The Washing of the Spears, by Donald R. Morris

Authoritative, dense & detailed, almost to an academic level, it covers a lot of ground, including the rise of Shaka & the colony of Natal as a prelude to the main body which deals with the Anglo-Zulu War of the late 19th Century. Completed mid-May 2012. 3/5.

Generations: The History of America's Future, 1584 to 2069, by Neil Howe & William Strauss

Completed mid-April 2012.

The Magic of Reality, by Richard Dawkins

Illuminating & entertaining discussion of various myths & the facts that explain them rationally. Dawkins makes the point that the facts about various phenomena, are just as exciting & interesting as the myths that they have spawned, as he is typically concise, forthright & erudite about the magic of the former. Excellent scientific reading for a younger audience & superbly illustrated throughout. Completed end of April 2012. 4/5.

The Soccer War, by Ryszard Kapuscinski

Completed mid-March 2012.
Another from the famous journalist, & another fascinating read, this time about Africa & its emergence from colonialism. Notable for the author's numerous scrapes with impending execution it also details some of the characters who lead their countries from under colonial rule. It illuminates their personalities & often their tragic fate, with humour & pathos, however not quite as hard-hitting as Imperium. 3/5.

Imperium, by Ryszard Kapuscinski

Finished mid-March 2012.
Fascinating, compelling & often harrowing account of one man's experience of the former Soviet Union. From hellish personal WWII experiences through to survivors stories from the gulags & famines the horror of the former communist state is described through the people it affected & killed. The futility of its efforts at imposing ideologoy for the benefit of a few is tragically exposed through the disastrous consequences it had for the many. Its collapse could not come soon enough & hopefully we'll never see the likes of an empire like this again. 5/5.

Changes in the Land, by William Cronon

Finished end of Feb 2012.
Excellent read on a different than usual topic about the interactions between New England's colonists & the native people, fauna & flora. Also discusses the change Native Americans themselves made on the land & how the European settlers took advantage & made further changes. Some fascinating voices from that period are included as well as the author's non-judgemental arguments about the reasons & results of the transition from native to colonial. Consequently many of the descriptions were particularly vivid & have made me view the landscape in which I now live through newly updated eyes.
4/5.

Professional Team Foundation Server 2010, by Ed Blankenship, MartinWoodward, Grant Holliday, Brian Keller

Finished end of Feb 2012.
Thorough treatment of Microsoft's TFS & how to administer it for maximum benefit. It includes from how to install it down to creating customised work item templates. Although obviously 100% technical the book was structured in such a way it wasn't overly boring, & after completing it I was felt confident enough in the knowledge it had given me to consider taking the Microsoft administrators exam. 4/5.