Tag: Bill Browder

The Book Shelf: Part 2

The second part of this year’s Book Shelf is headed up by the best book I read in 2023. It is everything a thriller should be, except that it isn’t fiction.

Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast — This is at the top of the list of best books I read in 2023; it easily was the most-terrifying. Author John Vaillant takes an in-depth look at the fire that took out most of Fort McMurray, Alta., in May 2016. Reading about what the citizens of Fort McMurray went through was eye-opening; reading about what the first-responders dealt with was beyond that. But Vaillant also writes about the past and the future, about the warnings from the scientific community regarding CO2 emissions that began so long ago and how Big Oil’s choosing to ignore it all has helped lead us to where we are today with climate change. As I started this book, we were cloaked in smoke; as I finished it, fires had Hawaii by the throat. Knowing what I had just read, I wasn’t surprised. (Note that you also are able to find this book under the title Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World.)

The Fixer — Rick Hoffman, who once was an investigative reporter, is about to restore the aging home in which he grew up when he discovers a huge pile of cash hidden away. His lawyer father is unable to communicate, a stroke having robbed him of much of his quality of life a few years ago. So what’s with all the money? How did it get there? Author Joseph Finder provides a fast-paced thriller that is perfect for spending a cold winter weekend with while under a warm blanket.

Freezing Order: A True Story of Money Laundering, Murder, and Surviving Vladimir Putin’s Wrath — Bill Browder first chronicled his issues with Vladimir Putin’s Russia in Red Notice, and now he’s back with Freezing Order, which is even more explosive. Browder, a hedge fund CEO, was a big investor in Russia, but not these days. His lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, uncovered money laundering and a whole lot more, something that Browder writes resulted in his murder in prison. Browder details all of that and a whole lot more in Freezing Order.

The Guards — This is the first of the books on which the TV series Jack Taylor is based. If you have seen any of the TV shows, you know how Taylor oozes grit. This book is no different as author Ken Bruen introduces us to Taylor, a man with a drinking problem and a few other issues. There were 16 books in the series through 2020, with one more scheduled to be published in 2024.

Hometown Heroes: On the Road with Canada’s National Hockey Team — As Team Canada prepared for the 1988 Olympic Winter Games, which were to be held in Calgary, author Paul Quarrington went along for the ride. He provides a true outsider’s look at the ins and outs of a team that surprised the hockey world by winning the 1987 Izvestia Cup in Moscow and proving that a team of non-NHLers could compete at that level. An entertaining and lively read.

The Jack Widow Boxset — Gone Forever, Winter Territory and A Reason to Kill are the first three books in Scott Blade’s series about Jack Widow. He goes by Widow and he breaks a lot of noses, mostly with headbutts, as he makes his way here and there. These are quick reads, perfect for the cottage and three rainy afternoons.

Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley, and Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley — After watching the movie Elvis, I went back and re-read both of these books, by Peter Guralnick. Oh my, does he ever pull back the curtains and let in the light on the life led by Elvis Presley. It’s all here, the ups and downs, the raging and the temper tantrums, the girls and women, and Col. Tom Parker . . . all of it. Superbly researched and reported in painstaking detail. Well done! 

Lucky Man: A Memoir — Author Michael J. Fox — yes, that Michael J. Fox, the pride of Burnaby, B.C. — writes mostly about the relationship he and Parkinson’s disease have with each other. It’s amazing to read about how he continued to work in movies and TV while hiding the symptoms of P.D., as he calls it. Amazingly, he lived that way for about seven years before making the decision to let the world in on his secret. It all started with a trembling left little finger and it led to this fascinating and emotional book.

Moscow Rules — In this book, author Daniel Silva’s eighth in what now is a 23-book series, Gabriel Allon, the Israeli government’s spymaster assassin, is working to bring down Ivan Kharkov, a Russian oligarch and arms dealer. If you are a fan, this one won’t disappoint. If you’re looking for a character on which to get hooked, you can’t go wrong with Allon.

