A lifetime of reading has convinced me that books are more likely to get worse — not better — as they go. The Breath of the Gods bucks that trend ... There’s too much hot air in its first half...but [Winchester] hits his stride in the second half ... Even when it’s a familiar topic, Winchester finds fascinating ways in ... Winchester also is a great synthesizer of material ... Winchester also includes breathtaking, minute-by-minute accounts of ships wrecked by high winds and Japanese cities decimated by bombs during World War II ... It requires some perseverance when you start The Breath of the Gods. But hold on. Once you get into it, Winchester’s writing is a breath of fresh air.
