Book reviews: ‘Taking Midway’ and ‘Algospeak’

Published 1:00 am Tuesday, July 29, 2025

Taking Midway: Martin Dugard

Martin Dugard is still best known for co-writing non-fiction books with former FOX News host Bill O’Reilly – “Killing Lincoln,” “Killing Kennedy,” the recent bestselling “Confronting the Presidents.”

Dugard also pens a series of World War II books on his own: “Taking Paris,” “Taking Berlin,” “Taking London” and now focusing on the war in the Pacific, “Taking Midway.”

“Taking Midway” adheres to the same format as the past “Taking” books and the “Killing” books. Terse sentences written in suspense-filled paragraphs in relatively short chapters.

But there are some differences in “Midway.” At least some differences that if they occurred in the past “Taking” books were not as noticeable as they are in “Midway.” 

Dugard often speaks directly to the reader; for example, letting readers know if they will or will not meet a historical character again later in the book. 

“Midway” is filled with several diversions. Readers expecting a straight-forward volume of 300-plus pages detailing only the Battle of Midway will be disappointed, or pleasantly surprised. 

Dugard spends chapters on the human history of the Pacific atoll known as Midway — how it was discovered, its home grounds for thousands of albatross, how it became both a touring destination for wealthy travelers and a fueling station for the United States Navy, and how it became a pivotal piece of property in the early years of the Pacific Theatre in World War II.

While Midway was definitely an American battle against the Japanese during World War II, Dugard introduces numerous British touches in early chapters of “Taking Midway,” perhaps as touchstones to the previous “Taking” books which revolved around England’s battles during World War II. For example, Winston Churchill, the predominant person in the first three “Taking” books, returns for “Taking Midway.” Various British naval figures, along with others, also make appearances.

Some readers may find it intriguing, or odd, that Dugard chooses to tell a large portion of the Battle of Midway through the eyes of Hollywood director John Ford, who filmed the battle and created a short documentary about it.

These choices and diversions may prove frustrating for some readers of military and history books, while proving fascinating for others. 

Dugard provides an interesting angle on the battle that came six months after the devastating Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. At Midway, American forces won a decisive victory at sea. Dugard brings the Battle of Midway to life in a new way.

Algospeak: Adam Aleksic

If you want to know what “skibidi” or “Ohio” or “riz” or any number of other words mean that kids are saying, posting or texting, then Adam Aleksic’s “Algospeak: How Social Media is Transforming the Future of Language” is not necessarily the book for you.

Even though “Algospeak” was released July 15, Aleksic admits in the early pages that words and even emojis that were hot when he was finishing the book last fall are possibly passe now.

But if you want a better understanding of how such words become viral overnight — how they may be an anomaly one day, viral the next day, universal the next day, then dead and gone the next day — or how some of these words transcend social media and become part of our spoken language with actual staying power, then “Algospeak” is relevant and the book for you.

“Algospeak” is not a glossary of current terms or the double meaning of certain emojis. Instead, Aleksic uses these examples to explain how they became social media trends and how social media is shaping the use of language.

Language is always evolving, but it used to do so in a slow pattern that once took generations then decades, years, etc. Now, language can change by a TikTok video hitting an algorithmic chord and going viral. Or by social media users finding new ways to express certain colorful words and expressions to bypass social media censors.

Aleksic knows his stuff. He is a linguist and content creator best known online as the person behind the “Etymology Nerd” educational videos, which regularly reach an audience of more than 3 million people. He admits in the book to remain relevant as a content creator, one must always pay attention to the algorithms on multiple formats daily. Ignore one format for too long and a creator will lose their mojo on that site.

“Algospeak” is a fascinating book, insightful for people who want to better understand how trends gain traction on social media, crucial for people wanting to create and disseminate content via social media, and possibly maddening for language traditionalists who will realize there’s no way to stop “skibidi” or any other new words coming their way.