First was Soup: A Global History which was OK, but nothing special.
Next was Osprey Warrior #42: Redcoat Officer 1740 – 1815 which delves pretty deeply into the mindset, training, and lifestyle of the officers of the British Army of the period. I really found this one to be a pretty solidly interesting read. It supplements nicely a series of fiction novels that I've read by Bernard Cornwell about a fellow named Sharpe. Good read.
Then, Dates: A Global History which had a few tidbits of information about this foodstuff that I'd never known. Not bad.
Following that I read Spices: A Global History which I found structurally uninteresting. The problem is that there are so many spices that the author had to pare it down to fit this small book format, and then instead of dealing with each spice in history and usage, he built the chapters on history, and gave each separate spice, followed by usage, and divided it up by each spice. I really didn't care for the structure at all. YMMV.
Next was Osprey Warrior #43: Matchlock Musketeer 1588 - 1688, the care, training, feeding, arming, clothing, etc.ing of this particular subset of soldier. Pretty good read.
Then it was Death's Bright Day by David Drake, an SF military novel part of a series in which Drake emulates Patrick O'Brian's series of Napoleonic era sea stories in an SF universe. I've always liked this series but I have to admit that this particular one is a bit of a minor addition to the tales. Leary and Mundy, the protagonists, fly off to stop a rebellion in a lesser region of space.
Next, Osprey Warrior #45: US Infantryman in World War II (1): Pacific Area of Operations 1941 – 45. This one was structured oddly for this series as well. It follows one specific regiment through the Pacific War, a National Guard unit that was called up and sent off to fight. Thus, the book deals with its training, tactics, equipment and then the history, making it out that this was typical for the force. I think it's well put together, better than some other books I finished this week.
Lastly, there was Vodka: A Global History. I mean, what can you say about a beverage that tries to taste of nothing?
Have a wonderful week!