WBH Weekly Digest 2023-05-06

A thread on Jacques Bainville, and his argument that the settlement of the Great War was destined to be counter-productive.

The Rings of Power

Book reviews and literary criticism of adventure stories, along with an archive of John J. Reilly’s The Long View

With Both HandsBenjamin Espen

Mike Bostock created this visualization of bank failures as an advertisement for his Observable website. I had known that the recent bank failures were fewer in number than during the Housing Bubble, but not how big the failures were collectively in comparison.

Hacking Galileo by Fenton Wood

Friend of the blog and author Fenton Wood has a new book out today, Hacking Galileo. I’ll have a review up soon, as I enjoy Fenton’s work immensely. A story untold for over 30 years... Teenage hacker Roger O. Miller made national headlines when he was arrested for hacking into

With Both HandsBenjamin Espen

A signal boost for Fenton Wood's new book Hacking Galileo, now available on Amazon in ebook and paperback versions.

PDA PSA

Book reviews and literary criticism of adventure stories, along with an archive of John J. Reilly’s The Long View

With Both HandsBenjamin Espen

Silence and Starsong is a new magazine of futuristic and mythic fiction short stories. The first issue is available at Amazon.

SGT. Thor the Bold

I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by

With Both HandsBenjamin Espen

This week's book review is SGT. Thor: Little Sister by Nick Cole and Jason Anspach. This is a Conan-esque adventure set in the twisted and dangerous world of the Ruin.

Another signal boost, this time for JD Cowan's Gemini Man series. The Kickstarter will finish publication of the three books JD has written following the closure of the original publisher.

Chili breeding has gone too far

Book reviews and literary criticism of adventure stories, along with an archive of John J. Reilly’s The Long View

With Both HandsBenjamin Espen

Sea-Fever by John Masefield

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way where the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick’s over.