About Me
I’m a B-school student whose first love is reading, particularly military history.
My appetite for books is voracious, my tastes eclectic. Although many of the books will be military history, many will not. You’re apt to find anything in here, from the latest business books, to religious fiction to pulp sci-fi.
Welcome aboard, thanks for coming by, and feel free to leave a comment if the spirit moves you.
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BillP's Book Blog 
January 14, 2010 at 4:12 pm |
It’s inspiring to see someone read this many books and entertaining to read your reviews. Thanks!
April 6, 2011 at 11:23 am |
Hi: William:
I’m writing to ask if you would be interested in reviewing my new book 15 Minutes Including Q&A: A Plan to Save the World from Lousy Presentations. The book takes only 30 minutes to read and details a simple and practical plan for creating engaging, persuasive presentations.
Seth Godin reviewed the book and wrote “The problem isn’t new, but the solution is. I read this book in less time than it will take you to give one of Joey’s presentations, and if you embrace these ideas, your presenting life will change. The real question is: do you and your team have the guts to do it.”
If you’re interested, I’d be happy to send you a review copy.
Let me know if you’re interested.
Have a great week.
Joey Asher
Speechworks
3500 Piedmont Road
Suite 330
Atlanta, GA 30305-1503
phone: 404-266-0888
fax: 404-364-3490
http://www.speechworks.net
Speechworks is a communication and selling skills firm that has been coaching executives and professionals to connect with listeners and win business for 20 years.
November 26, 2011 at 10:20 pm |
Dear Mr. Pilon,
My name is J. E. Rainey. I have just released an epic novel, Honor & Entropy (for ebooks only, with a pdf standing by). Don’t know if it is your particular cup of tea, but since you have a strong interest in military history, I though it just might appeal to your fictional tastes…
Honor & Entropy is an adventure rich with philosophy, classical plot, historical events, mystery, coming of age, multicultural quagmires, action, pathos, and humor; but above all, it is a study of honor, born of my fascination with how it matters in a vast and uncaring universe, how it finds the most unlikely people through which to express itself, and how, more often than not, it results from acts of defiance. And yes, because it is an epic, it has many characters, with frequent time and place changes, and does demand some intellectual energy.
The story:
Telly Brensen, descended from Danish nobility, longs for his father, missing since WWII, and despises his mother’s suitors; and when her priceless ring disappears, this ignites his long smoldering rage. He hunts down the ring, maiming the thug who has it; and even though this frees a man wrongfully imprisoned for taking it, he is prosecuted into choosing between the Marines or jail. His choice lands him in Vietnam, where he carries out an act of extraordinary valor. This time, though, a gunfight with a jealous NCO turns a Medal of Honor nomination into a dishonorable discharge. Four years later, with reasons to live fading fast, Telly gets a tip concerning his father. He tracks down old friend Arthur Spevak, solicits him for backup, and sets off alone…for Borneo.
Unknown to Telly, Spevak is a tormented soul in his own right. Once orphaned, a sense of worthlessness sabotages his every attempt at romance, and in desperation, he, too, joins the Marines. When sent to Vietnam, though, anger at the world for driving him to such measures will not abate, and he becomes a notorious rogue – until the death of a brave friend sends him home with new self-loathing. By the time Telly finds him, he is living on a Chinese mountainside, alone, aimless, and broke. Now since they never crossed paths in the war, each is ignorant of the other’s disgrace, and they make an awkward pact. Then Telly vanishes, and Spevak reluctantly picks up the trail, unaware of how far the journey will one day take him.
Without saying anything to the public at this time, I am claiming to just be the guy who discovered the abandoned manuscript under a blackberry bush, written by the main character, Arthur Spevak. I claim only to write the introduction. (It’s the same stunt George McDonald-Frasier did to draw initial attention to what became the Flashman series.), though anyone who reads it will quickly catch on anyway.
I have lived nearly half my life in the Far East and, as you might expect, the story spends at least half of its time there. My vast life experience (too much to cover here, but just a sample: held a moon rock in my hand, survived the Vietnam War as a marine officer, hunted a legendary crocodile, gotten drunk with headhunters, hobnobbed with pirates and royalty…) comes to bear in a story it took years to write.
As a clue for what to look out for under all I just mentioned, in Book I, Telly Brensen is Telemachus, son of Ulysses, and although the Homeric plot carries throughout, in Book II, he becomes Beowulf, and in Book III, he morphs into Hamlet. I don’t think anyone has ever tried putting these together before. And part of the enjoyment is seeing if you can find all the foreshadowing and literary elements. What does the ring symbolize? Who is the Cyclops? What is Beowulf’s sword? What does the name Drake a variant of? What does the burning longhouse symbolize? What creatures are the sylla? What are Ulysses’ bow and arrow? Can you find the one absolute ablative sentence? What is my philosophical position on man’s nature? Do you find honor, or does it find you?
My website, honorandentropy.com has more detail. I would be honored if I could get a review from you. Thank you.
J. E. Rainey
November 26, 2011 at 10:40 pm |
Mr. Rainey,
I just had a look at your website and the book sounds very interesting. I just went over to Amazon and put it on my “kindle list” I look forward to reading it.
Are you by any chance familiar with Mark Helprin’s fiction? The description of your book sounds somewhat reminiscent of a couple of his works, particularly Refiner’s Fire, Soldier of the Great War and Memoirs From an Antproof Case, all of which also deal with the themes of the philosophy of soldiers and the meanings of life and honor.
