A Brief Review of Edwin P. Hoyt's "Sunk by the Bismarck" by Chuck Trunks (Trunks Art)

 

Nampa, Idaho - June 23, 2026 - I’m convinced that my interest in true stories about World War II stems from a fact-gathering gene located on my Y chromosome—somewhere between the gene that prevents me from asking for help and the one that stops me from talking about my feelings. Having read Bill O’Reilly’s Killing Patton (2014), Killing the SS (2018), and Killing the Rising Sun (2016), three exceptionally gripping books about the Second World War, I was thrilled to have found Edwin P. Hoyt’s Sunk by the Bismarck (1977) on the library shelf last week.

Hoyt’s storytelling is painstakingly detailed, offering the reader an encyclopedia-like account of Britain’s greatest warship, HMS Hood, from its initial launch in 1920 to its eventual demise, courtesy of Nazi Germany’s super-battleship, Bismarck, in the spring of 1941. Throughout the book, he rarely veers from a chronological writing style, expounding at the strategic level, reporting on ports of call, mission dates, battle outcomes, and military chain of command. When combined with his regard for pageantry, it’s obvious that Hoyt, an American writer and historian, is enamored with British Royal Navy regalia.

Unlike Bill O’Reilly’s books, I felt disconnected from the action, cloistered inside a London war room, wedged between decorated tacticians moving and repositioning miniature replicas of battleships, destroyers, and cruisers on a 100-square-foot table featuring an enormous map of Europe. If you enjoy books focused on the “art of war,” then Sunk by the Bismarck is for you. However, if you prefer “boots on the ground” action and an abundance of human-interest stories, any of Bill O’Reilly’s World War II books will be a much more engaging read.

-Chuck Trunks

“This work was written independently by the author without the use of generative AI.”

------

All my books can be found on Amazon. 💓💓💓

Trunks Art moved from Columbia, South Carolina, to Nampa, Idaho, in 2025 and has made this city his home and writing inspiration.

To see more of my work, please have a look at more posts or email me at chucktrunks@gmail.com. Or, visit my website at www.trunksart.com.  Also, you can find me on Instagram (chucktrunks) and Facebook (Chuck Trunks).

Free Downloads of All My Books and Essays Are Now Available on My Website!

Nampa, Idaho - June 16, 2026 - If you’re like me, you’re probably frustrated with the prevalence of exploitative paywalls. Having stated the obvious sad truth, I’m offering all of my books and essays as free PDF downloads on my website. However, if you prefer having a paperback in your hands or a compatible e-copy on your Kindle, you can still find my entire inventory on Amazon—which I’ve priced within the online retailer’s lowest acceptable range.

You can find my work on the “about” page of my website: https://www.trunksart.com/about.

 

-Chuck Trunks

“This work was written independently by the author without the use of generative AI.”

------

All my books can be found on Amazon. 💓💓💓

Trunks Art moved from Columbia, South Carolina, to Nampa, Idaho, in 2025 and has made this city his home and writing inspiration.

To see more of my work, please have a look at more posts or email me at chucktrunks@gmail.com. Or, visit my website at www.trunksart.com.  Also, you can find me on Instagram (chucktrunks) and Facebook (Chuck Trunks).

A Brief Review of John Updike's "Rabbit, Run" by Chuck Trunks (Trunks Art)

 

Nampa, Idaho - June 9, 2026 - “Gripping discomfort.” That’s how I described how I felt 10 years ago while watching a community theater’s adaptation of Elizabeth Taylor’s and Richard Burton’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966). It’s the same two-word description I’d offer if asked how I felt while reading John Updike’s Rabbit, Run (1960). Here lies a tragic story in which the Pulitzer Prize-winning author masterfully reveals what calamity awaits those who succumb to mainstream indoctrination, tradition, and the expectations of others rather than follow one’s inner compass.

The story follows Harry Angstrom, a young family man, who, on a whim, recklessly decides to turn his life upside down in hopes of easing the inner turmoil of not knowing who he is or what he wants. In the process, he burdens those around him with his struggle between self and society, the pursuit of pleasure and family duty, and even between callousness and empathy. Harry wants more out of life than the humdrum existence he shares with Janice and their two-year-old son, Nelson. His natural inclination is to run away, but he soon learns that he hasn’t a destination, both literally and figuratively.

