I was fortunate enough to receive:
"Muslim Mafia"
by Gaubatz and Sperry.
It is a real life (non-fiction) spy thriller.
Gaubutz's son infiltrated the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as a Muslim "convert" and was ultimately given the job of shredding sensitive documents!
He kept the 12,000 pages of documents, which form the basis of this book.
The documents tell of a long term plan to infiltrate the US military and security apparatus, with the ultimate goal of "destroying the miserable house" of America from within.
This drama is unfolding as we speak, with CAIR currently suing the authors to regain the sensitive and revealing documents.
http://frontpagemag.com/2009/12/24/much-ado-about-cair-by-deborah-weiss/

Dear Herman,

The following book may also be of interest
to you:

"Russia's Islamic Threat,"
by Gordon M. Hahn
Published by Yale University Press, 2007.
ISBN 978-0-300-12077-6 (alk. paper)

"This is a truly remarkable book about one
of the world's most dramatic,
bloodiest, and least known conflicts.
The book explains how Russia became bogged
down in a war over controlling its Muslim
Turkic region of Chechnya. It tells the
astonishing story of a battle truly symbolic
of current world crises: a struggle pitting
Islamism, nationalism, the remnants of
Communism, and the modern nation-state
against each other. Gordon Hahn's total
mastery of this complex issue cuts through
the maze to tell a fascinating story."
- Barry Rubin, Director,
Global Research in International Affairs Center.

"Hahn provides a groundbreaking source book for
everyone concerned with Islamic terrorism in
Russia."
- Martin McCauley, Professor Emeritus,
University of London.

Decided to be environmental and borrowed books from the Leichardt Library:

* "Without Warning" John Birmingham (2008). After his "Weapons of Choice" trilogy, this is a bit of a disappointment. Mr. Birmingham seems to be channelling Tom Clancey's right-wing USA all the way airport novels.

* "Modern Warfare" Richard Conaughton (2008) claims to tell "The true story of conflict from the Falklands to Afghanistan". But the writing is a little uneven, switching from third person to first person.

* "Christopher Isherwood - A Word in the Evening" by Kay Ferres (1994). Everything you wanted to know about Mr. "I am a Camera" but with very small poor quality print (like a pirated book). I kept coming across Mr. Isherwood in episodes of Dr. Who and the streets of Newtown Sydney and so wanted to know what all the fuss was about: http://www.tomw.net.au/blog/2009/12/gritty-production-of-cabaret-in-sydney.html

Another book which arrived is:

* "Green Technology Strategies: Using computers and telecommunications to reduce carbon emissions" by Tom Worthington, 2009.

I can't comment on that one, as I wrote it. The full text is free online as web pages. You can purchase a PDF download or print on demand hardcopy: http://www.tomw.net.au/green/

Roger Penrose (2004) The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe

I was asked to choose a book during our last-minute shopping and I chose the above. What caught my eye was the presence of mathematics in a (non-textbook) physics book.

Penrose's ambition is to build a sufficient mathematical foundation for the lay reader in order to understand the latest thinking in physics. Looking forward to seeing if he achieves it.

I did not get Tom's book, but I have bookmarked it!

Normally, I get three or four books of varying interest and quality given to me at Christmas. Some have been great, others I've had to wade through out of a sense of duty - now that I think of it, I still haven't finished an awful John Irving tome that my kids gave me a year ago.

This year however, I only received one book. It was from some in-laws and is a Reader's Digest volume of "Quotable Quotes". It has taken residence by the toilet.

Mind you, I also was given a Che Guevara t-shirt by my 19-year old son and a 'Spearhead' CD from my 50-ish sister.

No wonder I love Christmas - not. (Actually, I quite like the CD).

The Penrose book sounds interesting thanks Anthony and I will swing by yours Tom.

Just polished off The Gunroom. I still really enjoy writing from that period.

"Charles Morgan's first and most controversial novel appeared in 1919, only to disappear immediately - not because all the copies were sold but because the book was suppressed. Booksellers claimed never to have heard of it, and Morgan and his publishers believe the British admiralty to be responsible, though their charge was never proved."