Next in Line — This is No. 5 in author Jeffrey Archer’s series of books chronicling the career of William Warwick, now a Detective Chief Inspector with Scotland Yard. This one, which takes place in 1988, deals with the Royalty Protection Command and features Princess Di. And, yes, career criminal Miles Faulkner is front and centre, as is his ex-wife. If you like Archer’s stuff, this is good escapism.

No Plan B — This is the latest in the Jack Reacher books, and it’s good Reacher. Written by Lee Child and his brother, Andrew, there is an intriguing plot and Reacher beats the crap out of a whole lot of bad guys. What more could you ask for if you’re looking to escape reality for a few hours?

A Passing Game: A History of the CFL — In a book published in 1995, former CFL quarterback Frank Cosentino examines the league and all of its happenings from 1969 to 1995. Cosentino had access to all kinds of official league papers, from minutes of meetings to a whole lot of finance-related numbers. And when you are done reading, you will wonder how the CFL has been able to survive. Sometimes it’s fantastic foibles; other times it’s Keystone Kops. And it always is amazing. Be aware, though, that this book is a dry read, drier than July in Kamloops, and a lot of writing rules regarding punctuation are nowhere to be found. And you would think that a book about the CFL would include the correct spelling of the surname of one of its greatest kickers — it’s Ridgway, not Ridgeway.

October 1964 — The 1964 MLB season was memorable for a couple of reasons. For starters, the Philadelphia Phillies of manager Gene Mauch blew a 6-1/2-game lead atop the National League in late September and finished second behind the St. Louis Cardinals, who went on to play the New York Yankees in the World Series. The prolific David Halberstam tells the story of that season, culminating with the World Series. Also notable? This signalled the end of the Yankees’ dynasty. You are able to read all about it in this book that was published in 1995.

(SECOND OF THREE PARTS)

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The Bookshelf . . . Part 3 of 3

Bookshelf

For the past few years, I have compiled lists of books that I have read over the previous 12 months, and posted them here. With any luck, you may find an idea or two to help you get through your Christmas shopping.

So . . . here is Part 3 of 3 of the books that I have read so far in 2018.

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Paul Newman: A Life — Author Shawn Levy has taken an all-encompassing look at Paul Newman, one of the top actors of the past 50 years. There weren’t a lot of warts in Newman’s life, although it seems he was a functioning alcoholic, strayed a time or two on both of his wives, and liked to drive fast. But it’s intriguing to read how Newman moved through his career, and it is absolutely amazing to see in black and white just how much positive work Newman the philanthropist was able to accomplish.

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Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man’s Fight for Justice — Bill Browder, who wrote this book, is a grandson of a man who once led the American Communist Party. Browder later co-founded Hermitage Capital Management, an investment company that at one time was a huge investor in Russia. Red Notice details the rise and fall of Red Notice within Russia, with a huge focus on what led to the latter. This is a frightening story of what can happen when someone runs afoul of — and stands up to — high-powered people in Putin’s Russia. None of it is pretty.

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Reporter: A Memoir — Seymour M. Hersh may be the greatest investigative reporter of our generation. If not, he certainly is in the discussion. No one has been a greater pain in the butt to the American government, American presidents, the CIA and assorted others in positions of power. In the mid-1990s, Hersh met with Cardinal John O’Connor, archbishop of the diocese of New York, who told him: “My son, God has put you on earth for a reason, and that is to do the kind of work you do, no matter how much it upsets others. It is your calling.” . . . That calling has resulted in what is a fascinating read for a number of reasons, including spelling out just how far those in power will go to stay in power.

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A Rift in the Earth: Art, Memory and the Fight for a Vietnam War Memorial — If you have ever visited the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C., chances are that the image will remain with you forever. In this book, author James Reston Jr. chronicles all that went into this project, from the contest that was held to select the winning entry, to the vociferous opponents and all of the politics that came into play before the memorial was dedicated. Maya Lin was 21 years of age and an undergraduate architecture student at Yale when her design was selected for the memorial. A lot of the book is about her battles from 1979-84 against male authority figures, who wanted to interfere with her vision and change the memorial’s design.

