DVD Review: 1917 directed by Sam Mendes

1917
directed by Sam Mendes (DVD 1917)

There have been many great movies out this past decade covering events that happened during World War I and World War II, but this movie is among the best war films that I have seen. Set during World War I, a young soldier is given the task to deliver a message to the General on the front lines to stop an attack on German forces that have led them into a trap. Unless the soldier can get through, there will be a massacre of English forces. One of the men preparing to fight the Germans is the soldier’s own brother. The soldier, Blake, and his friend Schofield know that everything depends on them. This is an extremely tense film with scenes that are very bloody and difficult to watch, but the story is excellent. I highly recommend it.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try War Horse, Hacksaw Ridge or Dunkirk)

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this film ) | ( official 1917 Facebook page )

 

Recommended by Kim J.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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Review: Winnie's Great War by Lindsay Mattick

Winnie’s Great War
by Lindsay Mattick [j Mattick]

This is a charming little novel that fictionalizes the real-life events that inspired the literary legend that is Winnie-the-Pooh, by A.A. Milne. Most readers are probably not aware that the honey-loving bear of Milne’s story was inspired by an actual Canadian bear, who had quite a few adventures of his own!

Winnie was an orphaned female black bear cub who was purchased by Canadian cavalry veterinarian Harry Colebourn at a railway station as he was being sent for troop training in Eastern Canada in preparation for being sent to Europe to fight in World War I (i.e. “The Great War”). Colebourn named her Winnipeg, in honor of his hometown, but that was quickly shortened to Winnie. Winnie was a mascot for Colebourns unit of front-line veterinary doctors, and they couldn’t bear to leave her behind when they took the ocean voyage to Europe. After many exciting adventures with Colebourn and his fellow soldiers, ultimately Winnie was turned over to the London Zoo when Harry and his comrades headed into combat. Colebourn planned to reclaim her after the war…but no-one had any idea how long this World War would ultimately go on.

During those war years, Winnie became a huge attraction at the London Zoo, where she was beloved by both the zoo visitors and staff. She had a playful personality, but could also sense anxiety and fear in other animals and her mere presence could often calm creatures of many species. It was while Winnie was at the zoo that author Milne brought his son, Christopher Robin Milne to the zoo, and the boy fell in love with the bear…renaming his own stuffed bear “Winnie-the-Pooh” (a combination of Winnie the real-life bear, and a nick-name in the Milne household). It was this that inspired Milne to write his beloved childrens’ books.

I enjoyed this short novel very much, and feel like I know a lot more about the true history of Winnie now, although the author (a descendant of Colebourn) takes some creative liberties in sections of the novel — especially in attributing human-like personalities and speech (although only among the animals themselves) to most of the various animals in the story. But, but a story that aims to entertaining a youthful audience, this is fully understandable. A fun, enlightening read!

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Finding Winnie, by Lindsay Mattick, Winnie: The True Story of the Bear Who Inspired WInnie the Pooh, by Sally Walker or Goodbye Christopher Robin, in both book and DVD formats.]

[ publisher’s official Winnie’s Great War web page ] | [ official Lindsay Mattick web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania (on CD)

Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
by Erik Larson [Compact Disc 940.451 Lar] 

This book looks at the Lusitania’s last voyage from several viewpoints in chronological order. You come to understand the actions of the u-boat, why some responsibility for the sinking belongs to British intelligence, why our president was distracted at the time, and how this all impacted those sailing on the ship. It’s’ a balanced look at a bit of history most of us have heard about but really have little in depth knowledge of, yet was a major turning point of WWI.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try A Night to Remember by Walter Lord (910.45 Lor) The original book about the Titanic and basic resource for many of the books that followed. Lord was able to interview many survivors and shares their stories as well as the ship’s.] [ official Dead Wake page on the official Erik Larson web site ]

Recommended by Sandy W.
Gere Branch Library

Have you read or listened to this? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?
New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!

An Unmarked Grave - A Just Desserts selection!

An Unmarked Grave
by Charles Todd

This fourth volume in the Bess Crawford series, from mother and son writing team "Charles Todd", following the experiences of an English nurse in France during WWI, begins as the Spanish Flu is running rampant throughout Europe. With soldiers dying left and right of the disease, and bodies being stacked up for eventual burial, it is fortuitous that one of the orderlies at a Medical Aid station near the French front line sees a body in storage that has died of other-than-natural causes and not been accounted for. When he brings his discovery to the attention of Sister Bess Crawford, she recognizes the victim, who died of a broken neck, as a past member of her father's former Indian regiment, whose body has been concealed with the "plague" victims. Before Bess and the orderly can report this apparent murder, Bess herself falls victim to the flu and has to be taken back to England to recover, and the orderly mysterious commits suicide. Once Bess is coherent again, she begins to investigate the unnatural death, but attracts the attentions of someone who'd just as soon not have his handiwork revealed. Bess is an interesting character -- she compares very favorably with Maisie Dobbs, from Jacqueline Winspear's very similar post-WWI series. Bess' upper-middle-class background, and the fact that her father has the pull to have her removed to safety seemingly whenever he feels like it, reduces the seriousness of her wartime setting somewhat, but the mystery was still interesting, and the descriptions of wartime France and England were very evocative of the times. -- recommended by Scott C. - Bennett Martin Public Library [This book was discussed by the Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group in February 2012. Click the link to find out what books we're discussing at upcoming meetings!]

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the other works of the mother and son writing team of Charles Todd.]

[Also available in downloadable E-book and Large Print formats.]

[ official An Unmarked Grave page on the official Charles Todd web site ]

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!

The World of Downtown Abbey + new Downton Abbey booklist

The World of Downton Abbey
by Jessica Fellowes [791.457 DowYf]

This book delves deeper into the wildly popular television series Downton Abbey. The book is filled with behind the scenes photos of the cast, crew and sets. It also has historical information pertaining to the period in which the series is set. This is a great read for fans of the show who would like to learn more about its historical context. [If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Below stairs : the classic kitchen maid's memoir that inspired "Upstairs, downstairs" and "Downton Abbey" and Lady Almina and the real Downton Abbey : the lost legacy of Highclere Castle.] -- recommended by Alyse S. - Bennett Martin Public Library

[ official Downton Abbey web site from PBS ] | [ official Jessica Fellowes web site ] | [ new If You Like Downton Abbey booklist from Lincoln City Libraries ]

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

If you're a fan of Downton Abbey, and are looking for similar reads, we recommend checking out Scott's brand-new booklist on the libraries' BookGuide readers advisory site -- If You Like Downton Abbey. It recommends dozens of other novels, DVD sets and non-fiction titles that should appeal to fans of PBS's recent hit series.

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month.