Just Finished Reading: First Steps – How Walking Upright Made Us Human by Jeremy Desilva (FP: 2021) [274pp] 

I have LONG been interested in Evolution since reading Dawkins back in my 20’s. Not surprisingly, I’m particularly interested in the evolution of my own species. One of the most signature differences between ourselves and our Ape cousins is the fact that we walk upright, we’re bipedal whereas the other apes move around, by and large, on all four limbs. So, what gives – and more importantly what’s the advantage of two legs over four. 

At first glance moving around on two legs rather than four is a distinct DISADVANTAGE. Not only can chimpanzees, for example, run much faster than we can they can also climb much faster than us. But with such obvious disadvantages how did we compete successfully with similar quadrupedal ancestors in the deep past? What use is two legs after all is said and done? One advantage is that an upright posture allows a much better survey of the ground locally. Seeing threats further off allows even slow pre-humans to make it to the nearest cover. Furthermore being ‘hands-free’ allows bipeds not only to carry things that our quadruped ancestors couldn’t - allowing more food to be carried over longer distances as well as the ability to throw things accurately over distances to ward off predators and enemies alike – which must have come in very handy at times (no pun intended!).  

Along with the advantages there were, inevitably, downsides. Standing upright meant a compromise between energy efficient walking – chimps typically expend FOUR times as much energy per mile travelled – and the ability to give birth relatively easily, most especially as our brains and heads expanded over the millennia. This was, and still is, a significant risk in being female. Interestingly, the difficulty of per-human birthing might very well have led to group co-operation which boosted not only individual survival rates but boosted the evolutionary fitness of the entire species. 

As the process of evolution has, of necessity, to work with what it has and modify it as it can, compromises must be made – even beyond the restrictions in the birth canal. Even today humans die by falling much more than you’d think. Added to that is the commonality of sprained ankles, dislocated kneecaps and torn ligaments. We are a cobbled together species and our bipedalism is no exception. 

I really enjoyed this book. Not only did I learn a great deal about our pre-human ancestors, but I realised that the number of them has increased greatly since I last checked in. Some of them were familiar (now much more familiar) to me but some were quite new. Another thing I found very interesting indeed were later chapters on the impact of shoe wearing and the health benefits of walking – both mental and physical. It made me want to put the book down and go for a walk! If you have a general interest in human evolution or a particular interest in the development of upright walking or even walking in general, this is definitely the book for you. Highly recommended and a highlight of the year.  

It's a *start*.... [lol]

Happy International Children's Book Day....!

Welcome to April! As its my birthday later this month, April has been designated (by me obviously) Book Month here @ SaLT which means that you might notice a 'slight' uptick in book related posts. I hope that you enjoy them.

Just Finished Reading: Mrs Rosie and the Priest by Giovanni Boccaccio [54pp] 

First, some background.... Although I’ve been *aware* of these books I only really, really, thought about actually going ahead and buying the boxset of 80 of them after Marianne posted a review of an Oscar Wilde short book in this series on 14th March. What I’d failed to realise was that the boxset – if I’d actually paid attention – only contained the first 80 booklets (as far as I know there’s now around 127 in the set). The Wilde booklet is number 119... However, after the initial ‘disappointment’ I’m still pleased I purchased the set especially as they were on offer (half price) which makes each one about £1 each – which isn’t too shabby! Actually, I was SO impressed by the idea behind the boxset that I also bought the equivalent Penguin Modern classics which ‘only’ contains 50 booklets of which more later. My 'excuse', as if I need one, is that its my birthday soon so purchases like this simply don't count.  

