Goldfinger by Ian Fleming
The 1950s Gold Standard results in wacky smuggling operations and golf. Bond is on top of things until he’s not. But he survives anyway. 3/5
Spark: How Genius Ignites, From Child Prodigies to Late Bloomers by Claudia Kalb
Profiles of 13 great achievers from Yo-Yo Ma to Isaac Newton who found their calling at progressively greater ages. Some interesting profiles across varied fields. 3/5
Shoot for the Moon by James Donovan
The story of Apollo 11 and the space race that led up to it. Some stories I hadn’t heard before and well written but in a crowded field. 3/5
The Apocalypse Factory: Plutonium and the Making of the Atomic Age by Steve Olson
The history of the creation of Plutonium and the Hanford Nuclear Site that was built to manufacture it. 4/5
Captain Cook’s Epic Voyage by Geoffrey Blainey
The story of James Cook’s first voyage and it’s significance. Also covers the contemporary voyage by Jean de Surville. A good read that kept me interested. 4/5
Just the Funny Parts … And a Few Hard Truths About Sneaking Into the Hollywood Boys’ Club by Nell Scovell
A life as a female writer, producer and director in TV. A mix of funny stories, sexist stories and career highs and lows. 4/5
My Scoring System
- 5/5 = Brilliant, top 5 book of the year
- 4/5 = Above average, strongly recommend
- 3/5 = Average. in the middle 70% of books I read
- 2/5 = Disappointing
- 1/5 = Did not like at all
