Candice Millard's Hero of the Empire is fascinating account of a young Winston Churchill's experience in the Boer War in South Africa. This is my firsCandice Millard's Hero of the Empire is fascinating account of a young Winston Churchill's experience in the Boer War in South Africa. This is my first book by Candice Millard, and she's clearly a skilled and accomplished writer of narrative nonfiction in the vein of Erik Larson, David Grann, Nathaniel Philbrick, and Timothy Egan.
Like a lot of people, I read Erik Larson's marvelous The Splendid and the Vile, about Winston Churchill's handling of the Blitz during World War II, and Hero of the Empire could be read as a prequel or "origin story" to that account. Prior to reading Hero of the Empire, I knew very little of Churchill's younger years and nothing about the Boer War.
Like Teddy Roosevelt, Winston Churchill was an aggressively confident "man's man" who seemed intent on placing himself in the most dangerous situations imaginable in order to gain clout with British society. Descending to South Africa during the Boer War as a journalist, Churchill got more than he bargained for when his armored train was ambushed and derailed. After being captured by the Boers and sent to a prisoner of war camp in Pretoria, he orchestrated a daring escape and ended up traversing hundreds of miles of enemy territory — alone.
I enjoyed Hero of the Empire, and Candice Millard is an excellent writer or nonfiction, infusing the tale with fascinating historical asides and helpful contemporary context. She also isn't afraid to dive into the ugliness of the racist attitudes held by the British Empire (including Churchill) at the time and explored the brutal cost of the colonization efforts that still reverberate to this day. My favorite parts of the book examined the "gentlemanly nature" of the British aristocracy during wartime — which seemed at times incredibly inspiring and at other times remarkably stupid (like not ducking or taking cover when under enemy fire).
Overall, a great "prequel" to The Splendid and the Vile and fascinating look at a forgotten war and particular breed of foregone masculinity — in all of its faults and glories. ...more
A minute-by-minute account of a potential general nuclear war scenario, Annie Jacobsen's Nuclear War is one of the most dread-inducing and heart-poundA minute-by-minute account of a potential general nuclear war scenario, Annie Jacobsen's Nuclear War is one of the most dread-inducing and heart-pounding reading experiences I've ever had.
Beginning with the annihilation of the Washington D.C. by means of a 1-megaton nuclear warhead, Nuclear War rewinds the clock a full 24 minutes to the moment North Korea unexpectedly launches an intercontinental ballistic missile with trajectory aimed for somewhere in the United States. What follows is an account of "speculative narrative nonfiction" or "fictional nonfiction" as author Annie Jacobsen uses that postulated scenario to document the interplay between all of the various processes and policies that go into effect when the U.S. is under threat of nuclear attack—a scenario that leads, almost by accident, to full-bore nuclear exchange with Russia in a little over an hour.
The full breadth of Nuclear War's narrative unfolds over just 72 minutes—from the first missile launch to the end of human civilization. Seem unrealistic? Well, in this account that unfolds in real time, Jacobsen's shows how it's not only plausible, it's possible. Based on recently declassified government reports and studies, reading Nuclear War is like having the veil of "assumed safety" torn from your eyes—it's being unplugged from the Matrix and realizing we're all just a hair trigger away from Armageddon because of the insatiable greed and madness that fueled the proliferation of "bigger and better" nuclear weapons in the wake of World War II and the Cold War.
Intercutting between various government agencies, military personnel, public officials, submarines, satellites, silos, and ground zero impact zones, Nuclear War demands to be read in as few sittings as possible. The cascading and escalating effects of the world's Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) policies coupled with faulty, inconsistent deterrent technology and zero-sum game assumptions about human nature mean the 72 minutes Nuclear War depicts unfold with inevitable grimness typically reserved for the likes of horror novelists.
And in the final section of Nuclear War, Jacobsen reveals what a post-nuclear war Earth would actually look like and, in the process, shoots down any post-apocalyptic or prepper fantasies one might have about "surviving" the end of the world.
I live in the shadow of the Cheyenne Mountain Complex in Colorado Springs, a facility that houses the Missile Warning Center. I learned, should a scenario similar to the one Jacobsen's postulates in Nuclear War come to pass, that I would be within the impact radius of no less than a dozen nuclear warheads. It's more than likely I'd die within the span of a nanosecond without knowing why. And, in Jacobsen's assessment, that'd make me one of the lucky ones.
