CS History/Politics Book Club, January 2014

[Cap'n Cat]

Finished reading this a couple weeks ago:



As with a reviewer on Amazon, my knowledge of Australia's history (or Australia itself) was limited to "Crocodile Dundee, Mad Max and Steve Irwin" and a number of great bands, along with the fact that she was settled originally as a penal colony. Written by a Brit, this book tells the history OK, but focuses a lot (a bit too much, in my estimation) on the machinations of internal Australian politics, 1800 - present. Regardless a good read if you're looking for knowledge outside of Men at Work.
A three-month's boat trip from the Mother Country, Australia had to truly start from scratch with its union of disparate, far-flung states and in putting together a constitution (for which they took parts of both America's and South Africa's documents). Rather admirable, if you think about it, that virtually all of their institutions were organically derived. A somewhat minor irritating recurring theme throughout the read, though, was the author's regular pot-shots at the United States. For example, though Australians treated the Aborigines much as our early and contemporary government did the Native Americans, he felt the need to deride our experience liberally. Also, he saves good venom for US policy during WWII and Vietnam, claiming the US led Australia around by the nose. Maybe they did….. Seemed like a bit of jealousy, however.
Cap'n Cat gives this book a 4 claws rating (out of five).

*******************

Nearing the end of this one right now:



This is one of those "can't put it down" books. It chronicles the Six Day War between the Israelis and the Arab coalition comprised mostly of Egypt, Syria and Jordan in June of 1967. The subtitle says it all, this conflict set the stage for the "modern Middle East".
The most brilliant piece is the first chapter, entitled "Context", which tells the story of the run up to the war, the history behind the conflict for anyone still confused about why these peoples are at each others throats for perpetuity. I'd recommend the book just for that chapter as one learns the in-depth history of Jews vs. Palestine from the early 1900's up to the war.
Exhaustively researched, subsequent chapters tackle individual days of the war and provide intimate, minute-by-minute detail of what happened - information coming from interviews of principals on both sides.
Cap'n Cat gives this one a 4 claws out of five rating.

***************

For lighter reading in between the above heavyweights, The Cap'n tackled this one:



Though only mildly related to the topics in our board, this book tells the story of early folk music and its protest elements, as it evolved from coffee shop-type acoustic singing and playing into its larger, louder "folk rock" electronic spawn which reached larger numbers of people. Simple songs about the plight of migrant workers and that of black people sung in small, smoke-filled hangouts became the anthemic arena-like "plugged in" songs of California bands in the late 1960's like Buffalo Springfield and CSNY, to name just a couple. Light reading, to be certain, and for fans of music history only (Z wouldn't dig this, stuck as he is, still masturbating to Def Leppard's "Photograph").
Cap'n Cat gives this one 3 claws out of five.

****************

What are you reading?

[CID1990]

I'm reading "Seward: Lincoln's Indispensable Man" by Walter Stahr.

I just finished with a history of the naval aspect of the Civil War but I don't remember the title off the top of my head. It was more of a scholarly work, like somebody's doctoral thesis, so kind of dry. But I've pretty much read every bit of pop literature on the war so I'm having to delve a little.

[Cap'n Cat]

I'm reading "Seward: Lincoln's Indispensable Man" by Walter Stahr.

I just finished with a history of the naval aspect of the Civil War but I don't remember the title off the top of my head. It was more of a scholarly work, like somebody's doctoral thesis, so kind of dry. But I've pretty much read every bit of pop literature on the war so I'm having to delve a little.

Cool!

[CAA Flagship]

For lighter reading in between the above heavyweights, The Cap'n tackled this one:



Though only mildly related to the topics in our board, this book tells the story of early folk music and its protest elements, as it evolved from coffee shop-type acoustic singing and playing into its larger, louder "folk rock" electronic spawn which reached larger numbers of people. Simple songs about the plight of migrant workers and that of black people sung in small, smoke-filled hangouts became the anthemic arena-like "plugged in" songs of California bands in the late 1960's like Buffalo Springfield and CSNY, to name just a couple. Light reading, to be certain, and for fans of music history only (Z wouldn't dig this, stuck as he is, still masturbating to Def Leppard's "Photograph").