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The Rooster Bar — Three law students get scammed by the system in this book from the prolific John Grisham, so they choose to try reversing things and scamming the scammers. Unlike most, if not all, Grisham books, there isn’t one person here who is really likeable, so I found it hard to feel any emotion while reading this one.

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Route 66 Still Kicks: Driving America’s Main Street — Is there a more famous highway, at least in North American, than Route 66? Author Rick Antonson and travelling partner Peter drove more than 2,400 miles as they worked to see as much of the original Route 66 as possible. The result is a nifty read that is full of anecdotes about the likes of Al Capone, Woody Guthrie, Mickey Mantle, John Steinbeck and Bobby Troup. It was Troup who wrote the iconic song ‘(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66.’ . . . The New York Times referred to this gem as “one of the best books of the bunch” in a 2012 Christmas roundup of travel books. It will make you want to rent a Mustang and get some kicks.

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The Russian Five — The Detroit Red Wings, under head coach Scotty Bowman, once had five Russians as key players on their roster. “Their legacy should be . . . it’s history, it really is. . . .,” says Dave Lewis, who was an assistant coach on those teams. “It was a revolutionary thing to even have one or two on your team. We had five and we haven’t seen it since. And to influence and marvel your teammates like they did, guys like Steve Yzerman and Nick Lidstrom. Those guys aren’t dumb hockey people. I really think it should be talked about in terms of the history of the NHL, and how they changed our game.” Keith Gave, who wrote this book, covered the Red Wings for the Detroit Free Press. Gave speaks Russian and played a key role in the early days of the Russian Five — Sergei Fedorov, Slava Fetisov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Vyacheslav Kozlov and Igor Larionov. Gave especially was involved as the Red Wings worked to get Fedorov out of Russia. Gave was there, too, when the Russian Five took the Stanley Cup home to Moscow.

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The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit — “Everyone dreams of dropping out of the world once in a while,” writes author Michael Finkel. “Then you get in the car and drive back home.” Unless you’re Christopher Knight, that is. In 1986, at the age of 20, Knight drove his car into a Maine forest, left the key in the ignition, and walked away. For 27 years, he lived in an encampment he constructed himself, surviving by raiding cottages and a camp for disabled children nearby. His ‘home’ was so well hidden that not even the authorities could find him. Eventually, technology tripped him up as he broke into a camp building and was arrested. Finkel got most of the information for this book by visiting Knight while he was in jail. This is an intriguing look into solitude and how to deal with it, and the art of survival. But I don’t know if it explains well enough just how Knight survived all of those harsh Maine winters.

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Tiger Woods — Authors Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian, both of them investigative journalists, tell the story of the rise and fall of Tiger Woods. It’s doubtful that any athlete of Woods’ stature has fallen so far so fast, and the authors detail all of it — from the pressure placed on him almost from birth by obsessive parents, especially his father, Earl, to the stunning fall from grace. A couple of things really stand out here: 1. Woods was incredibly rude and insensitive to a whole lot of people on the way up; 2. It is amazing that he could have had such success inside the ropes while so much was going on away from the PGA Tour.

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Two Kinds of Truth — Harry Bosch is retired from the LAPD now and doing some freelance work for the San Fernando Police Department. Author Michael Connelly has written another vintage Bosch book, and even has the veteran cop doing some undercover work. The really good news is that the ending indicates that there is more Bosch on the way.

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The Year of the Pitcher: Bob Gibson, Denny McLain, and the End of Baseball’s Golden Age — Author Sridhar Pappu takes 1968 and explores it using all that was happening in and around the U.S., as a backdrop to the MLB season. This was the summer in which the fierce Bob Gibson had a 1.12 ERA with the St. Louis Cardinals and the problem-child Denny McLain won 31 games for the Detroit Tigers. They would meet in the World Series but neither would be the hero. This is an interesting look at the U.S. as the 1960s were drawing to a close, a good look at two huge names from baseball’s past, and a whole lot more.

That’s it.

Merry Christmas . . . and happy reading!