Finally, the book itself... This was actually four stories extracted from the much larger work The Decameron and included the title story itself. My two favourite stories were, however, Andreuccio’s de Perugia’s Neapolitan adventures which was honestly a very funny farce where a young man on his first business trip to Naples gets scammed by a local beauty out of all of his money. Then, through a series of mishaps and adventures gains a ring far more valuable than any purse of gold he started with. Ricciardo da Chinzica loses his wife is somewhat less amusing but is an interesting critique of husbands who don’t pay enough attention to their much younger wives. I guess some themes are eternal! Overall, the four stories are rather amusing, somewhat ‘bawdy’ but not a patch on such tales today and often deeply critical of the Catholic church which got the author into a lot of trouble! 

Translated from the Italian by Peter Hainsworth. 

From Wiki:  The Decameron or Decamerone, subtitled Prince Galehaut and sometimes nicknamed l'Umana commedia ("the Human comedy", as it was Boccaccio that dubbed Dante Alighieri's Comedy "Divine"), is a collection of short stories by the 14th-century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375). The book is structured as a frame story containing 100 tales told by a group of seven young women and three young men; they shelter in a secluded villa just outside Florence in order to escape the Black Death, which was afflicting the city. The epidemic is likely what Boccaccio used for the basis of the book which was thought to be written between 1348–1353. The various tales of love in The Decameron range from the erotic to the tragic. Tales of wit, practical jokes, and life lessons also contribute to the mosaic. In addition to its literary value and widespread influence (for example on Chaucer's Canterbury Tales), it provides a document of life at the time. Written in the vernacular of the Florentine language, it is considered a masterpiece of early Italian prose. 

So, we’re definitely off to an ‘interesting’ start. What the set of booklets will allow me to do is expand my reading – I don’t think I’ll ever regard myself as ‘well-read’ but I’m going to try – read books translated from a host of other languages and maybe (at least) press up against the boundaries of my various comfort zones. One of the things it will do, and something I haven’t done in at least 50 years or so, is get me reading Poetry... Not usually my thing, but I’m willing to give it a try in booklet size chunks. It’ll be interesting to see where things lead.  

Ah, the French..... Known throughout the world for the enthusiastic way they protest.... Bless 'em....

Where in the World? - 2024/2025 edition 

For the last few years, I’ve been trying to expand various aspects of my reading – pushing the boundaries – and one way I’ve been doing to is by reading (or at least trying to read) novels based in various countries around the world and most especially countries that I’m generally unfamiliar with and, most especially, not in my comfort locations of the UK or USA. So, how did I do in the last 12 months? As always updates are in BOLD. NOTE: These are only fictional journeys, are only counted when location is clear (and is at least 50% of the book) and doesn’t count either SF or Fantasy locations. I (generally) count collections of short stories IF they’re in one or (max) two clearly defined locations. 

Afghanistan – 2
Australia – 1
Botswana - ½ (NEW)
Canada – 2
China – 1
Crete - 1
Cuba – 2
England – 86 ½ (+13)
Estonia - 1
France – 14 (+1)
Germany – 5 ½
Greece – 2
Holland - 1
India – 2
Ireland – 1
Italy – 4
Iraq - 1 (NEW)
Jamaica - 1
Japan – 3 ½ (+1 ½)
Norway – 2
Malaya - 1
Portugal – 3
Russia – 4
Scotland - 2
South Africa – 1
Spain – 3
Sweden - 3
Turkey - 2
Ukraine – 1
USA – 58 (+3 ½ )
Vietnam – 3 (+2)

Well, that’s nowhere near what I was hoping, and half expecting, it to be! Although I have managed to add two more countries, at this rate it’ll take the rest of my life to get halfway around the world. Hopefully my ‘plans’ for the rest of this year and some other ideas marinating in my lower brain stem might get me more towards where I want to be... Climbing out of a deeply entrenched comfort zone is HARD!  

I always thought that if they were any good that they'd contact YOU.

Happy Birthday: Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou (29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis, was a Greek musician, composer, and producer of electronic, progressive, ambient, and classical orchestral music. He composed the Academy Award-winning score to Chariots of Fire (1981), as well as for the films Blade Runner (1982), Missing (1982), Antarctica (1983), The Bounty (1984), 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992), and Alexander (2004), and the 1980 PBS documentary series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage by Carl Sagan.

