Cleaning out the catch.

Soldiers of Reason: The RAND Corporation and the Rise of the American Empire, by Alex Abella. The rise of the military-industrial complex. This writer had free access to a thesaurus.

Into the Remote Places, by Ian Hibell and Clinton Trowbridge. Hibell was a cyclist, into adventure touring, and crazy as a loon. Parts of this travel narrative involve more walking than biking, as when Hibell and his two companions are hacking their way through a swamp in central America through waistdeep water. Fun! Oh, and did I mention that trip through the Sahara? [Update: forgot to add this obit from the Economist: R.I.P. Ian Hibell. Bikes rarely let him down. Escaping once from spear-throwing Turkana in northern Kenya, he felt the chain come off, but managed to coast downhill to safety. He crossed China from north to south—in 2006, at 72—with just three brake-block changes, one jammed rear-brake cable and a change of tape on the handlebars. In his book, “Into the Remote Places” (1984), he described his bike as a companion, a crutch and a friend. Setting off in the morning light with "the quiet hum of the wheels, the creak of strap against load, the clink of something in the pannier", was "delicious". A page on Ian Hibell, set up by a friend, is here.]

The Secret Scripture, by Sebastian Barry. Good prose here, but utterly preposterous plot. You can readily get in touch with your bloody, violent, insane, oppressive Irish roots, if you have any. Shortlisted for the Booker but lost.