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About the blogger:
Debra Hamel is the author of a number of books about ancient Greece. She writes and blogs from her subterranean lair in North Haven, CT. Read more.

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Blog stats:
BOOK REVIEWS: 625
BOOK NOTICES: 268
2003: 50
2004: 68
2005: 66
2006: 75
2007: 58
2008: 88
2009: 81
2010: 57
2011: 48
2012: 27 | 1
2013: 0 | 35
2014: 1 | 25
   2015: 0 | 17
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2023: 1 | 17
2024: 1 | 11
2025: 0 | 0
2026: 0 | 0

Updated 11-26-24. [Reviews are longer and have ratings. Notices do not have ratings.]

Books by Debra Hamel:

THE BATTLE OF ARGINUSAE :
VICTORY AT SEA AND ITS TRAGIC AFTERMATH IN THE FINAL YEARS OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR
By Debra Hamel


Kindle | paperback (US)
Kindle | paperback (UK)

KILLING ERATOSTHENES:
A TRUE CRIME STORY
FROM ANCIENT ATHENS
By Debra Hamel


Kindle | paperback (US)
Kindle | paperback (UK)

READING HERODOTUS:
A GUIDED TOUR THROUGH THE WILD BOARS, DANCING SUITORS, AND CRAZY TYRANTS OF THE HISTORY
By Debra Hamel


paperback | Kindle | hardcover (US)
paperback | hardcover (UK)

THE MUTILATION OF THE HERMS:
UNPACKING AN ANCIENT MYSTERY
By Debra Hamel


Kindle | paperback (US)
Kindle | paperback (UK)

TRYING NEAIRA:
THE TRUE STORY OF A COURTESAN'S SCANDALOUS LIFE IN ANCIENT GREECE
By Debra Hamel


paperback | hardcover (US)
paperback | hardcover (UK)

SOCRATES AT WAR:
THE MILITARY HEROICS OF AN ICONIC INTELLECTUAL
By Debra Hamel


Kindle (US) | Kindle (UK)

ANCIENT GREEKS IN DRAG:
THE LIBERATION OF THEBES AND OTHER ACTS OF HEROIC TRANSVESTISM
By Debra Hamel


Kindle (US) | Kindle (UK)

IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY TWEET:
FIVE HUNDRED 1ST LINES IN 140 CHARACTERS OR LESS
By Debra Hamel


Kindle | paperback (US)
Kindle | paperback (UK)

PRISONERS OF THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR
By Debra Hamel


Kindle (US) | Kindle (UK)





Book-blog.com by Debra Hamel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution - Noncommercial - No Derivative Works 3.0 License.



Book Notices | The Walk by Lee Goldberg / Why We Make Mistakes by Joseph T. Hallinan / Mr. Monk Gets on Board by Hy Conrad

Lee Goldberg, The Walk

  Amazon  

Lee Goldberg's The Walk tells the story of network exec Marty Slack's multi-day walk home from downtown L.A. after a massive earthquake levels a huge swath of California. He has adventures along the way--near-death experiences and acts of heroism, much of it in the company of a likable if two-dimensional bounty hunter named Buck. The plot line seems the sort of thing many television series are made of. A wandering man passes through the lives of the various characters he meets on his journey--think Bill Bixby's David Banner or, mutatis mutandis, Michael Landon's character on Highway to Heaven, or Scott Bakula in Quantum Leap. Except that Marty's walk can't last more than a few days, so, no series. At any rate, I really enjoyed this. The only thing that would have made it better is a map detailing Marty's travels, since I found the geography hard to visualize.

Joseph T. Hallinan, Why We Make Mistakes: How We Look Without Seeing, Forget Things in Seconds, and Are All Pretty Sure We Are Way Above Average

  Amazon  

It's been about a week since I finished this book. Usually I jot down my thoughts immediately after finishing a book, but this time I kept forgetting to do so. Maybe that's fitting in this case, because I found the book itself to be pretty forgettable. It was enjoyable in the reading, I know, but a week on now I would have to go back and read a summary of it to describe any of the contents. Probably this is just me, in my reading slump still, reading a book that didn't quite fit my needs at the moment, rather than any failing on the part of the author

Hy Conrad, Mr. Monk Gets on Board

  Amazon  

The Monk books tend to offer readers some combination of three elements: pathos, usually related to revelations about the depth of Monk and Natalie's relationship; humor, usually proceeding from the dialogue between Monk and Natalie; and storyline. In this latest installment I'd say that humor and pathos are all but lacking, while the storyline is quite good. The book is certainly a good read, but I do hope that the author makes with the funny next time. (I note that I found Hy Conrad's first installment in the series lacking in humor and pathos as well, so this is a disturbing trend.)

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