Born in Agria and raised in Athens, Vangelis began his career in the 1960s as a member of the rock bands the Forminx and Aphrodite's Child; the latter's album 666 (1972) is recognised as a progressive-psychedelic rock classic. Vangelis settled in Paris, and gained initial recognition for his scores to the Frédéric Rossif animal documentaries L'Apocalypse des Animaux, La Fête sauvage, and Opéra sauvage. He released his first solo albums during this time, and performed as a solo artist. In 1975, Vangelis relocated to London where he built his home recording facility named Nemo Studios and released a series of successful and influential albums for RCA Records, including Heaven and Hell (1975), Albedo 0.39 (1976), Spiral (1977), and China (1979). From 1979 to 1986, Vangelis performed in a duo with Yes vocalist Jon Anderson, releasing several albums as Jon and Vangelis. He collaborated with Irene Papas on two albums of Greek traditional and religious songs.

Just Finished Reading: To Win a War – 1918 The Year of Victory by John Terraine (FP: 1978) [259pp] 

1917 was a hard year for the Allied Powers. Not only had their offensives failed to achieve victory, but their attempts had almost destroyed their army's ability to fight. The French front-line commands had been wracked with mutiny and some of their politicians were calling for peace at *any* price. The British meanwhile where struggling to fill their basic manpower needs and where being forced to downsize the units in France. What made things worse was that Russia had dropped out of the war with the inevitable influx of German units moving west for a renewed offensive.  

Despite prior knowledge, and a limited amount of preparation, the Allies where still taken by surprise when the hammer fell in the spring of 1918. Despite warnings the Allies still packed their front trenches with men and whole units were destroyed by massive artillery bombardments. Once overrun and with the survivors in headlong retreat, the German infantry poured through the gaps and moved deep into France. But, despite their numbers, despite their planning and despite new tactics (including elite Stormtrooper units) the Allied Front was never breached. Broken sure, bent out of shape certainly, but after weeks of attacks and thousands of casualties the line held. Completely exhausted, low on supplies and distracted by the opportunity of looting Allied supplies abandoned in haste, the German assault ground to a halt. Hit first by outbreaks of Spanish Flu they were hit time and time again by the French, British and increasingly by American counter attacks. Slowly withdrawal became retreat and retreat become a general fallback from ground bloodily taken and retaken over the past four years. The 100 days of defeat had begun, and the end of the Great War was finally in sight. 

After reading about the German spring offensive (or rather offensives) of 1918 I was reasonably familiar with the events discussed in the first half of this book. What I was much less familiar with, and which I found very interesting, was the political manoeuvring behind the scenes to end the war and why, for instance, the Allies seemed to be satisfied by an Armistice rather than the full and unconditional surrender they demanded in 1945. Despite planning for campaign in 1919 (and indeed with some thinking that the war would still be raging in 1920!) both the British and most especially the French were spent, or close to being so, in the latter half of 1918. It was just conceivable that the final push could take place in 1919 but any continuation of the war beyond the spring of that year was unthinkable even with the growing manpower of the US Army. 

Despite having some notable axes to grind – the author *really* didn’t like the UK PM David Lloyd George! – this was an interesting and informative read. Getting some insights into the thinking of the Allied and German commanders certainly added to my understanding of why the war took so long to end even after it was obvious to just about everyone that Germany had lost the fight. Recommended if you can source a copy. More up to date works on this important period to come. 

