Book Reviews
Hawkeye - the Story of an Army Pilot by Paul Strugnell
WCC member and former Army Air Corps Pilot Paul Strugnell has written a book about his experiences. There are many anecdotes in Paul’s self-published 120-page memoir "Hawkeye – The Story of an Army Pilot", which covers the period from 1970 to 1984. It chronicles the places he went to, the missions he was involved in, the pranks, the triumphs and near misses. EADT has done a review.
Rumour by Angela Lawrence
Our press officer, Angela Lawrence, has recently published her first novel, 'Rumour'. It is set in Suffolk during the First World War and is based on a true story. It tells the story of a village schoolmaster and his wife who become caught up in a spy scandal at the start of the war, simply because they have friends in Germany. Shortly after war is declared, in August 1914, British warships patrolling the North Sea fall victim to German mines and torpedoes. When the dead and injured are brought ashore at Shotley, close to the schoolmaster's village, rumours quickly spread that spies are at work along the Suffolk coast, signalling to enemy ships. The local newspaper, the East Anglian Daily Times, fuels the rumours and soon the population is gripped by spy hysteria.
'Rumour' reveals a rural society torn apart by the conflict and how an honourable man is betrayed by those he trusted.
Published by Sandlings Press, The Shipway, Mallard Way, Hollesley, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3QJ. email: lawrenceac@aol.com.
Available from the publishers price £12.99 (or by post at reduced price of £11.99 plus p&p £2.50. Cheques to A.C. Lawrence at the above address.
Also available from: Magpie Books in Hamilton Road, Felixstowe; Halesworth Books in Halesworth, Aldeburgh Bookshop in High Street, Aldeburgh, Orwell Books in Southwold or Woodbridge Books, The Thoroughfare, Woodbridge. All these booksellers can order it for you.
'Rumour' is also available from any Suffolk library.
Like Ships that Pass in the Night by Judy Clements
Club Member Judy Clements recounts in her book how living aboard 'Fram' might have been testing, frightening and exhilarating - but it was never mundane. Read her synopsis here.
20 Walks on the Deben Peninsula by Debbie Pipe and Pauline Austerfield
A handy, spiral-bound pocket-sized book, costing £3.99 and available from Hollesley Stores, local pubs and Tourist Information Centres. There are so many wonderful places to explore on foot on the Deben Peninsula that two Hollesley residents have decided to compile a book about them.
Debbie Pipe and Pauline Austerfield know the local tracks and byways better than most. For the past two years they have been walking together, writing and sketching as they go. Their illustrated walks - with instructions, maps and drawings of landmarks and wildlife - have become a popular feature in the monthly magazine, Village Voices. They shared the writing, while Pauline’s sketches enhance each page.
The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
Yes, this one is a novel and this isn't really a book review! However, it is fascinating to know that Annie Proulx says "And without the inspiration of Clifford W Ashley's wonderful 1944 work, The Ashley Book of Knots, which I had the good fortune to find at a yard sale for a quarter, this book would have remained just the thread of an idea". The majority of chapters have a named knot as a title which is then described and illustrated. Ashley's book contains over 3000 entries but the 30 or so shown here are very interesting.
Walking on Water: A Voyage around Britain and through Life
This is an inspirational auto biography by Geoff Holt. He was a keen and adventurous sailor as a young man who following an accident became a quadraplegic. His book tells of his living with his disability, of him getting back into sailing through RYA Sailability and how he became the first quadraplegic to sail solo round the UK in a 15ft Challenger dinghy.
A good recommendation for a Birthday/Christmas present or as a good read.
£9.95 Seafarer Books
http://www.walkingonwater.biz/