City Boy

Herman Wouk's City Boy focuses on Herbie Bookbinder, a bright overweight 11-year old boy growing up in the Bronx during the late 1920's. He has a series of adventures at home, school, and summer camp, with a style vaguely reminiscent of Tom Sawyer. Though some of the incidents are entertaining, the book as a whole didn't make much of an impression on me. Wouk does capture the atmosphere of his own childhood and presents a vivid portrayal of Herbie, his friends, and his family. Still, City Boy isn't nearly as riveting as Wouk's The Caine Mutiny.

A History of Russia

Walter Moss's A History of Russia, Volume I: To 1917 was decent. The writing was very clear; the maps, chronology, and genealogy made the book accessible to someone like me who knows little about Russian history and geography. The book also has a nice balance between narrative history, culture, and the everyday life of the Russian people. However, it wasn't as exciting as it could have been, despite the importance of the events it describes. Things did pick up in the last part of the book, which covered the late imperial period from 1855 to 1917.