That ^ is what you wrote.

This is what I read:

Though only mildly related to the topics in our board, this book tells the story of early hippy freak music and its non-productive protest elements, as it evolved from head shop-type acoustic singing and playing into its larger, louder "Occupy" spawn which reached larger numbers of fucking morons. Simple songs about the plight of uneducated and whiny people sung in small, drug-filled hangouts became the anthemic arena-like "plugged in" songs of hippy degenerates in the late 1960's like Bill and Hillary Clinton, to name a couple. Light reading, to be certain, and for fans of the Rachel Maddow (Z wouldn't dig this, stuck as he is, still masturbating to Def Leppard's "Photograph").

[Grizalltheway]

Are you back from the dead, Grandpa?

[UNI88]

In the middle of Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae by Steven Pressfield.



I haven't gotten to the battle itself but so far it's a good book that provides an understanding of Spartan culture while weaving an interesting fictional tale of the slave who narrates the story.

[kalm]

For lighter reading in between the above heavyweights, The Cap'n tackled this one:



Though only mildly related to the topics in our board, this book tells the story of early folk music and its protest elements, as it evolved from coffee shop-type acoustic singing and playing into its larger, louder "folk rock" electronic spawn which reached larger numbers of people. Simple songs about the plight of migrant workers and that of black people sung in small, smoke-filled hangouts became the anthemic arena-like "plugged in" songs of California bands in the late 1960's like Buffalo Springfield and CSNY, to name just a couple. Light reading, to be certain, and for fans of music history only (Z wouldn't dig this, stuck as he is, still masturbating to Def Leppard's "Photograph").

That ^ is what you wrote.

This is what I read:

Though only mildly related to the topics in our board, this book tells the story of early hippy freak music and its non-productive protest elements, as it evolved from head shop-type acoustic singing and playing into its larger, louder "Occupy" spawn which reached larger numbers of fucking morons. Simple songs about the plight of uneducated and whiny people sung in small, drug-filled hangouts became the anthemic arena-like "plugged in" songs of hippy degenerates in the late 1960's like Bill and Hillary Clinton, to name a couple. Light reading, to be certain, and for fans of the Rachel Maddow (Z wouldn't dig this, stuck as he is, still masturbating to Def Leppard's "Photograph").

God your a nerd.

[Chizzang]

I'm re-reading this...
I found it when I was back in Montana visiting
It was in a buddy's bookshelf and I opened it up and it was my copy from 1985
I was overcome with a feeling that I needed to re-read this

[Ibanez]

I'm reading "Seward: Lincoln's Indispensable Man" by Walter Stahr.

I just finished with a history of the naval aspect of the Civil War but I don't remember the title off the top of my head. It was more of a scholarly work, like somebody's doctoral thesis, so kind of dry. But I've pretty much read every bit of pop literature on the war so I'm having to delve a little.

Sounds like a good book.

[Ibanez]

I'm picking this back up. So far, it's quite interesting reading the various familial and societal influences on Harry Truman. I'm at the point where he just left his great job as a banker to work as a farmhand for his father.

I've burnt myself out on history books due to reading them one after another. So, I substitute a fiction book in between. Last night I finished "Tripwire"


I love these books. For a 500+ page book, it's a quick read. Major action can occur, span 12 pages and you can easily read entire book in a couple of weeks.

Here, Reacher is incognito, living the life of a drifter and digging swimming pools in Key West. When a PI from New York comes looking for him, and shortly afterwards turns up dead with his fingertips sliced off, Reacher flies north and discovers that the instigator of the search is Leon Garber, his former army commanding officer. But Garber has died the day before Reacher arrives. As Reacher finds out from Jodie Jacob, Garner's beautiful attorney daughter, Garber was helping an elderly couple to locate their son, who supposedly died in a helicopter crash during the Vietnam War. The military won't confirm the death, however, or even classify the soldier as missing in action. Pursuing the search together, Reacher and Jacob narrowly escape murder attempts by a pair of dark-suited thugs who work for an evil corporate loan shark named "Hook" Hobie, who has a hideously disfigured face and a metal hook for a right hand. Hobie is harboring a terrible secret linking him to the couple's vanished son, and he'll kill anyone who tries to discover his diabolical past. A showdown between the two men is inevitable

The "showdown" is quite dramatic, you get a real sense of what is going on, the pain that is being felt. The ending is a bit far fetched and sometimes the dialogue is cliche, but overall it's a great mystery/crime thriller.

