by eubie

Books read — December 2014

An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943 (World War II Liberation Trilogy, #1)An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943 by Rick Atkinson

The best parts of this book were the stories of how the U.S. learned to fight World War II. It took until 1943 for the U.S. to get its war effort and war smarts developed. The book helps you understand why this theater of the war was so important. Winston Churchill captured the importance of the War in North Africa with this quote: Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.”

So often we focus on U.S. history of the war starting at D-Day. Atkinson’s book show how D-Day was more the beginning of the last phase of World War II.

Spam Nation: The Inside Story of Organized Cybercrime — from Global Epidemic to Your Front DoorSpam Nation: The Inside Story of Organized Cybercrime — from Global Epidemic to Your Front Door by Brian Krebs

Krebs writes some of the most readable pieces on cybersecurity being published these days. I look forward every day to reading his latest posts.

This books takes a deep and focused view. The pacing of the story is different, but it covers the issue better. It’s a business story and whether legal or illegal, it was interesting to hear how the issues are the same.
Business AdventuresBusiness Adventures by John Brooks

These are old stories from the 50s and 60s, but Brooks’ reporting and writing is as fresh now as it was then. The story about the Ford Edsel was the best.