What book are you reading?

I imagine that's a fascinating book.

The closest thing I've read to a bio of Wilson is Andrew Napolitano's Theodore and Woodrow: How Two American Presidents Destroyed Constitutional Freedom



It's an excellent but rather disturbing book that wrecked my opinion of Roosevelt (I already had a low regard for Wilson). Without TR and Wilson the Federal Leviathan that is eroding our freedom and prosperity would never have been possible.

 

Roosevelt was the harbinger of Wilson. Both of them defined the Progressive Era.

 

Just finished Coolidge by Amity Shlaes. Good biography. I learned a lot.

 

Just started on this book, which covers a subject that up until recently was largely air-brushed from the history of the French Revolution (and the Late Modern Era). I was already familiar with this dark chapter of the French Revolution and Reign of Terror but I'm primarily interested in checking out the source material that Secher used for the book:



The author is also featured in Daniel Rabourdin's film The Hidden Rebellion:



War In The Vendée: Why It Was Genocide
December 1, 2020 Jacques Villemain
https://www.thepostil.com/war-in-the-vendee-why-it-was-genocide/

 

I just finished reading America's Cultural Revolution: How the Radical Left Conquered Everything by Christopher F. Rufo. I'll start with my usual critique of these kinds of books; they are an immediate turnoff for those that conservatives need to persuade. Even though personally I am a leftist, I actually agree with much of what the author says. There is no question that the l "radical left" has gone way too far, and are fast snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Having achieved legal racial equality, an end to McCarthyite suppression of speech and other major victories, the book lays out how some "thinkers" on the Left: 1) Herbert Marcuse; 2) Angela Davis; 3) Paulo Friere; and 4) Derrick Belle, and their "ideas" are in danger of creating a dystopia. A problem is that the elites, particularly the university system do not know how or when to say "no."

Rufo demonstrates how, in the late 1960's and early 1970's idealists, including Marcuse and Davis, unleashed sickening waves of violence in aid of their "cause." Later "thinkers" such as as Friere aided in the destruction of some of the Third World economies by urging such gibberish as "class suicide." Bell largely pioneered the Western education system through "critical race theory.

Racial equality, never really tried, has morphed into "Diversity, Equity "and Inclusion." The elites are talking openly of a French or Russian Revolution-style taking of people's property and earnings. Rufo correctly and skillfully illustrates how skill and competence is being unceremoniously muscled aside for vague and unworkable Utopian values. This book is less shrill than some in its genre. I do recommend it.

 

On our selection by Steele Rudd.
A heartfelt recounting of a small farmers struggle to support his family and improve his land during the 1870’s, on the second driest continent on earth.

 

I just finished reading Countdown 1945: The Extraordinary Story of the 116 Days that Changed the World by Chris Wallace, Mitch Weiss. Keep in mind the author is a rare animal; a Fox reporter who is a Democrat. I read this book in seven days; from October 28 to November 3. It was a page turner, and of course it helped that I already knew the outlines of the story. The book gave a day by day, in some case hour recount of the events. My father told me that many casualties were saved. I of course might not be here if the "bomb" had not been dropped. Interwoven were some very human stories of professional jealousy and rivalry, of a Japanese family severely impacted and other stories.

While there is not much soaring writing, two quotes from key players are in order. The first is from Jacob Beser: "I have often been asked if I had any remorse for what we did in 1945.I assure you that I have no remorse whatsoever and I will never apologize for what we did to end World War II. Humane warfare is an oxymoron. War by definition is barbaric. To try and distinguish between an acceptable method of killing and an unacceptable method is ludicrous." Paul Tibbetts, the lead pilot on the Hiroshima strike said ""If wars are going to be fought, I believe the object is to win the war.You're going to win it with all resources at your disposal. And if you're fortunate enough to possess powerful weapons or weapons more powerful than those of your enemies, there's only one thing to do and that's to use them."

You'll have to read to get more. My opinions on this subject matter are to some extent on other threads and elsewhere. Just ask.

 

Re-reading Steven Koonen's "Unsettled". and Jonathan Kellerman's "Breakdown".

 

I just finished reading Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. Gripping it is not. I suppose it is one of the better of the "theater of the absurd" that became popular in the wake of WWI. Other examples include Rhinocéros by Eugène Ionesco, of which I'll add a review shortly. Though not my favorite genre, both are classics. Rhinocéros at least had hilarious moments, which are few and far between in Godot. The genre teaches something specific about the era. Memorable from the book is the quote:

Could the bolded be a ripoff from Shakespeare? Whether and how Godot comes I will leave to your eager eyes. Suffice to say I find more value in life as a human than does Beckett.