[Cap'n Cat]

I'm picking this back up. So far, it's quite interesting reading the various familial and societal influences on Harry Truman. I'm at the point where he just left his great job as a banker to work as a farmhand for his father.

D gots me this book for Christmas. It's next in the queue.

The things I've read about Truman in some of the books I've read in the last couple of years were not flattering to him. Always looking for the truth.

[CID1990]

I'm reading "Seward: Lincoln's Indispensable Man" by Walter Stahr.

I just finished with a history of the naval aspect of the Civil War but I don't remember the title off the top of my head. It was more of a scholarly work, like somebody's doctoral thesis, so kind of dry. But I've pretty much read every bit of pop literature on the war so I'm having to delve a little.

Sounds like a good book.

It is.

But one of my Yankee relations gave it to me thinking it might soften my take on Lincoln's right hand man. So far, it hasn't. To the author's credit, he has put out a meticulously reserched book that really does show that Seward was a self-important "creep abolitionist" (Mary Todd's quote). He was definitely a shrewd man, and very well could have been President in place of Lincoln had things gone differently (and Seward's Whig and Antimasonic roots had not hurt him), but on reading the book it makes me even more thankful as a Southerner that Lincoln was the man.

[CID1990]

I'm picking this back up. So far, it's quite interesting reading the various familial and societal influences on Harry Truman. I'm at the point where he just left his great job as a banker to work as a farmhand for his father.

D gots me this book for Christmas. It's next in the queue.

The things I've read about Truman in some of the books I've read in the last couple of years were not flattering to him. Always looking for the truth.

I think Truman gets a bad rap for one major thing (leaving out the bomb because I think it was insignificant in context): foreign policy immediately following WWII..

Nobody, and I mean nobody could have gotten the two postwar years right. There was just no way politically to keep Indochina in the fold. The communist scare in the US (helped by the Russians who really did at the time look like they wanted to take over half the world) made it impossible for Truman to do anything other than set us on the path to Korea and Vietnam (and of course the Cold War).

[Ibanez]

I'm picking this back up. So far, it's quite interesting reading the various familial and societal influences on Harry Truman. I'm at the point where he just left his great job as a banker to work as a farmhand for his father.

D gots me this book for Christmas. It's next in the queue.

The things I've read about Truman in some of the books I've read in the last couple of years were not flattering to him. Always looking for the truth.

He is judged for dropping the bomb and post WW2 'Merica. Those weren't easy times, IMO.


Cit, as usual, hit the nail on the head.

[Cap'n Cat]

D gots me this book for Christmas. It's next in the queue.

The things I've read about Truman in some of the books I've read in the last couple of years were not flattering to him. Always looking for the truth.

He is judged for dropping the bomb and post WW2 'Merica. Those weren't easy times, IMO.


Cit, as usual, hit the nail on the head.

Yes. We heap tons of grief on Presidents and others for shit that was truly novel and emergent (no historical precedent or "how-to manual"). Examples include virtually every president since Truman. Bush II, for example, cannot be judged too harshly for many of the things that occurred from Sept 11, 2001, and on. It was simply a series of events for which there was no set procedural guidance (though he can be faulted for some deliberate falsehoods: WMDs, etc).
Similarly, the execution of the Korean War for Truman and the unclear, distant horizons of Vietnam for Kennedy and Johnson. Reagan had his share of seat-of-the-pants phenomena in which one could only react with the best available counsel from advisors, and guts.
We hire these guys because we THINK they can navigate us through geopolitical straits and, in the final analysis, they do, with a modicum of bruising. They are, after all, only human.