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wealhtheow

wealhtheow

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The Theory of the Leisure Class (Modern Library Classics)
Thorstein Veblen, Alan Wolfe
The Mauritius Command - Patrick O'Brian At the end of the H.M.S. 'Surprise', Captain Jack Aubrey finally had the chance to marry his beloved and settle down into a little country cottage. The Muaritius Command begins with his bff Doctor Stephen Maturin visiting him and offering Jack an opportunity to go back to sea. Jack leaps at the chance, both to return to the profession he loves and to get away from his hectoring mother-in-law and lumpish twin infants. And even better than he'd expected--when Jack makes it to La Reunon, he finds that he will be commanding the naval action. If he succeeds at the nearly impossible task of snatching Mauritius from the French, he might very well become an Admiral--but if he fails, his career will be over.

Jack is outgunned and outmanned, and several of the captains under his command are almost worse than useless. But through his own determined hard work and strategy, and Stephen's sly propaganda on land, success appears almost within reach...

I missed Sophie and Diana, and there was less interaction between Stephen and Jack than previously. But I was so glad to read about Stephen's depressed, almost viciously insightful thoughts on the people around him (and his deeply mistaken ideas of what was going on with the navy) and Jack's own terrible jokes and tireless, fearless action. What surprised me the most were Jack's own tact and tactical skills--all too often I fall back into the assumption that Stephen is the smart one, but truly the difference between them is the arenas in which they are gifted. I love these books for being full of nail-biting adventure and suspense--and also brimming with psychological insight. In fact, I love these books so much that I'm starting the next book as soon as I finish this review!