Just Finished Reading: Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich (FP: 2017) [337pp] 

The News was not good. Scientists around the world struggled to understand exactly what was going on and they were failing. From what they could discern, for unknown reasons, the process of Evolution had stopped and was, indeed, at least in some cases going into reverse. Plants and animals where no longer breeding ‘true’ and the resulting offspring was increasingly populating the world. What was worse, at least from a human perspective, was the fact that food crops were failing across the planet. The world was teetering on the edge of famine and chaos. All of this was background noise to Cedar Hawk Songmaker who had much bigger fish to fry. She was four months pregnant and had just been given the contact details of her birth mother on the Ojibwe reservation. Wanting to know her real roots before the baby is born Cedar is determined to travel to see her mother and finally know why she was given up for adoption. Meanwhile the country is falling apart and a pregnant woman, especially if they are carrying a normal baby, is a very valuable asset indeed to anyone who can hold her. 

To be honest I picked this up almost exclusively because of the title. Reading the blurb regarding a collapse of society, weird biological happenings and a strong Native American theme made me take it home... where it rested in a pile of books for EIGHT years.... [lol] 

Anyway, it’s read now... My overall reaction is quite mixed. The writing is actually very good if a little slow in places. This is the author’s 16th book so she should be pretty good by this stage! Characterisation throughout is very good and the main character is totally believable in her actions and motivations. Her personal philosophy is quite messed up – just like normal people – with a mixture of half understood Native American reading, Catholicism and her adoptive parents Western-styled Buddhism. Other characters – especially both of her families (full of other messy/realistic complications) are also very well drawn and interesting. The societal/political collapse is, as is usually the case, a little overblown but at least the adaptation to the new conditions takes months rather than moments which makes it somewhat more believable. The inevitable ‘resistance’ is also quite well done. 

Two things downgraded the book from a recommended to a reasonable. The first is the underlying ‘science’ part of the Science Fiction label. It’s complete nonsense. As Evolution doesn’t have a direction or a purpose it can’t change direction or go into ‘reverse’. That’s not how it works. So, less Science Fiction more Fantasy in that regard. The only other issue I had with the narrative was the ending which essentially fizzled out over the last 4-5 pages. I was less than impressed by that. I don’t need everything to be wrapped up into a nice, neat bow, but I do need something. Overall, this was more than saved by the quality of the writing which I enjoyed a great deal. The author has penned a great deal more – though not SF – around her own Native American heritage and history and I’ll keep my eyes open for them should I come across them in my travels. As stated before, reasonable.  

Happy Birthday: Rudolf von Bitter Rucker (born March 22, 1946) is an American mathematician, computer scientist, science fiction author, and one of the founders of the cyberpunk literary movement. The author of both fiction and non-fiction, he is best known for the novels in the Ware Tetralogy, the first two of which (Software and Wetware) both won Philip K. Dick Awards. He edited the science fiction webzine Flurb until its closure in 2014.

Rucker was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, son of Embry Cobb Rucker Sr (October 1, 1914 - August 1, 1994), who ran a small furniture-manufacture company and later became an Episcopal priest and community activist, and Marianne (née von Bitter). The Rucker family were of Huguenot descent. Through his mother, he is a great-great-great-grandson of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.

Rucker attended St. Xavier High School before earning a BA in mathematics from Swarthmore College (1967) and MS (1969) and PhD (1973) degrees in mathematics from Rutgers University.

As his "own alternative to cyberpunk," Rucker developed a writing style he terms transrealism. Transrealism, as outlined in his 1983 essay The Transrealist Manifesto, is science fiction based on the author's own life and immediate perceptions, mixed with fantastic elements that symbolize psychological change. Many of Rucker's novels and short stories apply these ideas. One example of Rucker's transreal works is Saucer Wisdom, a novel in which the main character is abducted by aliens. Rucker and his publisher marketed the book, tongue in cheek, as non-fiction.

[I read a handful of Rudy Rucker's work in the early 90's when I was *deep* into Cyberpunk. I think I need to look into some of his later work.] 