So, why read Nuclear War? For one, it's a morbidly fascinating depiction of one of the most likely endgame scenarios for human civilization. It also works as one of the most effective nuclear disarmament arguments you're likely to ever read and a fierce warning against the electing of morally incongruous, hot-headed, and incompetent political leaders. Nuclear War is disturbingly prescient, paced liked a thriller, and will stay with you for a long, long time. Highly recommended. ...more
Ken Follett's Never is a globe-spanning, geopolitical thriller about a series of international crises that push the world to the brink of nuclear war.Ken Follett's Never is a globe-spanning, geopolitical thriller about a series of international crises that push the world to the brink of nuclear war. Escalating from DEFCON 5 (normal readiness) to DEFCON 1 (nuclear war imminent), Never is an eerily plausible thriller that ends with a sense of a resigned grim eventuality.
Most people know author Ken Follett from his thick, historical epics—like the Kingsbridge series or the Century Trilogy—but he initially cut his teeth writing WWII/Cold War spy thrillers, so Never is kind of a return to form. However, Follett adopts the panoramic storytelling style of his historical epics to deliver a multi-POV perspective on how a modern international conflict could unfold.
Some of the (initially) unrelated plot points in Never include the first female U.S. president dealing with a populist Trump-like challenger, a young U.S. intelligence officer working in Chad, a Chinese spymaster struggling to temper the impulses of his old-guard Communist superiors, an undercover agent tracking a shipment of cocaine across the Saharan desert, and a refugee attempting to make her way from Northern Africa to France. All of these characters have a role to play in the coming crises.
I can't speak to the realism of Never's portrayal of geopolitical escalation (honestly, the most unrealistic aspect of Never is that today's Republican Party would support a "moderate female politician" as their President of choice), but Follett's larger point appears to be how seemingly unrelated events can quickly spiral out of control.
In the Author's Note that opens the novel, Follett mentions how he was inspired to write Never after researching the causes of World War I for Fall of Giants (the first novel in the Century Trilogy). He said he was surprised to learn that WWI was a war that no one really wanted, and he wondered if the same could happen within today's context of greater globalization and nuclear weapons.
Overall, I found Never to be an enjoyable read. It's long — about 800 pages — but the font is bigger than normal, so it's not as chunky as it initially appears. Some of the writing and dialogue is a bit amateurish and cringey (something I've noticed as of late with Follett's newer books—perhaps he's just getting old?), and it does take awhile for the real plot to kick into high gear. However, once I reached the halfway point, my reading pace gradually picked up as the consequences of the world's "zero-sum game" policy regarding nuclear warfare become more apparent. Scary stuff, indeed....more
John Hersey's Hiroshima is widely considered one of the most important works of nonfiction of the 20th century. First published in 1946 as a long-formJohn Hersey's Hiroshima is widely considered one of the most important works of nonfiction of the 20th century. First published in 1946 as a long-form article in The New Yorker (and later updated in 1984 with an additional chapter), Hiroshima documents the seconds, minutes, and days following the detonation of the atomic bomb on the Japanese city through the eyes of six survivors.
It's probably not an understatement to claim that Hiroshima changed the world. When it was published, very little on-the-ground reporting had been conducted on the effects of the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (there's speculation this was a result of intentional censorship by the U.S. government). Journalist John Hersey depicted the terror of the initial blast (or the "noiseless flash") in stark detail (melted eyeballs, burnt skin hanging off in sheets, vaporized bodies leaving behind shadows on pavement) through the initial chaos and confusion of the coming days (the survivors had no context for what had just happened) and the slow-motion fallout of radiation poisoning in the following months.
The American public was shocked and appalled by Hersey's reporting, and his decision to render the Japanese survivors as actual people (and not the gross stereotypical caricatures of U.S. war-time propaganda) drove home the reality that bomb had been dropped on civilian population centers.
Hiroshima was a watershed moment in the history of the anti-nuclear proliferation movement, and it shed light on the abject horror of the existence and use of atomic weapons.
