Books and Me

by Ant Middleton (2019) This is far less of a description of military tactics or history and far more a refreshingly different take on the self-help genre.  Channelling your demons and putting them to good aggressive use is not the sort of thing you come across in your average self-improvement read, but actually, if you try hard, the two approaches often aren't completely inconsistent. "First Man In" simply broadens the scope of available solutions and behaviours. Take timing, for example:  when you've read a whole bundle of books on how to avoid procrastinating, it is interesting to come across the concept of "intelligent waiting". "First Man In" is pacily written, an easy read, and is, or at least you hope it is, an insight into the minds of elite soldiers.  Not that you ever feel certain of the veracity of this insight, mind you!  Nothing is ever quite what it seems in this world and the skirting over the tours in Afghanistan makes...

By Henry Marsh (2014) This is, as many of the endorsements in and on the book jacket suggest, a searingly honest account of consultant life in a major British hospital and as such, is probably a pretty essential read if you want to get inside the mind of many a doctor.  My problem with this is that I already know several people so startlingly like Henry Marsh, and having worked in the NHS myself, I didn't learn anything new and will be in a tiny minority in giving it less than a 10/10.  The narrative nonetheless flowed pretty seamlessly, is well written and kept one sufficiently engaged, so that it can be easily read in a couple of sittings. Rating: 7/10