by Don Messerschmidt | Apr 4, 2018 | Archived Reviews (pre-April 2020), Mystery, Crime & Thriller, Nature, Outdoors & Animals, Sports & Recreation
“‘The cult of celebrity is an odd phenomenon,’ he said… ‘Here we are, more than half a century since the man was buried, and we are still enamored of objects solely because he has touched them.’ ‘Hemingway. I know the name, but I feel like I ought to know more....
by Don Messerschmidt | Dec 22, 2017 | Archived Reviews (pre-April 2020), General Fiction
An apartment has been opened in Paris that was locked up and abandoned during World War II… That much of this book is true; it’s the basis of this intriguing novel. But what’s inside? When the apartment is opened after seventy-three years of silence, a treasure...
by Don Messerschmidt | Nov 8, 2017 | Archived Reviews (pre-April 2020), History, Nautical, Science & Technology, Travel
I read this well-written, fast-paced historical documentary in (almost) one sitting, with (near the end) Tchaikovsky’s great Fifth Symphony surging along in the background (on Oregon Public Radio) towards its dramatic conclusion. Both the Russian expedition and...
by Don Messerschmidt | Oct 12, 2017 | Archived Reviews (pre-April 2020), Mystery, Crime & Thriller
This is a hard-boiled Whodunnit for Whodunnit lovers. In the fashion of Agatha Christie novels and other classic murder mystery books, you’ll have a hard time guessing who the murderer is – or the murderers are – until all is revealed at the very end of...
by Don Messerschmidt | Jul 27, 2017 | Archived Reviews (pre-April 2020), History
What a fascinating read! – the history of a small town in Silesia, once German, now Polish, which began simply back in the 14th century, slowly grew, prospered, then faded, collapsed and disappeared off the map. Even when it was flourishing, it wasn’t on many...