Kate’s 2¢: “Tomorrow the world: in which Cadet Otto Prohaska carries the Habsburg Empire’s civilizing mission to the entirely unreceptive peoples of Africa and Oceania” by John Biggins

“Tomorrow the world: in which Cadet Otto Prohaska carries the Habsburg Empire’s civilizing mission to the entirely unreceptive peoples of Africa and Oceania” by John Biggins

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as,     describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares my thoughts about what I read.  I’m just saying…

   Have you heard of “The Perils of Pauline”?  This story could be titled, “The Perils of Prohaska”.

   It is a rather long story chock full of details about sailing a vessel rigged in full sail for good weather and the perils of schooner navigating in stormy weather. Then, add to is all the odd behavior of the various Navy officers.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

John Biggins (born 31 October 1949) is a British writer of historical fiction. He is best known for his Prohaska series of novels set in the Austro-Hungarian Navy during the early years of the 20th Century.

Early life[edit]

Biggins was born in Bromley, Greater London, England. He attended Chepstow Secondary and Lydney Grammar Schools, and studied history at the University of Wales from 1968 to 1971. He continued his graduate studies in Poland.

Career[edit]

As a young man Biggins worked as a civil servant for the UK Ministry of Agriculture. He also worked as a journalist and did technical writing before becoming an author of historical fiction.

In 1991 the first of Biggins’ Prohaska novels, A Sailor of Austria, was published by Secker & Warburg. The story is set in the Austro-Hungarian Navy during World War I, and vividly depicts life on board the primitive and dangerous U-boats of the period.[1] Kirkus Reviews reported the book to be well researched, but called it “bland and mundane”.[2] The Historical Novel Society, on the other hand, deemed it “Excellent military fiction”, and similarly praised his later book Tomorrow The World.[3]

In 2010 Biggins began a new series of novels, and self-published his book, The Surgeon’s Apprentice. This novel was included by The Spectator magazine on its “Books of the Year” list,[4] described as a “soundly researched tale of sea-faring and warfare.” In 2021 he published its sequel, “The Lion Ascendant”.

   His previous books are now being distributed by Bonanova Editions.

   The Prohaska series[edit]

Overview[edit]

Ottokar Prohaska, the fictional protagonist, is a Czech by birth, but an Austrian naval officer by vocation. His exploits have elements of both adventure and comedy. The historical background is the last years of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and in particular, in the case of two of the novels, World War I.[5] The reader finds the hero/anti-hero, at different times, a gunnery officer aboard a ship, a submarine commander, and a member of the flying corps.

• A Sailor of Austria (1991)[1][6][7]

• Vivat Österreich! (2011) – German translation of A Sailor of Austria (1991)

• The Emperor’s Coloured Coat (1992)[8][9]

• The Two-Headed Eagle (1993)[10][11]

• Tomorrow The World (1994)[3]

The van Raveyck series[edit]

• The Surgeon’s Apprentice (2010)

• The Lion Ascendant (2021)

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Tomorrow the world: in which Cadet Otto Prohaska carries the Habsburg Empire’s civilizing mission to the entirely unreceptive peoples of Africa and Oceania DB107327

Biggins, John Reading time: 17 hours, 26 minutes.

Bill Wallace

Historical Fiction

Adventure

Otto Prohaska is a cadet in the Austro-Hungarian Navy at the turn of the century. Bad luck continues to shadow Otto, as he heads out on a scientific expedition bound for disaster. But even sinister quack scientists, a misguided attempt to establish a colony in Africa, and angry South Sea cannibals cannot keep Otto from fulfilling his patriotic duty. Some violence. 1994.

Download Tomorrow the world: in which Cadet Otto Prohaska carries the Habsburg Empire’s civilizing mission to the entirely unreceptive peoples of Africa and Oceania DB107327

Kate’s 2¢: “Alien oceans: the search for life in the depths of space” by Kevin Peter Hand

“Alien oceans: the search for life in the depths of space” by Kevin Peter Hand

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as,     describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares my thoughts about what I read.  I’m just saying…

   This was an interesting read, but, I’m not sure how much of it I can use in my daily life.

From the web:

Kevin Peter Hand is a planetary scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. His research focuses on the origin, evolution and distribution of life in the solar system with an emphasis on Jupiter’s moon, Europa.

Kevin Peter Hand – Simons Foundation

www.simonsfoundation.org/people/kevin-hand/

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Alien oceans: the search for life in the depths of space DB100326

Hand, Kevin Peter Reading time: 10 hours, 36 minutes.

Mark Ashby

Science and Technology

Nature and the Environment

Scientist with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory compares the environments of Earth’s oceans with those of other planets to explain their role in identifying potential locations habitable by humans. Discusses the steps of inhabiting a location once identified, and proposes policies for future exploration and research. 2020.

Download Alien oceans: the search for life in the depths of space DB100326