Just Finished Reading: Icemen – A History of the Artic and Its Explorers by Mick Conefrey and Tim Jordan (FP: 1998) [180pp] 

It is no real exaggeration to call it an obsession. For several centuries now Europeans and, more recently Americans, have become fascinated with the Artic – AKA the North Pole. First it was the idea, largely a fantasy until Global Warming made it an increasing reality, of the Northwest Passage across the top of the world. Rumours of an ice-free ocean at the Pole warmed by a sun always above the horizon but enclosed behind a wall of ice drove explorers on, often to their deaths or disappearance. Many tried and the lucky ones returned to tell their tales of hardship and failure. 

Technology seemed to come to the aid of explorers everywhere with the invention of balloons and, later, rigid airships. Able to accomplish much with somewhat reduced risk – although crashing into the ice (or worse the Artic Ocean) was a real possibility – these allowed improved mapping of the region and were swiftly followed by heavier-than-air craft to break further records and more than a few bones and bank accounts. As technology advanced even further it was the submarine that allowed humans to glide under the ice and surface even at the Pole itself. The Cold War had found its very own cold home. 

Of course, technology all too often meant military technology from long-range nuclear bombers to ballistic missiles. The only early ‘defence’ was early warning and the best place for those early warning stations was the Artic. Much was learned from building, supplying and maintaining outposts in some of the most hostile places on Earth. 

The pull of the Artic wastes has a long and often fascinating history. Despite the comparative brevity of the book the authors pack a LOT of information here along with a host of brave and often very strange people who helped write that history – and themselves in to it. I was particularly interested in the weird battle between Allied and German weather stations during WW2 scattered throughout the region each giving their owners vital information with which to plan their attacks. Hopefully more on THAT topic at some point! 

Well written, often humorous, sometimes tragic and endlessly interesting this was a delight from beginning to end. Much more to come on both Poles and the very brave people who went there to find out everything they could about some of the most inhospitable and dangerous places on the planet. Recommended if you can source a copy. 

Just Finished Reading: Squadron Airborne by Elleston Trevor (FP: 1955) [238pp] 

Summer, 1940. Nineteen-year-old pilot officer Peter Stuyckes (pronounced Stewks) wasn’t aware of it yet, but his first day with the squadron was going to be one hell of a day. On arrival the Squadron Leader looked him up and down and told him to get his gear. They were going to ‘stooge’ around for a while to see what’s what. Stuyckes, understandably nervous, failed to impress all that much by trying to land back at the airfield without lowering his undercarriage. Forgiving, but less than impressed, the Squadron Leader calmly explained just how expensive and in great demand the Spitfire was and that he should kindly remember to lower his wheels next time. Almost before the embarrassment had faded a loud voice over the Tannoy called out **SCRAMBLE!**. Told to stand off to watch and learn, Stuyckes did the only thing he could. Picking an enemy bomber he attacked...  

This is my second experience with the Imperial War Museum Wartime Classics series. As before the author drew on his own wartime experience as an aircraft engineer with the RAF during the Battle of Britain. The novel was split between action in the skies over Kent with some very creditable battle scenes and life on the ground with the crews responsible for fixing, arming and fuelling the main defence against Luftwaffe attack and the long-awaited for invasion. The whole novel takes place over a few weeks – a month at most I think – where the pilots are called upon to scramble more and more often each day and the ground crews work all the harder to keep all twelve aircraft in tip-top fighting condition which, as the days roll on, becomes steadily more difficult. 

A few things stuck out in particular. The most surprising, which thinking about it shouldn't have surprised me, was that one of the engineer ground crew was a woman. I was aware of the number of women posted to RAF stations in various roles but I don’t think I’d come across female flight engineers before. I’ve certainly seen pics of female engineers in other roles – building tanks, building aircraft (in factories), fixing trains – but not in a front line almost combat role. Of course, later on, women did ‘man’ anti-aircraft guns across Britain but it did seem odd in this context. 

