Fram's Voyages
Books we have read
2023
Margaret and Dan
2022
Margaret
2021
Margaret and Dan
2020
Margaret
2018-2019
Margaret
Margaret and Dan
Margaret
2010-2011
Dan
Margaret
Dragon
By Clive Cussler
Every once in a while I love a Clive Cussler book. They are always fast-paced, exciting and on the cutting
edge of technology with a twist of history. This one is about a small group of Japanese nationalist fanatics
out to create a new Nipponese Empire by blackmailing and neutralising the USA with nuclear weapons planted
strategically in the US's major cities. Dirk Pitt eventually saves the day in a brilliant and thrilling climax.
As always, Clive comes through to satisfaction.
Mary Tudor, England's first Queen
By Anna Whitelock
After an afternoon at Hampton Court over New Year's weekend with the Gruner-Hegges, I realised how
little I know about Mary Tudor. Henry VIII and Elizabeth I seem to get all the attention, so I picked this
book up at Heathrow Airport and became immediately immersed in Mary's story. She had a very confused
and childhood, being the beloved only child of Henry VIII and Katherine of Aragon one moment with every
luxury a nd attention a child could desire and then plunging to the depths of loneliness and despair as an
unwanted bastard, banished from her father and Court and separated from her mother. That she was finally
able to take her rightful place on the English throne after her half-brother Edward VI died, and after defeating her competitor, a cousin named Lady Jane Grey, is nothing short of miraculous. She took her duty very seriously and until the end when she started ordering the burning of heretics (protestants), she was greatly respected and admired. Unfortunately for her, the times were so turbulent that once she died and Elizabeth came to power, Mary was quickly forgotton. Judging from all the other books I have read about this period of both English and French history, I can see that the author has her facts right and seems to have a balanced view of Mary; both her good sides and her bad sides. She describes in detail how various ettiquette at court was handled and what people wore and ate, which I find fascinating. I highly recommend this book.
Constantinople, the Last Great Siege 1453
By Roger Crowley
I bought this book on Amazon.co.uk for a history lesson on Istanbul and Turkey. I was not disappointed. It has been an incredible read. Dan is reading it next. It took a little while to get into it as the author has to give a lot of background information in order for the reader to understand the context of the siege. But once the siege starts it is a true cliff-hanger.
From the back cover:
In the spring of 1453, the Ottoman Turks advanced on Constantinople in the pursuit of an ancient Islamic dream: capturing the thousand year old capital of Christian Byzantium. Durng the siege that followed, a s mall band of defenders, outnumbered 10 to one, confronted the ight of the Ottoman army in a epic contest fought on land, sea and underground.
Read it!!
Postmortem
By Patricia Cornwell
When Dan and I were in Agostoli we found a second hand English bookstore. While browsing for books,
I came upon a whole section of Patricia Cornwell books and remembere that Mom has always read
them and enjoyed them so decided to give it a shot. I found the first one with Kay Scarpetta, Post
mortem so bought it. Kay Scarpetta has not been in Richmond for very long and gets a case of
a serial killer on the loose. His victims are women but other than that there doesn't seem to be a
pattern, until Kay starts piecing little bits of forensics and info together.
It is very clever and I enjoyed readiing it. She's not exactly exciting, but interesting in that she
gives alot of information regarding forensics and how the politics play into everything.
It was very exciting at the end.
Catherine De Medici: a biography
By Leonie Frieda
This book was an amazing read. It opens with the horrible death of Catherine's husband, King Henri II of France in 1559. It continues to describe the years of the Valois of France and Catherine's attempts to preserve the empire for her 10 children (4 sons, 3 of which became kings) through murder, assassinations, betrayal, religious wars, faction fights, and international politics of the time. It reads like a thriller and I had a hard time putting it down to take my watch!
The author starts out defending Catherine and her actions in early life but towards the end, she really made some bad decisions and never understood the power of religion. Every day royal life is well documented, for example, she explains why the royal court moved around so much during a year to different castles; the Valois court consisted of nearly a thousand people who all had to have a place to stay, food to eat and garbage to get rid of. No one place could handle them for very long as they ate all the food, hunted so much that there was no game left in the area and sewage was a nightmare after 3 months. I highy recommend this book for anyone interested in European history.
Leonie Frieda doesn't confine herself to France, she also includes Spain, Italy, Poland and England as they all had direct influence on the French at that time. King Philip of Spain, King Henry VIII, Queen Elisabeth I, Mary Queen of Scots, among many others were prominent during this time.
