The Burglar Who Counted The Spoons

By Lawrence Block

A Bernie Rhodenbarr Mystery

I've read all of his "Burlgar" series but not any of Lawrence Block's other books.

This one is particularly intriguing, because of Fitzgerald and Benjamin Button, but my favorite in the series was The Burglar Who Painted Like Mondrian. I've been to the home of someone who owns two Mondrians.

Magna Carta in 20 Places

Derek J Taylor

Currently reading. Looks very interesting, but the print is very small.

There is a satisfying amount of historical detail to make it worth reading very closely, and many pretty pictures too.

The Decline and Fall of Practically Everybody

Will Cuppy

One of my favorite books of all time, funny, witty, and "irreverent".

Footnotes:

Hatsheput: "She wanted to be the boss whether anyone loved her or not. Some people are like that."

Pericles: "The very poorest citizens had a chance to become President, but somehow they didn't. It may have just been a coincidence."

Hannibal: "Livy informs us that Hannibal split the huge Alpine rocks with vinegar to break a path for the elephants. Vinegar was a high explosive in 218 B.C., but not before or since."

Lucrezia Borgia could be a favorite because of the recent tv series.

The rival queens : Catherine De' Medici, her daughter Marguerite De Valois, and the betrayal that ignited a kingdom

Nancy Goldstone

I like this author's writing, although I didn't care for the subject matter of some of her other books. This book has a detailed history of Queen Margot, which I appreciated very much. I particularly enjoyed reading about the history of her time spent in the south of France with and apart from her husband.

French histories tend to concentrate on her relationship with Henri de Guise.

Goldeneye : where Bond was born : Ian Fleming's Jamaica

Matthew Parker, no, not the Archbishop of Canterbury

Pure enjoyment for me. Of the many things that were done around the 50th anniversary of Fleming's death, I appreciated this and the UK tv series, Fleming: The Man Who Would Be Bond the most.

Jasper Tudor : dynasty maker

Terry Breverton writes an interesting book that reviews much of the same history as so many other books. The problem is that there is not very much information about Jasper Tudor in it. Perhaps the title was intended to be ironic? However, it is nice to have more information about this historical figure.

The Paris Architect

Charles Belfoure

I just finished this for a book discussion group. I enjoyed it, but also disliked much of the degrading anti-semitic tone of the characters' conversations, regardless of the accuracy. It's an easy read. The main character is not very likeable, but at least he improves. A sequel or prequel could be interesting. There's nothing particularly new here for anyone who has seen The Sorrow and The Pity. I'm guessing that "Charles Belfoure" is a pen name.