While the narrative nonfiction genre has evolved since Hiroshima, the genre as a whole owes a lot to this book, as it was one of the first of its kind - a nonfiction book with the structure of a novel. And while the book is missing a lot of the historical and scientific context that would lend itself to a more complete picture of the events, Hiroshima remains a gripping and chilling warning of man's capacity for mass destruction and evil....more
Covering the final year of the Revolutionary War, Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Hurricane's Eye is the most myth-busting entry in Philbrick's narrativeCovering the final year of the Revolutionary War, Nathaniel Philbrick's In the Hurricane's Eye is the most myth-busting entry in Philbrick's narrative nonfiction trilogy. In fact, perhaps a better subtitle to this book would be: "The Luck of George Washington and Why We Owe It All to the French."
At the onset of the book, George Washington and the Continental Army are in dire straits. Despite a couple of key victories, the army is falling apart - sickness, lack of pay, and harsh weather is leading to a shockingly high desertion rate, and the army still lacks the support of the common people (and their representatives). However, the French have a score to settle with the British, and they agree to ally themselves with the Americans, injecting a much-needed supply of cash, supplies, and (most importantly) a massive naval fleet into the "glorious cause." Couple that with a particular tempestuous hurricane season and a series of baffling miscommunication debacles by the British army, and the Americans may just have a shot at "turning the world upside down" at Yorktown.
I particularly enjoyed how Philbrick highlighted the naval campaigns (French vs British) that ultimately won the war for the Americans in this book. Specifically, the chapters focusing on the battles of Cape Henry and the Chesapeake Bay were absolutely riveting (it just blows my mind that a key theater of war a few hundred years ago involved firing cannons at point-blank range into massive wooden ships).
Also, I appreciated Philbrick's willingness to explore the inherent contradictions in the patriots' cause and their attitudes toward slavery. For example, hundreds (if not thousands) of American slaves died fighting for their literal freedom on the side of the British, and part of the colonies' surrender terms involved the "return of all property" (i.e. slaves) back into chattel slavery.
Overall, I recommend Philbrick's Revolutionary War trilogy, especially if your knowledge of the conflict is limited to Mel Gibson's The Patriot (a grossly inaccurate film on many fronts) and Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton. Though dry at times, I definitely learned a lot about the war and the players involved - especially in regard to their valor, character, endurance, and moral failings. The heroes of the Revolutionary War (on both sides) were real people - in all the messiness that entails - and this trilogy was a great examination of history as it was being made....more
Valiant Ambition is the second entry in historian Nathaniel Philbrick's Revolutionary War trilogy, a narrative nonfiction account of the war that founValiant Ambition is the second entry in historian Nathaniel Philbrick's Revolutionary War trilogy, a narrative nonfiction account of the war that founded the United States. While the first book (Bunker Hill) explored the origins of the Revolutionary War, this second book examines the middle "dark years" of the war and uses the infamous betrayal of Benedict Arnold as its narrative throughline.
One of the things I really liked about Valiant Ambition is that it really hammered home how close the Continental Army came to being defeated by the British. Along with Benedict Arnold's attempt to hand over West Point, Valiant Ambition covers the fall of New York and Fort Ticonderoga, the battles of Brandywine and Saratoga, and the brutal winters at Valley Forge and Morristown.
Perhaps most distressing is that the biggest threat to Continental Army wasn't British troops or harsh weather, but political infighting by members of the Continental Congress. Remember, at this point in history, the U.S. was less "united" states and more united "states," and it was nearly impossible to justify the collection of taxes to fund, feed, and clothe the army - especially when only about 25% of the colonists supported breaking from Great Britain (25% opposed and the remaining 50% were completely indifferent).
Also, getting a deep dive into Benedict Arnold's (who's probably as close as you can get to a "satan" figure in America's origin story) motivations behind his betrayal was also fascinating. Before his wounding at the battle of Saratoga, Arnold was considered one of the most successful, fearless, and brilliant generals in the Continental Army.
Unfortunately, the biggest thing holding Valiant Ambition back is the prose style. Nathaniel Philbrick is a great "popular" historian, but he's just not as skilled - narratively speaking - as David Grann, Candice Millard, or Hampton Sides. Philbrick's writing style is pretty dry, and there are sections of this book that feel like you're reading an Encyclopedia Britannica entry.
I'll definitely finish out the trilogy (because I have to know how it ends - haha), and I definitely learned a lot that's been glossed over by the revisionist history, but the dry writing style ultimately holds me back from giving it an enthusiastic recommendation....more
Barbara Walter's How Civil Wars Start is an even-handed and academic approach to the question that's slowly rising to the top of everyone's minds: Is Barbara Walter's How Civil Wars Start is an even-handed and academic approach to the question that's slowly rising to the top of everyone's minds: Is America headed for a Civil War?