 

It does sound like a rip-off, even though the context is somewhat different than the line in Hamlet.

I've seen Waiting for Godot on stage and I can't say I found it (and the genre) very stimulating or entertaining. To each his/her own, I guess.

 

Deleted and superseded.

 

There is a musical composition "written" by John Cage called 4'33" that actually came out in the same general time period as Waiting for Godot. See What is the point of John Cage's 4'33"? (link) for this equally pointless "piece." Here's the "soundtrack."

 

LOL - It's like a painter hanging a blank canvas on a wall.

Meh.

 

Just started reading C.S. Lewis on Politics and the Natural Law by Justin Buckley Dyer and Micah Watson.

I purchased it after watching Micah Watson's lecture on the same subject that ran on CSPAN several months ago, and I was particularly interested in Lewis' views on Natural Law. Here's a link to the lecture and it's a very good one:

https://www.c-span.org/video/?530396-1/cs-lewis-natural-law

 

Very good analogy. I like that.

 

I used this reading Blindsight is 2020: Reflections on Covid Policies by Gabrielle Bauer. If ever there was a book that needed writing it was this one. If there was ever an author that needed to write this book, it was Gabrielle Bauer. The author reflects thoughts that I have had since a few days after I was personally affected by the lockdown. the week began normally. The parking lot to the train station were almost full and most people were happily at work. A few people have their children in because their schools had already closed on a day to day basis. By the end of that week, on Friday, March 13th, 2020 we were in a different world. The train parking lots were almost empty, the trains were empty, the sidewalks of New York were empty, and Broadway theater had been closed the night before. Our office ordered pizza in “ for people brave enough to come to work. Quote that was the word of the email that announced the pizza offering. The next day I decided to go to a movie, being fairly certain that would be the last such occasion. I saw “Once We Were Brothers” about The Band. During the movie, I received the officer's email that we were closed effective that Monday. The following Saturday , March 21st, 2020 was rather warm spring day and the tennis courts were full , presumably with people bored out of their minds by the lockdown. The next day cover our villages mayor locked the tennis courts. When I wrote to ask why the residents were being “punished” his answer was that the tennis balls might carry COVID.

I describe the conditions not to Digress come up to set the scene. This book was all about social media and government engendered panic that led to the destruction of a lot of social values. The author describes, through descriptions of interviews and writings by the courageous dissidents of the panic come over reaction and affect of that maelstrom. I personally was regarded as mentally unstable by questioning, even to close friends, the insanity of the Times. I do not want to spoil the book but I will let you in on the ending; The author ends to a citation of The Rolling Stones great song “You Can't Always Get What You Want,” To make free point that life is governed by choices, and should not be governed by diktat coming from not particularly gifted, compassionate were caring government officials. Governments throughout the world, with certain courageous exceptions as Sweden and South Dakota, we're not willing to let people make adult choices; and either did those officials.

I will have a lot more to say on other threads and in other places.

 

I read Argo: How the CIA & Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History by Antonio J. Méndez back in 2016. Exciting and well-written, this book really brings you back to the dark days of 1979-80. The Canadians really provided a ray of light. The Canadians really provided a ray of light. I read that book in 2016 when I was not regularly posting my reading.

 

I just finished reading Golda Meir: Israel’s Matriarch by Deborah E. Lipstadt. I am the big fan of Deborah Libstadt's writing, and when faced with a choice of reading this book, of 250 or so pages compared to Gol'da Meirs own memoir, either approaching or over 1000 pages, the choice was obvious. It is refreshing to read a book about a much admired historical figure that is decidedly neutral and is hagiography. The subject was a flawed human being and the book is not perfect either.

First my quibbles. The book contained few of Golda Meir's noteworthy quotes. Her quotes and sayings were a large part of her legacy to the world. That is one of the reasons I give the book a 4 rather than a 5. That being said, this book contains much in the way of new information about the founding of Israel and the lead up to Israel's creation that I did not know. I read voraciously about Israel because I'm proud of my Jewish Heritage. I had previously read biographies of David Ben-Gurion and Menachem Begin, and the autobiography of Moshe Dayan. I was afraid there would not be very much new and I was surprised.

A word about this author. Professor Lipstad specializes in the study of Holocaust denial. She wrote a creditable and recommended work outside of her field of particular expertise.

 

I just finished reading (yes I know I start all my "reviews" this way) How Good Do We Have to Be? A New Understanding of Guilt and Foregiveness by Harold S. Kushner. Just as I did with When Bad Things Happen to Good People, I am giving this a "five." Judaism admits of many points of view on many subjects and Rabbi Kushner's views on many topics align comfortably with mine. He puts it into words better than I can.

