Review of People around me

[Arite Seki]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "People around me" by Martin Kruger.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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People around me by Martin Kruger is a charming memoir written by a retired military and commercial pilot. The author begins the book with an introduction to his father and his father's time in the South African Air Force. It details the various adventures, trips and mishaps of the author and his fellow comrades. The stories include events such as an unfortunate gastronomic mishap, narrowly escaping enemy fire, fighting in bush wars, and meeting his wife. It mainly focuses on his time in service and details the aircraft that he flew and the memories he made because of that.

I give People around me a 3 out of 4 stars rating. I found that there was an element of youthful revelry throughout the text that made the stories livelier. The book was well edited with only one minor error. I also enjoyed the stories as I felt that they truly captured the spirit of what it was like in the South African Army at that time. There are not a lot of stories, fictional or otherwise, about the South African National Defence Force so I was genuinely intrigued.

My favourite aspect of this book was the author’s tribute to his father. I found it particularly touching and inspirational. The beginning of the book is a mini-memoir of sorts and goes into detail about his father’s life and his accomplishments. I could feel the love that Kruger felt for his father and the impact that his father had on his life. This impact is also highlighted at the end of the book which ends the book on a hopeful note.

There was no aspect of this book that I particularly disliked as I found it generally pleasant. I do feel that the stories were disconnected and it felt as if there wasn’t a clear flow. This was the reason I deducted a star. However, this disconnect did not in any way detract from my enjoyment of the stories, it was only mildly confusing.

I think the ideal audience for this book would be readers with a passion for aviation. The author goes into detail about his adventures and trips with such vivid detail. I do not particularly have a passion for aviation but I was curious about it. I found that I was still entertained by all the crazy ventures. Additionally, it is a relatively short read which would make it ideal for readers to become acquainted with aviation. There are few instances of profanities and there is no sexual subject matter. For this reason, sensitive readers may use their discretion.

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People around me
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[MarkChipulukaMwaba]

I have not read the book "People around me" , however, by what I have read from the review, I'm inclined to believe that the book is interesting to both the general reader and those who would want to become pilots. Nor can we escape the fact that actually reading the book can provide the algorithm for a credible review. Upon finishing several re-reads of the book, I intend to write a review also on " People around me".

[Mayur Arjune]

The African air force accept my salute first. The review is respectful towards them. The book looks interested in air forces.

[Faith - Benny Any]

This book sounds like one filled with twists. However, one thing caught my attention - the fact that aviation was incorporated into it.