Prior to reading Rabbit, Run, I imagined my life would’ve been better had I never left my hometown. I could see myself working just up the road, mowing the lawn on Saturdays, attending church on Sundays, and raising a family with a girl I went to high school with—all to the tune of Carly Simon’s “That’s the Way I Always Heard It Should Be” (1971). But then again, I might’ve ended up exactly like Harry—living in quiet desperation, pining for the life I was supposed to have while destroying the lives of everyone around me.

-Chuck Trunks

“This work was written independently by the author without the use of generative AI.”

------

All my books can be found on Amazon. 💓💓💓

Trunks Art moved from Columbia, South Carolina, to Nampa, Idaho, in 2025 and has made this city his home and writing inspiration.

To see more of my work, please have a look at more posts or email me at chucktrunks@gmail.com. Or, visit my website at www.trunksart.com.  Also, you can find me on Instagram (chucktrunks) and Facebook (Chuck Trunks).

A Brief Review of Hermann Hesse's "Demian" by Chuck Trunks (Trunks Art)

Nampa, Idaho - May 27, 2026 - I didn’t begin reading books about the path to enlightenment until after I had already found my own. How could I, when I didn’t even know what was happening to me? Despite exiting this world before I was born, Hermann Hesse (1877–1962) is one of those authors who, from his grave in Switzerland, makes me feel less alone in a society that shuns those unwilling to follow the herd mentality. I recently finished reading Demian (1919), a coming-of-age story that follows ten-year-old Emil Sinclair from his elementary school days to his first year of university studies. As he transitions from childhood to adolescence, Sinclair meets and befriends another boy, Max Demian, who turns out to be his fated spiritual guide, turning up time and again in moments when Sinclair needs him most.

Like Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea (1952), Hesse’s Demian is told from the perspective of the main character, where most of the story’s dialogue is comprised of internal conversations Sinclair has with himself as his childhood innocence dissolves in the shadow of a much darker world outside the protective structure of his parent’s love. What I like most about Hesse’s book is that it cleverly equates the higher consciousness of enlightenment with the disillusionment that naturally accompanies budding pubescence. In other words, for those readers who struggle to understand what it means to achieve enlightenment—to become equally aware of both the most beautiful and most dastardly truths about the world—they need only to reflect on their childhoods, where the polar opposites of abomination and splendor first opened their eyes.

After reading and reviewing my third Hermann Hesse novel, I’m again impressed by how relevant his insights remain. Despite having written much of his work almost a century ago, on another continent, and in a different language, his understanding of enlightenment feels entirely attuned to today’s modern society.

-Chuck Trunks

“This work was written independently by the author without the use of generative AI.”

------

All my books can be found on Amazon. 💓💓💓

Trunks Art moved from Columbia, South Carolina, to Nampa, Idaho, in 2025 and has made this city his home and writing inspiration.

To see more of my work, please have a look at more posts or email me at chucktrunks@gmail.com. Or, visit my website at www.trunksart.com.  Also, you can find me on Instagram (chucktrunks) and Facebook (Chuck Trunks).

NEW RANT: "Tired of Tipping" by Chuck Trunks (Trunks Art) is a 22-page essay about the ever-growing scrouge of tip requests.

Nampa, Idaho - May 25, 2026 - An excerpt from the Introduction:

“Why am I even here?” I chided myself, thinking I could be at home, eating a grilled cheese sandwich with a bowl of tomato soup. Despite my better judgement—or perhaps due to a craving for empanadas—I decided to treat myself to lunch, a rare indulgence for someone like me, who no longer finds comfort or pleasure in public spaces. But there I was, lined up behind the other hungry sheep, preparing myself for the abuse to come.

I live in a society where culture is defined by soulless corporate executives who obey the first commandment of the god of profit, “Thou shall prioritize greed above human need.” Society used to be centered around God, community, family, fellowship, and contribution—now it’s been reduced to individuals pursuing any means of survival. Since the pandemic, the high cost of living has made it nearly impossible for most Americans to afford a spouse, children, a family, a permanent home, reliable employment, higher education, health, and leisure. Today, that includes going to restaurants, where the illusion of choice extends to tip-giving.

You can find Tired of Tipping on my website (under the "about" tab) or by clicking here.

-Chuck Trunks

 

“This work was written independently by the author without the use of generative AI.”

Illustration by Mario Zucca

------

All my books can be found on Amazon. 💓💓💓

Trunks Art moved from Columbia, South Carolina, to Nampa, Idaho, in 2025 and has made this city his home and writing inspiration.