I am familiar with his view, for example, that the exit from the Garden of Eden reflects mankind's evolution from being just a higher level of mammal into something unique and important. This is but an example. An excellent book both for Jewish people and those that want to understand Jewish and human perspectives on vital matters.

 

I just finished reading The Bodies of Others: The New Authoritarians, Covid-19 and the War Against the Human. I strongly recommend reading this book. Nevertheless, i'm only giving you the three. There are nuggets of gold buried in the book, as well as stretches of hysteric writing and excessive polemics against the COVID vaccine. I agree with the book to the extent that the lockdowns were caught I fe unnecessary, dehumanizing and very destructive of people with little power to resist. I also agree that people should have questions and resisted, especially as it became clear that there was not going to be any reopening after the initial two weeks to “flatten the curve."

Essentially, the author has the zeal of the converted. Formerly on the far left of the political fringe, she shifted almost to the far right. As good and as useful as much of the material is, her political zealotry And fostering of some conspiracy theories takes some of the worthwhile enjoyment out of the book. To get education in anti lockdown hues I recommend the book that I read about two weeks ago, Blindsight is 2020 by Jessica McCullough.

 

https://www.christianbook.com/healing-scriptures-kenneth-hagin/9780892765218/pd/65216?en=bing-pla&event=SHOP&kw=christian-living-0-20|65216&p=1179517&dv=t&snav=BGMERCH&cb_src=bing&cb_typ=shopping&cb_cmp=73125296&cb_adg=2725437489&cb_kyw=default&msclkid=bd213aedb8a9171938c15f4d633341d2&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping Main&utm_term=4580221857223843&utm_content=s-christian living


Healing Scriptures by Kenneth E. Hagin

 

I just finished reading A Man of Iron; the Turbulent Life and Improbably Presidency of Grover Cleveland by Troy Senik. His final words "I have tried so hard to do right” (link) sum up his life. He is best known for being the only president to serve two non-contiguous terms, and the first Democrat elected after the Civil War. He is indeed not well known for events or achievements during his presidency.

There is much interesting both about the book and the man. Perhaps a person who serves so many positions without moral blemish should be notable. In those days as now, scandal in one form or another swirls around presidents and other prominent politicians. In fact, by the time his terms of office ended, he was clearly a man of the past. It is unfortunate that nowadays as in his days, such virtue is rewarded backhandedly or not at all. The role of the federal government is vastly expanded from his days, and he was dealt with in the headlines a lot less than modern presidents.

His example and integrity should be better known and rewarded.

 

Right now I'm reading Individualism: A Reader, which is a collection of essays and excerpts from a variety of different authors on a variety of different aspects of Individualism. The selections go all the way back to an excerpt from Essays by Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) and An Arrow Against All Tyrants and Tyranny (1646) by the proto-libertarian English Leveller Richard Overton. As one might expect, some selections are better than others, but it's an interesting mix of writings and somewhat illustrates the evolution of Individualist thought from the Renaissance forward.

This book is somewhat comparable to The Triumph of Liberty: A 2000 Year History Told Through the Lives of Freedom's Greatest Champions by James Powell of the Cato Institute, which contains brief bios on 65 men and women whom Powell credits for advancing the cause of individual freedom.

 

I just finished reading The Churchill Factor: How One Man Made History by Boris Johnson. Yes, that Boris Johnson, who was later a much less long serving or consequential British Prime Minister. Obviously, Winston Churchill was his hero, but he was many other people's heroes. For example, his grandson, who said: "You know, in many ways he was quite a normal sort of family man." After this quote, Boris Johnson states:

I am wavering on whether to give this book 4 or 5 stars. I suppose I will give it 4 stars. The book come of like many other biographies of great leaders, verges on hagiography. I suppose this is inevitable because cover unless you are writing about a criminal or a horrible person, you write it out people who you admire. The book does not have some of the ills of most such books, which is to spend an undue amount of time on early life, which is usually quite unexceptional.

Boris Johnson does an extremely good job of laying out his greatness, without ignoring some of the shortcomings of the subject personally, or the mixed results of some of his initiatives. He obviously“hit the English language to war” (my statement coming at the authors) and earned him himself a place in history. Arguably without him, the world would have been dominated by two ogres, Stalin and Hitler. To that, we owe an immense debt. Is the crystal clear in this book.

The book also makes clear his intense ties to the United States and his love of this country.