Saints and Sinners
by Eamon Duffy
A history of the Popes. This is a difficult read if you try to read it from cover to cover. But once I gave that up and just read about the time period or pope that interests me at the moment, it is much better. Came in very handy when we went to the Vatican as it explains alot of the protocol of being a pope, for example, how a pope is elected. It also has a small section about Pope John Anglican or Pope Joan. This book dismisses the legend, maintaining that it would have been impossible to carry it off, even during the dark ages. I tend to agree. It's a good book with a wealth of information about Catholism, European politics through the ages and of course, the Popes.
Pope Joan
By Donna Woolfolk Cross
A historical novel about the ledendary woman in 9th centuy who allegedly became Pope John
Anglican.
There is some question as to whether she truly existed but the book presents alot of
evidence that she did. It's a good read but feel that the author perhaps got a bit fanciful
in her telling so the book loses some credibility. Makes me want to look into it more deeply though.
Together
October Skies
By Alex Scarrow
This is a novel about a group of settlers, some of which were Mormons, caught out by early snows in
1856 while on their way to Oregon. The only thing found besides the ruined wagons was a diary that
tells the tale of what happened. It's really exciting and a super read. I think Fredrik and KImmie will
love it!
From the back flap:
1856: As early snows descend, a convoy of settlers en route to their new land is forced to wait out
the winter up in the mountains. Then a woman is murdered and a dying yong man struggles into the
camp whispering of unspeakable evil out in the trees around them.
2008: Julian Cooke stumbles across the remains of a wooden wagon. He's discovered what's left
of the settlers who vanished in 1856. It's clear something horrific happened all those years ago.
But as Cooke undravels the mystery, he realises the horror he is uncovering is the start of something
much worse.......
The Race of a Lifetime
By John Heilemann & Mark Halperin
Entertaining book about the 2008 election. It follows all the main participants; John McCain,
Hillary Clinton, Barrack Obama, John Edwards and of course Sarah Palin. John Heilemann is a
political correspondent for the New York magazine and former staff writer for The Economist,
New Yorker, and Wired. Mark Halperin senior political analyst for Time magazine and former
political director for ABC News.
The Promise
By Jonathan Alter
This is a book about Barack Obama, his election campaign of 2008 and first year in office.
From the back flap:
Barack Obama's inauguration as president on January 20, 2009, inspired t he world. But the great
promise of "change we can believe in", was immediately tested by the threat of another Great
Depression, a worsening war in Afghanistan, and an entrneched and deeply partisan system of
business as usual in Washington. In the Promise, Jonathon Alter, one of the US's most respected
journalists and histornians uses his unique access to the White House to produce the first iinside
look at Obama's difficult debut.
We both found it really interesting to read how a man from no where was able to make it to the top
job in America and how he tackled some the huge problems that he came up against once in office.
It's a good read and provides alot of information and opinion from both sides of the fence.
Alexander: Virtues of War
By Steven Pressfield
Excellent book about Alexander the Great and his strategy for war. The battles are well descibed so one feels that one is right there watching the battles unfold.
From the back cover:
There is nothing impossible to him who will try...
He ascended to the throne of Macedon at the age of 19. He conquered the seemingly invincible Persian Empire before he was 25. He died at the age of 32, undefeated by any enemy. His reputation as a warrior and a leader of men remians unsurpassed in teh annals of history. We remember him as Alexander the Great....
Epic in scope and magisterial in tone. Steven Pressfield's breathtaking novel tells the story of this colossus of the ancient world who was ddriven - and ultimately undone - by an insatiable lust for glory. As immediate and gripping as bulletins from the frontline and as intimate and revealing as a private diary, Alexander: The Virtues of War is destined to become a classic of historical fiction.
Both Dan and I warmly recommend this book.
Gates of Fire
By Steven Pressfield
Dan and I found this book and the book about Alexander in the bookstore at the airport in Athens while waiting for Madeleine to arrive. We have both read this one too and loved it. It was so exciting, even though one knows the outcome. There is alot of iinformation about how the Spartans lived and what their culture was like. It's a facinating book, hard to put down and also warmly recommended.
From the back cover:
"Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here, obedient to their laws, we lie" (Epitaph on the 300's monument at Thermopylae.)