One of the best parts of How Civil Wars Start is it's structure. Chapters 1 - 5 examine different aspects that indicate a civil war is imminent by looking back at history and exploring civil conflicts in Ireland, the Philippines, Iraq, and Syria. Chapter 6 (How Close Are We?) turns the attention to the United States and Chapter 7 (What a War Would Look Like) introduces a possible scenario for civil war in the U.S. and why it would differ from previous conflicts. And Chapter 8 (Preventing a Civil War) offers a like bit of hope and practical steps to help turn the temperature down.
If you're up for it, I think How Civil Wars Start should be required reading for anyone interested in exploring the possibility of a Second American Civil War. The book is rooted in academics and history, and it's surprisingly measured and realistic (unlike Stephen Marche's The Next Civil War, which - while entertaining - is a little too imaginative. ...more
Young Washington is a vivid and eye-opening account of George Washington's early military career as a British officer during the seven-year French andYoung Washington is a vivid and eye-opening account of George Washington's early military career as a British officer during the seven-year French and Indian War.
I'm a big fan of historical accounts that set out to "de-mythologize" famous historical figures, and you probably can't pick a more famous historical (and mythologized) historical figure in American history than George Washington. Far from a "character assassination," however, Young Washington attempts to reconstruct the immature, entitled, and brash Washington and show how his early failures humbled him into the well-renowned leader we know today.
Author Peter Stark excels at his descriptive passages of wilderness survival and chaotic battlefield recreations. The French and Indian War introduced a new style of warfare to the British army (that would later be emulated by the colonists during the Revolutionary War), and Stark pulls no punches in his brutal depictions of wilderness combat. Of particular note is Stark's account of Washington's ill-advised ambush at Jumonville Glen, his failed defense of Fort Necessity, and the slaughter at the Battle of the Monogahela (or Braddock's defeat).
Some other things I learned about Washington are that most historians believe that he ignited the French-Indian War, he was obsessed with his best friend's wife (and wrote the whiniest love letters to her), and he hadn't won a single battle prior to becoming leader of the Continental Army.
George Washington obviously leaves behind a complicated legacy, but Stark's humanizing portrait of him in his mid-20s reveals a young leader unsure of himself and his destiny, but slowly growing in humility, integrity, and confidence. Highly recommended to anyone who wants to peek into the life of America's "founding father." My only complaint, ironically, is that Stark's vivid writing in the wilderness and battle scenes is so good, that other parts of the story drag a bit. ...more
Dead Wake is another riveting example of narrative nonfiction from one of the masters of the genre. An account of the sinking of the Lusitania, a BritDead Wake is another riveting example of narrative nonfiction from one of the masters of the genre. An account of the sinking of the Lusitania, a British ocean liner, by a German U-boat in 1915, historian Erik Larson does what he does best here - weaving parallel storylines until their inevitable (and tragic) collision.
From the stifling conditions aboard a German U-boat to the opulent luxury of the "golden age" of transatlantic travel, Dead Wake reads like a novel at times, and - even though you know the outcome - Larson keeps the suspense building with a clever emphasis on foreshadowing and arcane historical details. However, Dead Wake is about much more than the Lusitania sinking (though the section detailing the ship's demise is appropriately horrifying and grim).
Larson uses the tragedy to illuminate some of the lesser-known aspects of the era, like President Woodrow Wilson's courting of (and love-struck obsession with) fellow widow Edith Galt. Perhaps most surprising to me was the shocking amount of casualties and downed ships that resulted from the German U-boat campaign in the North Atlantic. Also, there's just a tinge of (plausible) conspiracy regarding the Lusitania's sinking that's more than a little discomforting.
I only have a few minor quibbles with Dead Wake. I really wish this book included embedded photographs or a photo insert section (like most narrative nonfiction books). I feel like not including any visual aids was a big missed opportunity - I found myself googling images of the ships and passengers. However, besides that, Dead Wake was a welcome reminder of why I love narrative nonfiction so much - human stories interwoven with watershed moments in history. ...more
I consider LikeWar to be essential reading for anyone who wants to better understand our current socio-political moment (and for anyone who regularly I consider LikeWar to be essential reading for anyone who wants to better understand our current socio-political moment (and for anyone who regularly uses social media in ANY capacity). Authors P.W. Singer (a strategist and consultant for the U.S. intelligence community) and Emerson Brooking (resident fellow at the Digital Forensic Research Lab of the Atlantic Council) deliver a compulsively readable, entertaining, and ultimately frightening look at how social media has been weaponized against its own users to foment division, war, and authoritarianism.
