asteroids, other sun systems).  

Each of its six chapters examines a situation for colonizing Mars from a scientific and practical viewpoint. These topics include:

• How space affects human bodies?
• How to stop the effects of radiation?
• Can humans live in an environment with only 2/5 of Earth's gravity?
• What habitats and vehicles work in space?
• How to insure people won't die in space and Mars;
• Is a Mars settlement internationally legal?
• How do we update laws to better accommodate human settlement?
• How can we address the sociology, growth, and reproduction issues?
• Can we actually achieve a successful Mars settlement despite all these obstacles?

The authors outline the popular opinions currently held by many humans:

Space is supposed to: lessen the chance of war, improve politics, end scarcity, save us from climate change, reinvigorate a homogenized and rapidly wussifying Earth, and...make us all as wise as philosophers....The problem is that...these ideas are almost certainly wrong.

They interview scientists, astronauts, biologists, sociologists, and many other experts to try to understand the possibilities and difficulties faced  before each challenge can be addressed. The text is both extensively researched and dryly witty, making this book both highly informative and interesting as well a subtly humorous and casual in its imagery.

[On the Moon] you'd need to cook all the water out of six tons of lunar soil to get the three kilograms of water you need daily to survive, not including cleaning, showering, and the occasional water balloon fight. 

It is a deep probing into the potential and obstacles for space travel and settlements that I found fascinating. If you are into anything about space or simply want to discover what waits us beyond the confines of Earth's protective atmosphere and the possibility of settling on another world, then this is the book for you. Highly readable, informative, and quirky in its (ahem) down-to-Earth humor. Highly recommended. 

Space combines just about every bad environment on Earth, plus a few curve balls like ultra-extreme temperatures, poison-soaked soil, and endless horizons of charged jagged glass. Space settlement is not impossible, but it will be damn hard....

Even is our species never settles Mars, deciding how we might do it is a project that requires objectively awesome and bizarre research and development in almost every field of human endeavor, from artificial wombs to international law.  

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:]

 Roach, Mary. Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

From issues of going to the bathroom, sex, zero gravity, isolation, radiation, transportation, buildings, and crash landings in space, the author interviews experts in the field and even tests equipment and situations about all aspects of space travel and life apart from Earth. Fascinating, easy to read, humorous, and highly informative. (Previously reviewed here.)

 Happy reading.

Fred

[P.S. Click here to browse over 500 more book recommendations by subject or title and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader.]

The Mailman

 Welsh-Huggins, Andrew. The Mailman. New York : Mysterious Press, 2025. Print.

 

First Sentences:

Rachel Stanfield paused, not sure she heard her husband correctly, but wanting as always to give him the benefit of the doubt. Grateful for the distraction of a sound outside, she peered through the kitchen window but saw nothing.  


Description:

But the sound Rachel Stanfield thought she heard in these opening sentences was not an animal nor any other natural cause. It was four thuggish men who break into her house, tie up her and her husband, and demand information from her, Unfortunately, she has no idea what the answers they want are. When one of the men pulls out some special tools to "help her remember," things look completely bleak.

 

Then her doorbell rings. 

 

Thus starts the new thriller by Andrew Welsh-Huggins, The Mailman. It is a whirlwind ride of twists and turns, threatening situations with narrow escapes, mysterious data which good guys and bad guys alike are seeking for differing reasons. And then there is an questionable sum of $20 million that seems to play a part in the adventure.

 

Welsh-Huggins introduces into this environment Mercury ("call me Merc") Carter, an independent delivery man with a packet he wants to deliver to the story's narrator, Rachel. He says he has never missed a delivery before to a client and, despite all obstacles, doggedly does not want Rachel's package to be his first failure. 

So after ringing Rachel's doorbell, he finds himself entering into the aforementioned delicate hostage situation. But Merc conducts himself unexpectedly well despite the dangers to everyone in the room, and the adventure begins.