Nearly 2500 years ago, in 480 BC, at a bleak pass in a far-flung corner of eastern Greece, three hundred Spartan warriors faced the army of King Xerxes of Persia, a massive force rumoured to be over a million strong. Their orders were simple: to delay the enemy for as long as possible while the main Greek armies mobilized.
For 6 days the Spartans held the invaders at bay. In the final hours, their shields broken, swords and spears shattered, they fought with their bare hands and teeth before being overwhelmed. It was a battle that would become synonymous with extraordinary courage, heroism and self-sacrifice. Iits name was Thermopylae.
Gates of Fire tells the epic story of those legendary Spartans: the men and women who helped shape our history and have themselves becoome as immortal as their gods.
Wild Fire
By Nelson DeMille
Both Dan and I are fans of Nelson DeMille. His humour is hilarious and he always tells a riveting and
fast-paced story. We enjoyed this book very much, in fact, I swept through it in just 3 days when not
on watch or adjusting sails, etc. Here's what is written on the back flap:
Welcome to the Custer Hill Club - a secret society whose members include some of America's most
powerful men. On the surface, the club is a place to relax with old friends. But one weekend, the club
gathers to talk about the tragedy of 9/11 - and finalise a deadly retaliation plan, known only by its
code name: Wild Fire.
That same weekend, a member of the Federal Anti-Terrorist Task Force is found dead. Soon it's up to
Detective John Corey and his wife, FBI agent Kate Mayfield, to unravel a fiendishly clever plot that starts
with the Custer Hill Club and ends with a terrifying nuclear stand-off.
The Odyssey
By Homer
We are reading this now in preparation for our arrival in Greece and because many of his adventures take place in Italy. We have seen Circe's island and just passed through Scilla and Cherybdis yesterday in the Messina straits so feels very relevant. It's fascinating and very good reading even after all these years. But I can't always find the islands referred to in the book, on our chart of Greek islands.... By the time Madeleine comes in September I will have lots of stories to tell her on dark evenings in Roam's cockpit while we sip Retsina and look out over some Greek island:)
Napoleon
by Herman Lindquist
Biography of Napoleon in Swedish. Starting from his origins on Corsica and the history of his family, the book relates the entire career of Napoleon relying heavily on all his correspondence over the years. I really like the way Herman Lindquist writes. He relates alot of anecdotes and quotes from letters between Napoleon and Josephine, Napoleon and Marie-Louise, and Napoleon and his generals. It's amazing how much he corresponded and how he managed to keep track of people and armies. Right now, I'm re-reading the chapter on Elba. Dan doesn't like Lindquist's writing style but appreciates the information imparted. I think he would prefer to read Cronin's account of Napoleon. We are both wondering what happened to the memoirs Bonaparte was supposed to have written while he was on Elba. Too busy building new streets, cleaning up the sewage problem and gathering up a new army to go back to France, no doubt. But after being here on Elba, neither one of us can understand why he would choose to leave it.
Smuts
By Katarina Wennstam
Swedish novel about the perfect family that falls apart. He is a lawyer who specialises in
human trafficing and prostition who it turns out is one of their biggest customers. She is a
journalist who works for Swedish Television as head of an investigation program that is looking
into trafficing and prostitution. I thought it was great until about 3/4 of the way through then
it seemed like the author lost interest and it was a disappointing ending. Dan thought it sucked
after the first 100 pages but he continued to the end anyway.
The Flashman Papers, Part 1
By George MacGregor Fraser
Centers around the dubious character Harry Flashman in the late 1800s.
He's a scoundrel of the first degree but seems to find himself right in the center of history.
In this first book he gets his rich father to buy him a commission in the British Army
and after various bad behavior gets sent to Afghanistan and is there during the retreat of
the British Army. He gets into all sorts of trouble, behaves atrociously but manages to come out smelling
like a rose. It is hilarious and we warmly recommend it.
Spindeln By Lars Kepler This is Lars Kepler's latest thriller featuring Detective Jonna Linna and Sara Bauer. I don't want to give anything away, so will just say that it does not disappoint. It's creepy from Page 1 and can't be put down till the end. That is my review. Dan does not agree. He found Jonna Linna's ways difficult to understand and thought it was much too long.