For a relatively short book (only about 300 pages + 100 pages of endnotes), LikeWar covers a shocking amount of topics. From Russia's secret disinformation programs and the rise of ISIS to the Cambridge Analytica scandal and the proliferation of conspiracy theories, LikeWar blazes through one disturbing revelation after another. Probably one of the more unsettling issues raised in the book is the ways in which foreign governments and bad actors can (and have) used fake accounts, troll farms, and "bot armies" to completely hijack the national conversation, enflame political antagonism, and encourage violence - without ever setting foot on American soil.
LikeWar also includes a fascinating (and brief) history of the Internet and social media, and uses that background to ask troubling questions about the nature (and limitations) of "free speech" online. For example, most social media companies and search engines have more users, GDP, and influence than most nation-states - so what happens when their terms of service agreements are essentially Constitutions? The (not-so-distant) future Singer and Brooking predict is also quite grim - imagine a world in which the Internet is essentially a battleground of constantly evolving AI neural networks duking it out over the nature of reality with us - the users - caught in the information crossfire.
As I said above, LikeWar should be essential reading for anyone interested in technology, geopolitics, and the future of warfare. What was perhaps most shocking was how much of what you'd assume would happen in the future (or be a plotline in a bad science-fiction film) was already happening right now. ...more
Stephen Marche's The Next Civil War is a horrifying piece of "speculative political nonfiction," an attempt to predict the scenarios that would tip thStephen Marche's The Next Civil War is a horrifying piece of "speculative political nonfiction," an attempt to predict the scenarios that would tip the United States into a Second Civil War.
The Next Civil War is built around five "dispatches," or fictional scenarios - a confrontation between a militia movement and federal troops, the assassination of a sitting U.S. President, the fall of a major U.S. city due to a climate disaster, an act of unprecedented domestic terrorism, and support of the secessionist movement in one or more states. For the record, these scenarios - as depicted by Marche - are terrifyingly plausible, and it's hard not to imagine them playing out via social media or breaking news alerts. Within each scenario, March explores political polarization, the militia/prepper movement, social media algorithms, the "symbolification" of presidents and historical narratives, and interrelated consequences of climate change.
It's hard to say if The Next Civil War is fear-mongering or not. Like I said above, this book is not a fun read. Though it's only about 200 pages, it took me longer than usual to read it just because I found each of the scenarios too heavy to read through more than one at a time. It's possible, however, that Marche may have bitten off more than he could chew with this topic. A book like this deserves to be at least twice the length with a much more robust bibliography.
Probably my biggest problem with The Next Civil War is the author's political bias. I probably agree with most (if not all) of Marche's political viewpoints and opinions, (Marche is Canadian, and he admits his political affiliation is more "Center" but that translates to "Left" in the United States), but this is not a book that's going to resonate (or be received well) by anyone "Right of center."
Marche makes some good points about how political violence and extremism is more likely to come from the ideological far-Right, but - in my opinion - there wasn't enough discussion about how the collapse and unfulfilled promises of Western liberalism are cultivating the kind of economic and cultural resentment that's easily exploited by far-Right demagogues and media personalities. I mean, political polarization is a two-way street, and for a book that denounces polarization, it doesn't dig enough into the complexities to truly do the topic justice.
Overall, The Next Civil War is a morbid journey down the "darkest timeline" for the United States. Cynically, you could view The Next Civil War as a cash grab attempting to exploit national anxieties (Marche isn't a subject matter expert on Civil Wars). Or, Marche's predictions could indeed be prophetic - only time (unfortunately) can really tell. ...more
This is the way history should be written. Empire of the Summer Moon is a remarkable account of the forty-year battle between U.S. settlers and the CoThis is the way history should be written. Empire of the Summer Moon is a remarkable account of the forty-year battle between U.S. settlers and the Commanches, the most powerful Native American tribe in American history.