At any rate, thanks for getting in touch, I hope you enjoy the blog and I’m looking forward to having a go at your book.
Sincerely,
Bill Pilon
June 4, 2018 at 11:39 am |
Bill –
Thanks so much for the review of, ‘The War Outside My Window’ on Amazon! We very much appreciate it! Would you mind if we linked to it on our Facebook page?
The Georgia tour for this book kicks off on Friday and I wanted to fill you in on the itinerary, in case you were able to make it to any of the events. It is as follows:
Saturday, June 9 (1pm & 2:30pm) – Public Launch event at LeRoy’s home – the 1842 Inn (353 College Street, Macon)
Sunday, June 10 at 1pm – Rosemary Inn Bed and Breakfast in North Augusta
Monday, June 11 at 7pm – Central Georgia Genealogical Society in Warner Robins
Tuesday, June 12 at 12pm – National Civil War Navy Museum in Columbus
Tuesday, June 12 at 6:30pm social half hour 7pm start time – Blue & Grey Museum in Fitzgerald
Wednesday, June 13 at 7pm – Jimmy Carter Presidential Library in Atlanta
Thursday, June 14 at 7pm – Bartow History Museum in Cartersville
Friday, June 15 from 5:30 to 8:00 pm – Acworth Bookstore in Acworth
Saturday, June 16 – Chickamauga Chattanooga 1p-5p in Fort Oglethorpe
Sunday, June 17 from 1:30 to 3:30 pm – Walker County Historical Society in LaFayette
June 4, 2018 at 11:57 am |
Please feel free to use the review on your facebook page…
Thanks for reading!
October 5, 2018 at 7:11 am |
Dear Bill Pilon,
I noticed that you had reviewed D-Day by Antony Beevor a little while ago and thought it lucid and concise. I wondered if you might be interested in reading and reviewing my new book Guardians of Churchill’s Secret Army, which is a niche book in a similar genre. ‘Guardians’ was published on 25th June 2018 in paperback, hardback and Kindle editions, and may be briefly summarised as: ‘The human stories of the men who joined the Special Operations Executive to keep Churchill’s secret saboteurs safe’. The full book description is at the end of this email. Several positive reviews have appeared on the Amazon UK site, but it would be especially helpful to increase the number of reviews on the US site.
The editor of EyeSpy Magazine called the book ‘a historical gem’.
If this would interest you, the universal link to the book’s Amazon page in various countries is https://getbook.at/Guardians. If you would prefer to download a free electronic copy, please email me at peter[AT]cloudshillpress.com and I will be happy to email you the Bookfunnel link.
imagine that you are aware of the importance of reviews, especially for independent authors, so I would really appreciate it if you can find time to read the book and give your honest opinion in a review at Amazon, your website and anywhere else you post your reviews.
I hope you enjoy Guardians, and I would love to receive any comments by email.
Thank you for your interest.
Peter Dixon PhD
Book Description:
Guardians of Churchill’s Secret Army: Men of the Intelligence Corps in the Special Operations Executive
In July 1940, a desperately weakened Britain licks her wounds after the humiliating retreat from Dunkirk. How can the fight be taken to the enemy? New Prime Minister Winston Churchill orders the creation of the Special Operations Executive, to ‘set Europe ablaze’ through subversion and sabotage. But this most secret of agencies must be kept secure.
Guardians of Churchill’s Secret Army tells the mostly unknown human stories of the men who were brought into SOE, straight from Intelligence Corps training, to do just that. They were junior in rank, but far from ordinary people. They were Australian, Anglo-French, Canadian, Scandinavian, East European and British. They had been schoolteachers, journalists, artists, ship brokers, racehorse trainers and international businessmen. Each spoke several languages.
These men stood alongside courageous agents in training: encouraged them, assessed their character, and tried to teach them the caution and suspicion that might just keep them alive, deep in enemy territory. But they did much more. Many became agents themselves and displayed great bravery.
All played a crucial role in the global effort to undermine the enemy. We find them not only in the Baker Street Headquarters of SOE, but also in night parachute drops, in paramilitary training in the remotest depths of Scotland and in undercover agent training in isolated English country houses. We follow them to occupied France, to Malaya and Thailand under threat of Japanese invasion, to Italy and Germany as they play their part in the collapse of the Axis regimes. As we do so, we find a world of heroism and commitment so different from our own experience that it is scarcely believable.
March 12, 2021 at 6:20 pm |
The sheer breadth of your interests is astonishing, from cheesemaking to extraterrestrials. I’m wondering if you ever read “The North Water” by Ian McGuire, about a doomed whaling vessel in the latter days of that industry. It’s dynamite, and listed as one of the best books of that year by The NY Times.
March 12, 2021 at 6:42 pm |
Hi Barry, Thanks for stopping by. No, I’ve not read that. I’ll have a look. Thanks again.
May 30, 2023 at 1:07 am |
Bill. Have you given up on your blog? I’ve enjoyed following it for years now. You turned me on to the Union Station series which I have much enjoyed. Sorry to see you go.
Vince
May 31, 2023 at 9:33 am |
Vince,
It’s good to hear from you and thanks for keeping an eye on the blog. I haven’t given up on it, I’m just going through a spell where real life intrudes. I do have a scratch list of what I’ve read since the last update, I just need to find time to write it up and get back on track so please stay tuned.
I’m glad you enjoyed the Union Station stuff, I went back through them awhile ago and enjoyed them just as much as the first time.
Thanks again for keeping up with the blog and for reaching out
Bill