The Lewis Man by Peter May

The Lewis Man by Peter May

Posted on by jack

The Lewis Man by Peter May is the second novel of The Lewis Trilogy. I had read the first after a friend had suggested I might enjoy it. I liked it very much as is apparent in my review of The Blackhouse.

In The Lewis Man several of the main characters are back but not necessarily in the way expected. Detective Fin Macleod is back. Detective Macleod grew-up on the remote Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides.  But in this story he is no longer with the police but has moved back to Lewis. Continue reading “The Lewis Man by Peter May”

Dystopian thriller

Dystopian thriller

Posted on by jack

I liked The Punishments by J.B. Winsor but thought it could have been better. Given the current political climate I think this  dystopian thriller is very timely.

Author J.B. Winsor writes about a United States where the government is taken over by Christian fundamentalists. The situation in the county is not unlike that today.

Continue reading “Dystopian thriller”

My Gows are in disarray

My Gows are in disarray

Posted on by jack

I thought I had it. Not real convincing but plausible. A few weak spots but still the best I had. Seemed like the best I could do a few years ago. Now my Gows are in disarray.

Why the Gows? My great grandmother is Emma Cash McKenzie. I’ve made good progress on my McKenzies but gotten nowhere with Emma until very recently. And then very quickly things went downhill. Continue reading “My Gows are in disarray”

The Blackhouse by Peter May

The Blackhouse by Peter May

Posted on by jack

The Blackhouse by Peter May. is the first novel of The Lewis Trilogy. The prologue sets the scene which will become important as the book progresses. Although chapter 1 gets off to a start in Edinburgh where Detective Fin Macleod is dealing with personal tragedy, much of the story takes place on the remote Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides.
Continue reading “The Blackhouse by Peter May”

New York City Exposed

New York City Exposed

Posted on by jack

The full title New York Exposed: The Gilded Age Police Scandal that Launched the Progressive Era was a bit long to fit as my title. The author is Daniel Czitrom. The history of New York City is an interesting one. At least, I find it interesting.

The story is set in gilded age New York City. It was 1892 and the rich were very rich, the poor were very poor, the police and the city government were corrupt, and Tammany was in charge of it all. Continue reading “New York City Exposed”

Subaru Forester Small SUV

Subaru Forester Small SUV

Posted on by jack

Cars keep growing. Well cars don’t actually grow but they are getting bigger. We have 1999 Subaru Forester and it has been a wonderful car. I think of it as our Subaru small SUV.

The Subaru Forester has grown. The new ones are wider, taller, and longer. Our 1999 Subaru Forester looks like a miniature car when parked next to the newer models. Continue reading “Subaru Forester Small SUV”

Democratic Presidential primary

Democratic Presidential primary

Posted on by jack

I think there are 2 strong candidates in the Democratic Presidential primary. Neither is perfect but both are good. Certainly much better than we’ve seen on the Republican side.

I do not have a vote in the primary. I live in Pennsylvania. You get to vote in the democratic primary if you are a registered Democrat. You get to vote in the Republican primary if you are a registered Republican. If you are neither, you do not get to vote in the primary. I don’t think that is particularly good and I’ll probably write more about it later but I’m digressing from my original purose to discuss the Democratic Presidential primary.

I’ll probably support the democratic candidate in the fall. It may be Hillary Clinton but maybe it will be Bernie Sanders. Continue reading “Democratic Presidential primary”

How does it look?

How does it look?

Posted on by jack

How does it look? Both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are trying to convince voters in the Democratic presidential primary of their abilities to represent the people as President.

At least part of the convincing revolves around who will do the best job for the American people – not the few but the many. Each thinks they would do better. And tries to convince people that of that.

How does it look?

But how does it look when Bernie runs off to Rome to see the Pope and spread his message while Hillary goes off to Hollywood to raise money and meet with movie stars.

How does it look?

Think about your votes

Think about your votes

Posted on by jack

Do you have a Presidential candidate in mind? Do you think he or she can do what is talked about during the campaign?