 

I cannot reveal any more of the plot, but will say that it involves kidnapping, lottery payoffs, some very nasty people, mysteries galore, secret numbers, and some nifty MacGyver-like extractions of various people from some very tight situations. 

There is an overwhelming sense of urgency throughout the book, a foreboding threat of violence and crimes, and touched with a bit of ironic humor as well. But after all, it is a thriller, so if you are not into that kind of scenario, give this novel a pass.

 

But for those of us who enjoy tense encounters, good vs. evil face-offs, impending dire consequences, and impossible last-second escapes, this is definitely the book for you. A great read that will keep you flipping pages long into the night as it did me. It's now in my top 5 thrillers of all time, and that's saying a lot! 

 

Best of all, this is the first book in a new Mercury Carter series, with the next edition to come out later in 2026. Cannot wait to dive into that one as well. 

 

 

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:]

Andrew Welsh-Huggins. Fourth Down and Out.

Former Ohio State University quarterback, now turned private investigator, needs to recover a friend's laptop and erase a file. Easy enough, but the trail leads him throughout Columbus, Ohio and eventually Ohio State itself where the people there still won't forget the huge mistake he made decades ago in an important football game.

 Happy reading.

Fred

[P.S. Click here to browse over 500 more book recommendations by subject or title and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader.]

Over to You

Dahl, Roald. Over to You. London : Reynal & Hitchcock. 1946. Print.

First Sentences:

Oh, God, how I am frightened. Now that I am alone I don't have to hide it; I don't have to hide anything any longer. I can let my face go because no one can see me; because there's twenty-one thousand feet between me and them and because now that it's happening again I couldn't pretend any more even if I wanted to. 

Description:

Having recently read Roald Dahl's memoir, Going Solo about his World War II experiences flying for the RAF, I fell in love with his spare, honest writings about his thrilling adventures, and definitely wanted to read much more from him. Luckily among his numerous books for children, I found his Over to You, made up of ten more stories about the men who piloted Hurricane fighter planes in WWII in the desert.

 

These narrations were probably based on the people, locations, and situations from Dahl's own experiences. They certainly seemed, to me, to be realistic. But even if these tales were entirely fictionalized, each one rang true because they focused on the men themselves, not just the situations they faced, real and imagined. We lucky readers can see up close what these pilots were thinking. What were their plans? How did they to occupy their down time? What were their relationships with the local people near their air bases and with the enemy fighters?

 

Here's some examples of the captivating stories contained in Over to You: 

• A pilot, after four years of flying missions, is overcome with dread about having to fly again, a terror that seizes his every moment before and during his time in the air until he comes into combat at which time all his fear dissipates;

• Pilots save and adopt of very young girl whose family had been killed in enemy strafing of her tiny village;

• Pilots on an off-day decide to free several ordinary women who have been forced into prostitution;

• Crew and friends await the return from a mission of their fellow pilot. But when he eventually lands safely two days later, they find he has no memory of the time that has passed since he flew off;

•  A mother senses when her son is on a mission and feels she is in the cockpit with him.

• A pilot returns from a mission, quietly has a drink by himself in the airport bar, and only after much convincing by fellow pilots does he admit he had seen five enemy planes on his mission and shot them all down.

All these tales are narrated in Dahl's crisp prose. Each sentence conveys a picture of the feelings of the men, their situations, and their surroundings. Even their planes come to life under Dahl's words:

Our two Hurricanes were standing a few yards away, each with that patient, smug look which fighter planes have when the engine is not turning, and beyond them the thin black strip of the sloped down towards the beaches and towards the sea. 

 Dahl portrays the non-combatant civilians with the same intimacy:

It's always the same. As the bombers move south across the country at night, the people who hear them become strangely silent. For those women whose men are with the planes, the moment is not an easy on to bear.

There you have it. It's a quietly passionate book full of fully-rounded, interesting people with questions, observations, bravery, and fears about the War, their surroundings, other people, and their own position in all of it. Each story, to me, was a gem written in precise prose, detailed enough that I felt I knew and even understood every individual character. What more could any reader ask for in a book? Highly recommended.  

