Showing 1 - 10 of 10
Barbed humour
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 25/10/2018
» It was as a soldier boy in President Truman's "Police Action" that I first visited Asia -- South Korea and Japan.
Ace hitchhiker
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 02/03/2018
» British expatriate Lee Child has become perhaps the most respected thriller novelist in the US. His blurbs for colleagues' books send sales soaring. Jack Reacher, his literary creation, is a household name. Tom Cruise has played him in two successful movies.
Appeasement
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 25/01/2018
» World War I was so horrendous that it was universally believed another world war would mean Armageddon, the end of life on Earth. Imperialist conquest was one thing, but another world war had to be avoided at all cost. The way to settle conflicts was by talking, not shooting. An Austrian corporal, gassed and be-medalled, disagreed that the Great War was the War to End All Wars. Arguing that the Versailles Treaty ending it gave Germany -- his new country of citizenship -- a raw deal, he set about disclaiming it. Though talking peace, he set about arming the Third Reich.
Tongue-in-cheek
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 19/01/2018
» It has been a while a since I smiled while reading a book. My sense of humour is good and I don't hold back my laughter at something that tickles my funny bone. I find Thai double-entendres most amusing. This reviewer wishes books were funny. Those called hilarious by critics simply aren't.
One of a kind
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 03/11/2017
» In the US, and many other lands, justice is in the hands of the police and the courts. The citizenry must abide by their decision. But this overlooks the fact that vengeance is a human instinct.
Nothing to laugh about
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 07/07/2017
» Certain terms put me off: "only" as in I only want; "just" as in I just mean; "fun" as in let's have some; "hilarious" as in this book is. They are simply untrue.
The Underground Railroad revisited
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 11/08/2014
» Slavery is as old as man, practised well before the Hebrew slaves in Egypt. The populace of captured cities and defeated countries became slaves. The men were forced to do the most menial labour, the women often sold to slave traders, winding up as a prostitutes. It’s a profitable business.
Killing Churchill
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 27/05/2013
» Seven decades gone, the swastika back to being a benign Eastern symbol, the European cities rebuilt, the current generation has no memory of how close a thing the Nazi New Order was. Particularly in 1940 when France had fallen, Berlin and Moscow were allies, Washington was neutral, and London stood alone.
Red tape
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 20/05/2013
» Few people who have pulled up stakes in Country A and put them down in Country B know what they have let themselves in for. They may expect different customs, mores, traditions and have a basic knowledge of the language. But the red tape involved in integrating will try his (or her) patience to the extreme.
Two views of Thailand
Life, Bernard Trink, Published on 02/04/2012
» An old Thailand hand, I observed early on that just about every farang who has visited the Land of Smiles feels qualified to pen the definitive book about it. To them, Thailand is a quick read. But even wed into an extensive Thai family, I never thought so. Many of its mores elude me.