Author Archives: Seawriter

I write a weekly book review for the Daily News of Galveston County. (It is not the biggest daily newspaper in Texas, but it is the oldest.) I have been doing this for nearly a dozen years, and am reprinting some of the older reviews here. Books I feel are still worthwhile. Ship of Ghosts certainly qualifies. It was Hornfischer’s second book (after Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors) and in my opinion, still his best. It may be due to my own fascination with the cruiser Houston (my own book on the Houston – The Cruiser Houston – appears this year on November 6, 2017), but rather I think it is due to Hornfischer’s excellent writing.

‘Ghosts’ a retelling of Houston‘s battle

By Mark Lardas
The Daily News

Published … Continue reading →

I write a weekly book review for the Daily News of Galveston County. (It is not the biggest daily newspaper in Texas, but it is the oldest.)  This is the second of two reviews I did on books about the Texas Navy back in 2006.

Seawriter

The First Texas Navy’ a fine addition

I write a weekly book review for the Daily News of Galveston County. It is not the biggest newspaper in Texas, but it is the oldest. I have been doing this for over a decade. In 2006 two books came out at separate times about the Texas Navy. Although you may never have heard of the Texas Navy, it was important both to the survival of Texas as a republic, and as a result to the history of the United States. I reviewed both. I am reprinting the first one this week, and will do the other next week.

Nonfiction work full of unbelievable stories

By Mark Lardas

The Daily News

Published April 30, 2006

You may have never heard of the Texas Navy. Maybe you thought it … Continue reading →

This is a reprint of a review I wrote published over a decade ago in the Daily News of Galveston County. It first appeared in 2006.

Seawriter

Authors give balanced view of Texas Rangers

By Mark Lardas

This morning a gunman opened fire on Republican Representative Steven Scalise and members of his staff while they were practicing baseball. Scalise was hit in the hip. The gunman is dead, shot by security. Apparently before opening fire the gunman asked whether the players on the field were Republicans or Democrats. This has the indications it was political violence, not a gang-banger looking for cred.

My questions: Will the “Resistance” realize they have pushed the assassination theme too far, and pull back from political violence? If not, is this the starting gun (quite literally) for what some have predicted – the Second American Civil War? Remember, civil wars do not always consist of marching armies. They can also develop into partisan warfare, like Bleeding Kansas.

I would be curious … Continue reading →

This is a reprint of a review I wrote published over a decade ago in the Daily News of Galveston County. It was one of my favorites leading to a long article in National Herald, where I did an extended interview with the author.

Seawriter

Author outlines influence of Byzantium

By Mark Lardas
The Daily News

Published September 3, 2006

“Sailing From Byzantium: How a Lost Empire Shaped the World,” by Colin Wells, Delacorte Press, 335 pages, $22

In “Sailing From Byzantium,” Colin Wells explains how Byzantium influenced the development of three civilizations: that of Western Europe, the Arab World and Slavonic culture. The influence of the Byzantine Empire on these three civilizations is a story largely forgotten today.

You may never have heard of Byzantium, or … Continue reading →

This is a reprint of a review I wrote published over a decade ago in the Daily News of Galveston County.

‘Devils’ exposes cruise ships’ sordid history

By Mike Lardas
Correspondent

Published January 7, 2007

“Devils on the Deep Blue Sea: The Dreams, Schemes and Showdowns that Built America’s Cruise-Ship Empires” by Kristoffer A. Garin, Viking Books, 366 pages, $24.95

Devils are tempters, as well as torturers. No industry deals temptation in wholesale lots like cruise lines. In that sense, the management of the cruise ship industry merits the “devils” accolade of the title.

Kristoffer Garin seems okay with temptation. The great gobs of money made by selling temptation are what bother him. Owners squeeze a good chunk of profit by keeping operating costs — including wages … Continue reading →

This is a reprint of a review I wrote published over a decade ago in the Daily News of Galveston County.

Illustrated diary shows humanity of Civil War

By Mark Lardas
The Daily News

Published September 17, 2006

“The Southern Journey of a Civil War Marine: The Illustrated Note-Book of Henry O. Gusley,” edited and annotated by Edwad T. Cotham, University of Texas Press, $24.95. 213 pages.

In September 1863, a Galveston newspaper — not this one, a then-competitor: the Galveston Tri-Weekly News — began publishing a diary captured at the Battle of Sabine Pass earlier that month.

The diary proved enormously popular. It was kept by a U.S. Marine from Pennsylvania serving on the Clifton, one of two gunboats captured at Sabine Pass.

Although its author … Continue reading →