Unsinkable - The Full Story of the RMS Titanic Daniel Allen Butler I bought this book after we had been to the Titanic museum in Belfast in June 2022. The Titanic had always been just another ship disaster story to me; history, but that ’s it. At the museum we were immersed in the city of Belfast and the time period 1910-1912 that the Titanic was being built. The Titanic was more than just another passenger ship. She was the sum total of Belfast and its citizens’ history. Men died building the Titanic, but when she was launched, over 100,000 people from Belfast stood along the water’s edge and watched and cheered with pride because they were all involved in some way. The Titanic was the biggest, most luxurious ship ever built at that time. When she hit that iceberg on her maiden voyage and sank, it wasn’t just a loss for the passengers and their families; it was a loss for everyone that had a part in building her. When we left the museum after about 2.5 hours of intense studying and witnessing a disaster unfold, I felt I needed to learn more about it. So I went on Amazon and bought the kindle version of this book. Daniel Allen Butler captures the same mood that we felt at the museum. The reader is taken through all 3 classes of passengers on board and the quality of their separate areas. Through interviews that were held with the surviving passengers and crew we follow the entire sequence of events leading to the disaster. One gets a feeling for how the passengers reacted or rather didn’t react to the collision with the iceberg and the slow listing and eventual sinking of the ship. The author analyses the actions of the captain and crew to give a feeling for how decisions were made and carried out in a crises. A very good read.
We, the Drowned By Carsten Jensen ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This is one of the best books we've read this summer. Jensen gives a historic account in novel form of the seafaring people who lived on the Danish island of Ærø south of Funen. The town of Marstal, situated on the northeast end of the island was entirely made up of seamen, ship builders and their families. We follow four generations starting in the 1890's and up to about 1960's; first with sailing ships and later steam and engine propelled ships. Marstal seamen had a reputation for being competent sailors the world over. We follow the Madsen family as the red thread of the story. We bought this book at the seamen's museum in Marstal and read it while we waited for the fresh water pump for the engine to arrive from the mainland. This gave us the distinct advantage of being able to walk the streets mentioned in the book and to sit in the Marstal church, gazing at the altarpiece that the people of the town paid a local artist to paint, the ships models hanging from the rafters and generally soak up the ambience of the church. We found most of the landmarks and are pretty sure of the house that the horrible teacher Mr Isager who was so cruel to his students. Great read!
Seglaren Havet Kärleken By Uno Hylén ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Unfortunately this book is only available in Swedish. If you are lucky enough to speak and read Swedish you will love this book. Uno Hylén is from Skanör and in 1973 he took 2 years off to sail his 25-foot sailboat Amigo from Skanör to Peru where he met the love of his life, Nelly, a Peruvian girl, married her and brought her back to Sweden via the Panama Canal, Caribbean and across the Atlantic. He tells the story himself and one is struck by the modesty and innocence of this young man who braved ferocious seas without a motor, GPS, using charts that were regularly soaked in salt water, a compass that leaked, a faulty radio, and a leaking dinghy that he had to blow up manually with his own lung power. This book is riveting, exciting and hilarious.
Spillover, Animal infections and the next human pandemic by David Quammen ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Saladdin, Hero of Islam By Geoffrey Hindley ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Isaac's Storm, A man, a Time and a Deadly Hurricane in 1900 By Erik Larson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Isaac's Storm, A man, a Time and a Deadly Hurricane in 1900 By Erik Larson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Blind Assassin By Margaret Atwood ⭐⭐ I found this book very difficult to get into. It was too slow and meandering.
In the Heart of the Sea, By Nathaniel Philbrick ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Book is much better than the movie, lots of interesting information about the American whaling industry in the 18th century
American Nations, a History of the 11 rival regional cultures of North America By Colin Woodard ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent
In the Kingdom of Ice, The Grand and Terrible Polar Voyage of the USS Jeannette in the late 19th century. By Hampton Sides ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Indifferent Stars Above; The harrowing saga of the Donner party of pioneers traveling from Ilinois to California. By Daniel James Brown ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Marco Polo From Venice to Xanadu By Laurence Bergreen ⭐⭐⭐
Brave or Stupid by Tracey Christiansen as told to her by Yanne Larsson and Carl Andersson ⭐
A Pirate of Exquisite Mind, the life of William Dampier; Explorer, Naturalist, and Buccaneer By Diana and Michael Preston ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Big Short, Inside the doomsday machine By Michael Lewis ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Liar's Poker By Michael Lewis Liar's Poker is about bond trading at Salomon Brothers during the financial boom of the 1980s. Lewis, fresh out of the London School of Economics, was hired by them in 1985. He became a bond salesman with the London office of the company, apparently a fairly successful one, before leaving the firm in 1988. Liar's Poker is about half biography, following Lewis's training and career, and half the history of "modern" bond trading at Salomon Brothers. In pursuit of the latter, Lewis goes back as far as the late 1970s, when John Gutfreund became managing director. Salomon Brothers was swallowed by Citigroup in 1998, but not before it invented mortgage-backed securities and played a significant role in junk bonds.