I did think, at least initially, that the RAF pilots portrayed here were just *too* good and seemed to be responsible for a higher number of enemy downed aircraft than seemed reasonable. As the novel progressed however the strain and the British casualties began to show. There were clear cases of PTSD across the squadron with several characters voicing the opinion that they did not expect to survive the battle. Of course, quite a few didn’t so I’d recommend not getting TOO attached to anyone in the novel. An interesting read in many ways and I’m looking forward to moving on to the next few books dealing with the ‘Blitz’ from the civilian PoV. Recommended.   

The Last 10 Movies – March 2025 edition.   

Apparently, it's been a WHILE.... It seems that it’s not just my reading that’s going slowly these days. Mostly I’ve been catching up with old movies – interspersed with ‘new’ (to me at least) TV shows. But I have managed to slip a few new (again to me!) movies along the way. 

Inside Out (2015) 

I LOVE Pixar movies SO much. This still pulls at my little heart strings and I ALWAYS sob for poor Bing-Bong. 

The Incredibles (2004) 

I’ve lost count how many times I’ve seen this. I was completely entranced at the movies with friends. Still totally love it. 

Where Eagles Dare (1968) 

I STILL remember sitting in the cinema next to my day, with jaw dropped, as this movie opened. Most likely my all-time top WW2 movie – even with the bloody helicopter! 

Kelly’s Heroes (1970) 

Quite possibly my 2nd favourite WW2 movie. VERY funny, VERY 70’s... 

The Incredibles 2 (2018) 

Hard to believe that they could improve on an original movie but Pixar managed it here. The baby and racoon fight is SO awesome I still smile about it. 

Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid (1969) 

A fun movie over all with some very good set pieces (and I LOVE anything with Robert Redford in it). Starting to age somewhat I thought this time. 

Free Guy (2021) 

An interesting idea (NPC becoming self-aware inside in an online game) but played far too much for laughs combined with a weak romance story. SUCH a missed opportunity despite some hints of a good story underneath it all. 

Elevation (2024) 

An interesting twist on the alien invasion trope. It might just have worked if the underlying idea wasn’t SO.. SO.. SO.. Bad! 

The Matrix: Reloaded (2003) 

Pointless sequel to an iconic movie. Even the amazing (and VERY expensive) freeway chase couldn’t save it from its own pointlessness. The was *never* meant to be a trilogy! 

Dredd (2012) 

ULTRA violent remake of the terrible earlier Stallone version of this iconic comic character trying to be a cop in a dystopian future. I lost count very quickly of how many people died in one tower block over 90 minutes. Brutal.  

That's GOTTA be fake.... Right?

Happy Birthday: Sananda Francesco Maitreya (born Terence Trent Howard; March 15, 1962), who started his career with the stage name Terence Trent D'Arby, is an American singer and songwriter who came to fame with his debut studio album, Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby (1987). The album included the singles "If You Let Me Stay", "Sign Your Name", "Dance Little Sister", and "Wishing Well".

Sananda Francesco Maitreya was born Terence Trent Howard in Manhattan in 1962. His mother is Frances Howard, a gospel singer, teacher and counselor. Frances Howard married Bishop James Benjamin Darby, who became his stepfather and raised him. He took this stepfather's last name and later added the apostrophe.

Maitreya trained as a boxer in Orlando and in 1980 won the Florida Golden Gloves lightweight championship. He received an offer to attend boxing school in the United States Army, but went to college instead. After enrolling at the University of Central Florida, he quit a year later and enlisted in the U.S. Army. He was posted at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and then served in the 3rd Armored Division, near Frankfurt, Germany. He was court-martialed and dishonorably discharged by the Army in April 1983 after going absent without leave. While in Germany, he worked as a band leader with the band the Touch, releasing an album called Love on Time (1984). It was re-issued in 1989 as Early Works after his worldwide success as a solo artist. In 1986, he left Germany for London, where he briefly played with the Bojangles, who became his backing group on his 1988 tour. In London, he signed a recording contract with CBS Records.