A Duel of Giants: Bismarck, Napoleon III, and the Origins of the Franco-Prussian War (David Wetzel, 2003)

I was looking forward to reading this because it ties to a bunch of other stuff I've been reading lately. And the link from the Franco-Prussian dust-up of 1870 to WWI is so direct that I was interested in knowing more about how this got started.

But the book wasn't that interesting. The author clearly has done his homework. There were many elements in the rivalry; he focuses in incredible detail on a dispute over the succession to the Spanish throne (to France's chagrin, a Hohenzollern prince became a candidate).

All this was too much for some of the French politicians to stomach, following closely on the 1866 embarrassments in which German unification (and Prussian-led prevalence over Austria) advanced. (With what followed in fairly short order, it's always hard to believe Germany didn't exist as a state until this era.)

The cover photo on the book shows the famous photo of Bismarck and an aging Napoleon III (after the French had been demolished in short order). But those two characters weren't given much emphasis in the book.

Read at gym. Just average.

Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard (Joseph Conrad, 1904)

I read this about six months ago at the gym. I much like Conrad's stuff, including this book. One thing that's interesting is that he uses the English language so well when he didn't learn it until his 20s (native Pole).

This is set in an imaginary South American republic (Costaguena). Conrad does a great job of setting up a pretty large group of interconnected characters. And really goes into depth. The descriptions of the local politicians and governments would be spot-on today, at the risk of sounding condescending or rascist (except the basic weaknesses in this area aren't at all confined to Latin America or any other geography). The good-hearted Englishman who brings along the mine into production to the benefit of the entire area, and ends up being pretty much owned by the mine. The local families. The old Italian who worshipped Garibaldi and ran a local lodging place. The cynical journalist who gets over being disconnected - by falling in love with a local - and stays to fight the good fight.

All with weaknesses, but the book is pretty optimistic in the end.

The central figure (Nostromo) is an Italian who heads what I guess you'd call the longshoremen. He is incorruptible; a heroic figure in the town; entrusted with hiding a bunch of silver; this leads to some erosion of his incorruptibility, you could say.

A more detailed description can be found here - but I'd stay away from the description and just read the book.