To see more of my work, please have a look at more posts or email me at chucktrunks@gmail.com. Or, visit my website at www.trunksart.com.  Also, you can find me on Instagram (chucktrunks) and Facebook (Chuck Trunks).

A Brief Review of Jonathan Tropper's "Everything Changes" by Chuck Trunks (Trunks Art)

Nampa, Idaho - May 18, 2026 - Everything Changes (2005) is one of six novels by Jonathan Tropper, an American author, writer, and producer, who first came into my life 11 years ago, at a time when I felt all hope was lost. Back then, not knowing who Jonathan Tropper was, I picked out his novel, This Is Where I Leave You (2009), from a bin of discounted paperbacks in Barnes & Noble because its cover art indicated it had been made into a movie, starring Jason Bateman. I walked out of the store with the book in my hand, thinking, “How bad could it be if one of my favorite actors agreed to play the lead?” Last year, when my life was once again unraveling, I unexpectedly spotted his first novel, Plan B (2000), behind a glass door of a neighborhood book exchange planted between the sidewalk and a manicured front lawn. Like the others before it, Everything Changes found me earlier this month while I was searching for a Hunter S. Thompson book at the library.

What I appreciate most about Jonathan Tropper’s books—besides the sensational plots, relatable characters, and deeper messages—is his commitment to a recurring theme that resonates with me and most men, who think it’s too late to redeem themselves after personal annihilation in a world where masculine energy is repeatedly branded as toxic. I wouldn’t say that Jonathan Tropper’s books saved my life, but what I can say is that his novels came into my life at the exact right moments, reminding me that it’s okay to be a man and to go after what feels right—even if it’s in the opposite direction of everyone else.

-Chuck Trunks

“This work was written independently by the author without the use of generative AI.”

------

All my books can be found on Amazon. 💓💓💓

Trunks Art moved from Columbia, South Carolina, to Nampa, Idaho, in 2025 and has made this city his home and writing inspiration.

To see more of my work, please have a look at more posts or email me at chucktrunks@gmail.com. Or, visit my website at www.trunksart.com.  Also, you can find me on Instagram (chucktrunks) and Facebook (Chuck Trunks).

A Brief Review of Bob Greene's "Once Upon a Town" by Chuck Trunks (Trunks Art)

 

Nampa, Idaho - May 11, 2026 - “Let’s make America great again” naturally implies the United States no longer possesses the qualities that once made this country a beacon of hope, prosperity, decency, and freedom. I can imagine walking into a Walmart Supercenter—this century’s version of a town square—and asking older shoppers what they miss about the America they grew up in. I doubt they would have any difficulty responding, giving me answers I’d most likely agree with. Had I come across Bob Greene, an American journalist and author of over 20 books, in front of the unmanned deli counter and asked him the same question, he’d point me in the direction of his book, Once Upon a Town: The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen (2002).

Although the book was published 24 years ago, it perfectly captures a period between 1941 and 1946 in the Nebraskan town of North Platte, a small city in the middle of nowhere, situated at the confluence of the North and South Platte Rivers and surrounded by wide-open prairie and rolling hills. Greene’s story highlights how, for over four consecutive years, tens of thousands of volunteers from 125 nearby towns offered heartfelt care to six million soldiers, turning the North Platte train station into a sanctuary of food, music, and gratitude for troops deploying to WWII. These selfless men and women simply felt it was their duty to provide the soldiers—mostly boys right out of high school from all over the country—a 10- to 20-minute taste of home and hospitality before being shipped out to defend the nation in Europe or the South Pacific.

I found it both charming and touching how he interlaced interviews with surviving volunteers and servicemen throughout the entirety of the book, who became misty-eyed or wept as they recounted the miracle of genuine giving without strings or expectations. I, too, became emotional while reading this book, which reminded me that once upon a time, in America, a community of patriots focused on something much bigger than themselves, where empathy, common decency, and a desire for fellowship defined a Union Pacific train station in the middle of nowhere.

-Chuck Trunks

“This work was written independently by the author without the use of generative AI.”

------

All my books can be found on Amazon. 💓💓💓

Trunks Art moved from Columbia, South Carolina, to Nampa, Idaho, in 2025 and has made this city his home and writing inspiration.

To see more of my work, please have a look at more posts or email me at chucktrunks@gmail.com. Or, visit my website at www.trunksart.com.  Also, you can find me on Instagram (chucktrunks) and Facebook (Chuck Trunks).