Author S.C. Gwynne maintains a shocking level of journalistic impartiality while documenting this truly barbaric era in American history. In Empire of the Summer Moon, Gwynne isn't interested in catering to anyone's preconceived notions of how "the West was really won." This book contains brutal depictions of such extreme violence and appalling cruelty (committed by both sides of the conflict) that it really challenged me and added complexity to my views on Manifest Destiny. Empire of the Summer Moon is honest history, and it will undoubtedly make you uncomfortable.
Empire of the Summer Moon anchors its sprawling story around the plight of Cynthia Ann Parker, a white settler who was kidnapped by Commanches when she 9-years-old during a brutal raid on her family's homestead. Cynthia eventually assimilated into the Commanche lifestyle and gave birth to a son, Quanah, who became the last great war chief of the Commanche people. Their story (and ultimate fates) is riveting narrative nonfiction at its best.
Also, as someone who was born in Texas, it was really cool to read a book that took such an unapologetic look at Texas history. I really had no idea how absolutely bloodsoaked the Texas soil was until reading this book (but, hey, that's the Texas public education system for you).
Empire of the Summer Moon is an incredible piece of historical narrative nonfiction that'll shock and enlighten you in equal measure. Highly recommended (especially for my Texas followers). ...more
P.W. Singer and August Cole's novel Ghost Fleet is built upon an arresting premise: What would a non-nuclear engagement between two superpowers - in tP.W. Singer and August Cole's novel Ghost Fleet is built upon an arresting premise: What would a non-nuclear engagement between two superpowers - in this case, America and China - look like if it occurred today?
Ghost Fleet follows characters - both civilian and military - from both sides of the conflict as China takes down the U.S.'s geo-synched satellites from orbit and invades Hawaii after orchestrating a modern-day Pearl Harbor attack. While the novel's version of WWIII isn't a globe-spanning conflict, this act of "strategic" aggression feels somewhat realistic. However, the real star of Ghost Fleet is the tech on display - authors Singer and Cole are both consultants and analysts for the Defense Department and the U.S. military, and the technology used in the novel is supposedly real-world (the last 20 or so pages of Ghost Fleet are dedicated to footnotes).
Unfortunately, Ghost Fleet may aim too high. The two major action sequences that bookend the plot are genuinely thrilling and packed with carnage and acronyms in the best tradition of Tom Clancy, but the middle section really sags and certain plot lines go nowhere and are dropped without warning. This is no more apparent than during the book's "ending." Ghost Fleet was cruising for a strong 3-star recommendation until the last act - or, should I say, lack thereof. Ghost Fleet has no third act. It ends after a thrilling battle sequence that in no way feels decisive, and wraps up in a feel-good epilogue that totally skips over the endgame (and implications) of the war. To fully tell the story they wanted to tell, Singer and Cole needed at least another 150 pages of narrative.
While Ghost Fleet is certainly more entertaining than the other WWIII novel I read this year - Ackerman and Stavridis's 2034 - is still falls way short of classics in the genre like Clancy's Red Storm Rising or Eric Haley's Arc Light. ...more
I really wanted to love Phil Klay's debut novel Missionaries, but so much of it just doesn't click for me. Set in present-day Columbia, Missionaries eI really wanted to love Phil Klay's debut novel Missionaries, but so much of it just doesn't click for me. Set in present-day Columbia, Missionaries explores the interconnectedness of modern warfare through the eyes of four characters: an American journalist, a U.S. veteran serving as a Special Forces liaison to the Columbian military, a Columbian police officer, and a young man drawn into Columbia's complicated underworld.
In theory, Missionaries has everything I should want in a novel like this: Critiques of American military adventurism, explorations of the failures of modern war, frank discussions about faith in times when extreme violence may be necessary, etc. But, unfortunately, all the pieces of Missionaries don't quite come together. The actual "plot" of the novel doesn't even kick in until the 75% mark. Author Phil Klay (who's also a veteran) packs the novel with fascinating vignettes and character moments, but the payoff is so limited in scope that I felt a little cheated.