You should vote. But make sure the vote does what you want. Think about your vote.

It seems to me that if you think Smith would be a good president because he or she favors issues you think important, it makes little sense to vote for Jones for Senate or House if he or she opposes those issues. Of course things could be more complicated and there could be a variety of issues to consider but think about your votes.

This year we are electing all members of the House and a third of the Senate. Everyone voting for President can also vote for the member of the House of Representatives for their district. And about a third of us get to pick and senator. Choose wisely. I think your votes in these races should be consistent with your Presidential vote.

Scottish Military Disasters

Scottish Military Disasters

Posted on by jack

Near the end of my  post for yesterday  on the Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge  I cited a book called  Scottish Military Disasters by Paul Cowan.  I had read the chapter on the battle and the role of Flora MacDonald.  It did seem rather an unlikely coincidence but it appears to be true.

Anyway I liked what I had read and that evening starting looking around to see if I could find more about the book.  Well, learning about the book  Scottish Military Disasters was my starting point.  I learned a bit that was expected and some that was totally unexpected.
Continue reading “Scottish Military Disasters”

Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge

Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge

Posted on by jack

During a recent vacation we spent a few days at Wilmington, NC. One afternoon, after a pleasant lunch on the riverfront, we drove to Moore’s Creek National Battlefield.

The Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge took place about a half hour northwest of Wilmington NC in a very rural area.   It was rural then and it is rural now.

Looking at the map, it is fairly close to an interstate highway so it may not be quite as remote as it seemed to us. We went by another route so it seem quite remote. We didn’t expect anyone else to be there but there were several carloads.
Continue reading “Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge”

The Steel Kiss by Jeffery Deaver

The Steel Kiss by Jeffery Deaver

Posted on by Jack

I like Jeffery Deaver’s books. I know I have read several and enjoyed them immensely, especially the Lincoln Rhyme novels. So when I saw an Advance Reading Copy (ARC) of The Steel Kiss by Jeffery Deaver on Netgalley, I immediately requested it. I was reading another book at the time which I planned on finishing and had several others in line to be read but this one jumped to the front of the “to be read” line.

The Steel Kiss by Jeffery Deaver is the latest Lincoln Rhyme novel. I had high expectations and this did not disappoint. Continue reading “The Steel Kiss by Jeffery Deaver”

Irish Revolutionary and American Hero

Irish Revolutionary and American Hero

Posted on by jack

Those of us with an interest in Irish history often read about many an Irish Revolutionary. The English held onto Ireland for 8 centuries. The Brits treated the Irish so poorly there were many attempts to throw off the English yoke. Finally in 1916 some of those Irish Revolutionaries had partial success.

By the way, the label does depend on your perspective. To those who believed Ireland should rule itself and the Irish should have rights, these men were Irish Revolutionaries. If you were English or believed England should rule the Irish, these men were rebels or traitors. Continue reading “Irish Revolutionary and American Hero”

Ancestry Irish Catholic parish records

Ancestry Irish Catholic parish records

Posted on by jack

A few days ago I wrote about free access to Irish Catholic parish records on Find My Past. These records are also availble on Ancestry,

In my experience to date I prefer the Ancestry Irish Catholic parish records. I have found a few new members of my extended family via the Ancestry Irish Catholic parish records. The records seem more complete, although that may or may not be true in general, it seems to be the case for my family.

I also like that the Ancestry index seems to be more often linked to an image of the actual record. That may be of limited value since the records are written in Latin and often hard to read. But it is nice to se the oriinal record and verify that it was indexed correctly. (I have not found a mistake yet.)

Free genealogy offer better

Free genealogy offer better

Posted on by jack

The free genealogy offer from Find My Past is better than I thought when I wrote my post on free access to this morning. I thought access to these records was free until March 7.

When I went online and started searching I noticed all sorts of Irish Records were being pulled up. Then I re-read the email from Find My Past: Continue reading “Free genealogy offer better”