I distinctly remember reading a very positive review of Barsk: The Elephants' Graveyard by Howard Taylor (professional writer) where he described it along the lines of "yet another stellar book by my very good friend". Well, I had a flight coming up, so I bought it.

Mistake. The "very good friend" part was a qualifier, not an endorsement. The book was trash! But Howard, the old pro, was boosting the sales of his bud. Learned to never, ever trust a book review done by a writer.