Book Review - Company of Stone - A Memoir by John Rixey Moore

Book Review

Company of Stone - A Memoir

by John Rixey Moore

Book Description

While on a lone tour in the rugged Scottish highlands, John Moore flees a freezing rainstorm by seeking shelter in a remote monastery. He nestles into the brotherhood—hardly believing what he learns about blind chance and the best of human nature. Later, a chance conversation overheard in a village pub steers him to become a rock drill operator in a large industrial gold mine. The dangers he encounters among the provocative, frightening, lost men of the mine, who seek anonymity in a world deep underground, challenge both his endurance and his sense of self.

With sensitivity and humor, Moore explores the unexpected lessons learned in the strange but rich monasticism of forgotten men—a brotherhood housed in crumbling medieval masonry and, one shared in the dangerous rocky depths of the gold mine.

This engaging adventure of discovery is full of unexpected surprises, leaving the reader torn between the call to adventure that lives at the heart of human nature and the gratitude for the safe embrace of the easy chair that affords the luxury of living vicariously.

Available to buy from...

Amazon.com   Amazon.co.uk   Kobo

Our Book Review

After being involved in the Vietnam conflict the author decides to take a walking tour in Scotland to find himself and to recouperate. Unexpectedly he ends up finding a monastery and spends some time with the brothers.  In relaying his thoughts and memoirs you find that wherever you go in the world no matter how big or small the place is you need different characters and beliefs to make the system work .

In reading the writers time in the monastery it sends an important message that everyone needs peace and solace to recharge and be the best you can be, reflection and recollection are important to learn and move on from the mistakes we make.

The second part of the authors journey takes us to Canada and a gold mine were the mindset and characteristics of the workers have a different objective.  This, for me, is what makes the journey and memoirs of this writer an excellent read.

There is alot to take from this book, contemplation, reflection, and making you think about your own life and what you hold dear to yourself and treasure.

Our Rating

About the Author

John Rixey Moore in an actor and writer. He has been a contract player on several TV soap operas and the on-camera announcer in over 460 network commercials, competed internationally for several years on the U.S. Bobsled team. in the 1980s, served as boat tune-up crew and sail advisor for the America's Cup, and sailed a 73' Trimaran across the Atlantic from Plymouth, England to Newport, Rhode Island in 1976. He has flown his Beech Bonanza across the United States some twenty-three times and built a home-made car out of parts scrounged from wrecks and yard sales (with a bit of reluctant professional help) which he has driven across the US twice so far. He can be seen from time to time on The History Channel being interviewed on the crop circle phenomenon and on the subject of UFOs. An amateur historian, he enjoys walking ancient sites in Europe and maintains an extensive collection of antique books and household displays of medieval weapons. He lives in the Los Padres National Forest of Southern California, where he paints and enjoys firing his collection of antique cannons.

Find the author on the following sites...

Website   Goodreads   Amazon Author Page

Sharon x

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http://www.beckvalleybooks.co.uk 
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Book Review - Hostage Of Paradox - A Qualmish Disclosure by John Rixey Moore

Book Review

Hostage Of Paradox - A Qualmish Disclosure

by John Rixey Moore

Book Description

Few people then or now know about the clandestine war that the CIA ran in Vietnam, using the Green Berets for secret operations throughout Southeast Asia. This was not the Vietnam War of the newsreels, the body counts, rice paddy footage, and men smoking cigarettes on the sandbag bunkers. This was a shadow directive of deep-penetration interdiction, reconnaissance, and assassination missions conducted by a selected few Special Forces teams, usually consisting of only two Americans and a handful of Chinese mercenaries, called Nungs. These specialized units deployed quietly from forward operations bases to prowl through agendas that, for security reasons, were seldom completely understood by the men themselves. Hostage of Paradox is the first-hand account by one of these elite team leaders. Moore is a highly decorated former Green Beret sergeant whose operations led him and a few Chinese, with whom he could barely communicate by hand signals alone, through a labyrinth of excruciating close calls and multiple woundings, miles deep in the jungles of enemy-controlled wilderness. His descriptions of these little-known missions crackle with fearful immediacy and the vivid imagery that only someone who has lived the experience can summon. To read his words is to be transported to the shadows of a small, murky corner in military history.

Available to buy from...

Amazon.com   Amazon.co.uk   Kobo

Our Book Review

A personal story of one mans trials and tribulations in Vietnam.  The novel revolves around the author and only the author, no politics are mentioned, from the training ground to the deployment how he felt and what his fears were.

A hard hitting account of a soldier whose job is just to follow orders without question. The vivid and excellent descriptions of the living quarters and jungle environment paint a clear image in your mind of what the soldier is facing, making you feel that you are there in the background.

An honest and open account of how one man feels when danger is all around and how you cope with the death of fellow soldiers who you have put all your faith and trust in to protect the camp where you live.  An emotive and sincere story which will tug at your heart.

The truly remarkable thing about the novel is at no point are politics mentioned and is what this man had to do on a daily basis to survive.  It also shows when you need help from other sources the smallest sign or gesture has the biggest impact.  An excellent read for anyone who is interested in militia accounts and whats it is like to be at the forefront of a fighting campaign.

Our Rating

About the Author

John Rixey Moore in an actor and writer. He has been a contract player on several TV soap operas and the on-camera announcer in over 460 network commercials, competed internationally for several years on the U.S. Bobsled team. in the 1980s, served as boat tune-up crew and sail advisor for the America's Cup, and sailed a 73' Trimaran across the Atlantic from Plymouth, England to Newport, Rhode Island in 1976. He has flown his Beech Bonanza across the United States some twenty-three times and built a home-made car out of parts scrounged from wrecks and yard sales (with a bit of reluctant professional help) which he has driven across the US twice so far. He can be seen from time to time on The History Channel being interviewed on the crop circle phenomenon and on the subject of UFOs. An amateur historian, he enjoys walking ancient sites in Europe and maintains an extensive collection of antique books and household displays of medieval weapons. He lives in the Los Padres National Forest of Southern California, where he paints and enjoys firing his collection of antique cannons.

Find the author on the following sites...

Website   Goodreads   Amazon Author Page

Sharon x

Are you a book reviewer or book blogger? Join our book tours reviewers team - Apply Here x

    
http://www.beckvalleybooks.co.uk 
http://www.beckvalleybooks.blogspot.com