Tankestenen By Iwo Dölling Dan's father's memoirs focusing on his diplomatic career.
Alone through the Roaring Forties By Vito Dumas Vito Dumas left Argentina on his 31 foot ketch in 1942 to sail around the world solo. He did it in less than a year, landing at Cape Town, New Zealand and Valpariasio, Chile. It is a fascinating read, though can't for my life understand why anyone would want to sail in those waters. He had horrific storms during most of his time at sea. But he has a very sweet way of writing and seems to take everything in stride and enjoys the people he meets and the achievement that he attained. The only thing I didn't like was his shooting a shark for no apparent reason while in the Indian Ocean. Can't abide cruelty to animals as you all know...
Captain Corelli's Mandolin By Louis de Bernieres I'm sure most of you have read this book or seen the movie. I loved de Bernieres' book "Birds without Wings" which is listed below, so couldn't wait to start this book. We have been on Cephalonia so I recognised alot of the places and of course it's an amazing story. Can't think why the Germans were so obsessed with this little island in Greece. The sufferering of the inhabitants of Argostoli, Sami, and the other villages is heart-rending. The characters are both hilarious and frightfully tragic. It's a great read and reveals alot about the Greek psyche.
Birds without Wings By Louis de Berniéres Louis de Berniéres has written a magnificent book about Southwestern Anatolia in the last years of the Ottoman Empire. Everyone speaks Turkish although they write with the Greek alfabet. The setting of the story is a small village and the reader gets acquainted with all the characters of the village and follows their lives during a very disturbing time of war and politics that shaped the modern Turkey but destroyed many on the way. Birds without Wings is positively enchanting. It's funny, tragic, and extremely thought provoking. The prose is enchanting. If you've read Captain Corelle's Mandolin you will know what I mean and you will enjoy this story hugely, as I have done.
Great Circle By Sam Llewellyn A true thriller of a book about a round-the-world sailing race, similar to the Volvo Ocean Race. This novel is very exciting if you like to read about sailing. 8 sailboats set out from Portsmouth heading for Capetown South Africa, Sydney Australia, Rio de Janeiro Brazil and finishing at Portsmouth England again. Besides the pure adventure of sailing there are characters; heroic to unsavory to downright criminal on board the different yachts. It was tough to put down and now that I've finished it I'm having a hard time getting into another book! From the back cover: The race that is to sailing what Everest is to climbing; round the world from Portsmouth via Cape Town, Sydney and Rio. Ed Cole, UK is raciing for his reputation; Art Schacker, USA, is rcing for his job; Tubes Murphy, Australia is racing for the hell of it; Harriet is rcing from a sterile past into a romantic future; Emily is racing towards oblivion, grieving for her missing yachtsman husband. For all of them, crossing the finish line first is only half the battle. Enjoy!
Once is enough By Miles Smeeton This is the true story of Miles and Beryl Smeeton, their friend and crewmate John Guzzwell and a cat called Pwe, sailing on the Smeeton's 46-foot ketch, Tzu Hang, departing from Australia and heading to England in December of 1956. Tzu Hang was caught in a major storm hundreds of miles south of Cape Horn and hit from behind by a huge wave that somersaulted her, tearing off her mast, and ripping away her doghouse, tiller, anchor, compass, and dinghies. Miraculously, all 3 plus the cat survive, bail the boat out, set up a jury rig and continue on for 5 weeks to the Chilean coast. Once the boat is re-outfitted and the crew rested up, they set out again (minus John Guzzman) to continue the journey to England, only to be capsized, de-masted and nearly sunk by a rogue wave once again. This book, told by Miles Smeeton, is electrifying and impossible to put down. It reveals the indomitable spirit of Beryl and the gift of positive thinking and making do whatever you have to survive. Miles captivates with vivid re-creation of the fury of the sea along with eloquent descriptions of everyday life on a boat. As it says on the back of the book "This book makes great reading for sailors and armchair adventurers alike".