 

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:] 

Roald Dahl. Going Solo.

Memoir of Roald Dahl's flying experiences with the RAF during World War II. Superb writing and adventures in every chapter. (Previously reviewed here.)

Happy reading.

 

Fred

[P.S. Click here to browse over 500 more book recommendations by subject or title and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader.]

A Month in the Country

 Carr, J. L.. A Month in the Country. New York : New York Review Books. 1980. Print.

First Sentences:

When the train stopped I stumbled out, nudging and kicking the kitbag before me. Back down the platform someone was calling despairingly, "Oxgodby...Oxgodby." No one offered a hand, so I climbed back into the compartment, stumbling over ankles and feet to get as the fish-bass {on the rack] and my folding camp-bed {under the seat). If this was a fair sample of northerners, then this was enemy country so I wasn't too careful where I put my books. 

Description:

In the early Post-World War I year of 1920, Thomas Birkin arrives in a remote village in Yorkshire, England to restore a newly-discovered Medieval mural in a local chapel. He is a man broken by what he has experienced in the War, with a facial tick and halting sentences. Meticulously restoring decaying art pieces, particularly in churches, had become his meager livelihood.

The marvelous thing was coming into this haven of calm water and, for a season, not having to worry my head with anything but uncovering their wall painting for them. And, afterwards, perhaps I could make a new start, forget what the War and the rows with Vinny had done to me and begin where I'd left off....and, afterwards, maybe I won't be a casualty anymore. 

He is not particularly welcomed by the vicar who feels the painting to be restored had been hidden over the years for a reason. He felt is was probably an apocryphal scene not to his liking, with devils, spirits, blood, and other off-putting, ungodly imagery. 

And that is how I first saw him [the priest], his precise businesslike letters made flesh, standing in the doorway below me, seeing by wet footprints that I had come. Like a tracker-dog he looked along their trail to the foot of the ladder and then up it. 

But Birkin is not to be put off, having been commissioned by the church committee over the vicar's protests to do the restoration. Birkin takes up a simple residence in the chapel's bell tower in the loft, careful to be away when the Sunday bells are rung. The wall concealing the mural is only steps from his room, and he allows no one to climb the ladder to view either his work or his lodgings.

 

But he is befriended by several people: two children, Kathy and Edgar, who bring a record player and music into the chapel, chatting constantly with him; Alice Keach, a young woman married to the dreaded vicar, a woman he becomes attracted to; and Moon, a fellow damaged War survivor camped out on the nearby grounds, commissioned to find an ancient burial tomb containing a former property owner. 

 

All these characters strike up their own version of friendship and attachment with Birkin as he toils away on the mural, restoring faces, colors, and images to their original freshness, all the while gleaning hints about the artist himself.

 

And when he finished, he had only a single thought, and it was about the original mural painter.

I knew that, whatever else had befallen me during those few weeks in the country, I had lived with a very great artist, my secret sharer of the long hours I'd labored in the half-light above the arch....And, standing before the great spread of color, I felt the old tingling excitement and  a sureness that the time would come when some stranger would stand there too and understand. 

The characters, the setting, the conversations, and most of all the gentle, smooth writing make A Month in the Country a highly pleasurable book to curl up with in a comfy chair in front of a fireplace, a warm blanket around you, and a hot beverage close at hand. A lovely book in every way.

 

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:]

Delderfield, R. To Serve Them All My Days.

The narrator, returning from World War I battlefield with sever trauma, joins a boys' school as a teacher, although he has never taught before. The headmaster recognizes the man's worth and mentors him throughout his new career. Probably the book I most often recommend to other readers. Absolutely wonderful characters on every page, especially the narrator. (Previously reviewed here.)

 Happy reading.

Fred

[P.S. Click here to browse over 480 more book recommendations by subject or title and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader.]