Missionaries had the potential to be an all-time classic for me, but so much of the book feels superfluous to the overarching point Klay is trying to make. And if a book doesn't intellectually (or morally) challenge me, I at least want to be viscerally entertained - and the "action" scenes were so few and far between as to almost be nonexistent. If you want a better exploration of a similar topic, just watch Denis Villeneuve's 2015 film Sicario instead. ...more
Malcom Gladwell's The Bomber Mafia is short book about how innovation, hubris, and good intentions led to one of the most highest-casualty events of WMalcom Gladwell's The Bomber Mafia is short book about how innovation, hubris, and good intentions led to one of the most highest-casualty events of World War II - the firebombing of Tokyo.
I'm embarrassed to say that this is my first Gladwell book, and based on some of the reviews, The Bomber Mafia is a bit of a departure. Instead of focusing on a particular theme or insight, in The Bomber Mafia Gladwell focuses on an event and spins insight out from there. Gladwell follows various people who helped revolutionize the way we wage war via precision bombing and then dives into the plight that led to their casualty-avoidant strategies to be adopted for more nefarious purposes.
The Bomber Mafia is a fast-paced piece of narrative nonfiction, and Gladwell is a fantastic storyteller. While I think James Bradley's Flyboys covers the firebombing of Tokyo in a much more harrowing fashion, Gladwell's take on the subject is more multi-dimensional and further reaching. I'm not sure if all the themes Gladwell was trying to explore came together at the end, but I still enjoyed this succinct sociological-focused war story. ...more
The first entry in popular historian Nathaniel Philbrick's American Revolution trilogy, Bunker Hill chronicles the events in and around Boston that leThe first entry in popular historian Nathaniel Philbrick's American Revolution trilogy, Bunker Hill chronicles the events in and around Boston that led to the American colonies' war against the British Empire. Beginning with the Boston Tea Party, Bunker Hill covers the skirmishes at Lexington and Concorde along with eponymous Battle of Bunker Hill, siege of Boston, and the subsequent retreat of British troops from New England.
I learned a lot from Bunker Hill, and reading this book helped me understand a lot of events and personalities that have been clouded over with public school revisionism. For starters, I was shocked to learn only about 1/3 of the American colonists wanted independence from Britain, and many of our vaulted Revolution War heroes desperately wanted to avoid an armed conflict. In fact, it almost appears as if a lot of the events that led to the shooting war were a result of unfortunate accidents, miscommunication, and poor troop discipline.
While the first third of Bunker Hill is rather dry as Philbrick sets the stage, he really shines in writing accounts of combat that weave together eyewitness testimony, narrative journalism, and military theory. The Battle of Bunker Hill (or Breed's Hill) is handled with a particular emphasis on the chaos and carnage of 18th-century warfare.
Because I love these myth-busting accounts of American history, I'll definitely be picking up the next books in the trilogy....more
Though I consider myself a pacifist, I enjoy reading combat narratives. For starters, the genre helps remind me why war is hell and should be avoided Though I consider myself a pacifist, I enjoy reading combat narratives. For starters, the genre helps remind me why war is hell and should be avoided at all costs, and second, they rattle my privileged position in time and place.
However, as author Svetlana Alexievich makes clear in the introduction to her masterful work, The Unwomanly Face of War, most war stories are "men writing about men." In The Unwomanly Face of War, Alexievich peels back the (iron) curtain and explores the lost history of the Russian women who fought on the front lines during World War II - in their own words.
More than a million women fought in the Russian army against the Nazis in the Second World War - and their positions included nurses, snipers, tank gunners, minesweepers, machine-gunners, and underground resistance fighters. And, as this book makes clear, a lot of them were under 20 years old. The Eastern Front of WWII is considered to be one of the hardest fought theaters of war in history, and a strong case can be made that one of the primary reasons the U.S. was able to sweep through Western Europe with such efficiency was because Hitler had exhausted so many of his supplies and troops fighting the Russians on their home turf.
Written as an oral history, The Unwomanly Face of War is beautifully constructed as a chorus of voices speaking into different aspects of the war experience for these women. From dealing with your period amid a shelling barrage to learning how to stalk German officers with nothing but a spotter and sniper rifle (one woman sniper interviewed racked up more than 75 confirmed kills), The Unwomanly Face of War is brutally intimate in its uncompromising re-telling of war. There is no false sense of bravado here - just sheer horror, misery, and duty.
While I loved the formatting of The Unwomanly Face of War, one of the unintended (I suppose) side effects is that some of the stories do run together and lose some of their impact. However, if you're looking for a non-American (and non-male) perspective on WWII, there can be no higher recommendation.
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