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Old 01-28-2011, 12:20 PM
 
Location: Central Texas
371 posts, read 595,969 times
Reputation: 183

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I started reading this book called "Deadline" for school recently. The plot is pretty good, characters are funny, realistic, but in the end is obviously sad (if you've heard of the book) as the main protagonist finds out something's wrong with his blood and "he'll be lucky to have a year". He doesn't tell his parents or friends he's dying as well, which gets him into some trouble.
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Old 01-28-2011, 05:38 PM
 
Location: Nowhere
9,761 posts, read 3,410,767 times
Reputation: 2201
Life by the great Keith Richards
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Old 01-28-2011, 06:09 PM
 
Location: Canada
7,263 posts, read 9,268,126 times
Reputation: 9833
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ketabcha View Post
Have you read "The Black Tulip" by Milt Bearden? Bearden knows his stuff because he helped plan the US arming of Afghans against the Soviets.

I have several Afghan friends who were barely high school age when the Soviets invaded. One of them was playing soccer in a school yard when the Soviets came rumbling in. He remembers one black helicopter hovering over the players and the kids threw rocks at it. It still freaks him out when he sees a black helicopter, a black tulip. A few months later the Soviet black tulips were used to take the bodies of the Soviets back to the USSR.

I did not know that about Kingsville, TX. That is the home of the King Ranch. Thanks for mentioning it. I'll do some reading....it's a "fer piece" down the road from me but I've been there several times on the road to Mexico.

"Fear and Loathing in Kingsville, TX", I wonder if Hunter S. Thompson was involved.
No, I haven't heard of The Black Tulip but now that I have, I'll have to check into it. It's a true story then? (I had also not realized you live in Texas.)

Our friend who was part of the Soviet invasion has talked about how they were so poor they (the Soviet army) rolled the dry leaves of trees up in paper to smoke. He has talked about how you never knew friend from foe. He was badly wounded and almost died.

Speaking of armies and such, this is a dumb question I am sure, but if you or anyone else could tell me how exactly names are assigned to troops? Books set in the military often make reference to a "Bravo" troop, as for instance in Andy McNabb's Bravo Two Zero, without explaining the designation and in Kill Bin Laden, I've come across the author being part of a "Bravo" troop, and also references to a "Jackal" troop and an "India" troop.

I thought maybe the lead troop took the name "Alpha" and then the second troop in a country or action took the name "Bravo", and so on, but I got lost when I got to the "Jackal" troop.

Is there some kind of standard way of of referring to troops and assigning names based on the alphabet, and order of importance perhaps, with any "A" name being the most important, and a "B" being a backup? Does the military assign these names or do the people in the troop just get together and invent a name they like to go along with the letter? (The "India" troop had me puzzled. The "Jackal" troop, I thought, could have something to do with rah rah, we're so tough, we're jackals.")

Am I even being remotely clear? I have no military background or friends with military background at all, not counting the Russian, and for all I know, they have entirely different ways of referring to troops.

It's not necessary for me to know to enjoy the story, but knowing exactly how some of these things work, might add a little more to the story for me.
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Old 01-28-2011, 06:17 PM
 
Location: Canada
7,263 posts, read 9,268,126 times
Reputation: 9833
Quote:
Originally Posted by scarabchuck View Post
Sorry to hear you didn't like "one second after" , I read it last month and thought it was a great book , maybe not the best writing but totally believe the premise and believe the book should be an eye opener to all of us.
That's the great thing about books though, isn't? That even though it isn't the book for me, there's something to suit almost everyone's taste and interest.

The author lost me when he had a fairly mild-mannered history prof at a Christian college be convinced to shoot the two looters, barely five days after the EMP. I thought in many ways the book was kind of a character reversal of The Stand, in that people like the prof character, in The Stand would have been the bad guys, not the good guys.

I found Stephen King's rationale in that book (as attributed to his characters) for why it is that people are drawn to the one side or the other very compelling. I guess I just didn't find the rationale as presented by the characters for their change in character, so soon after the event that precipitated it, believable.
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Old 01-28-2011, 06:28 PM
 
Location: Texas
15,893 posts, read 18,265,550 times
Reputation: 62766
Quote:
Originally Posted by netwit View Post
No, I haven't heard of The Black Tulip but now that I have, I'll have to check into it. It's a true story then? (I had also not realized you live in Texas.)

Our friend who was part of the Soviet invasion has talked about how they were so poor they (the Soviet army) rolled the dry leaves of trees up in paper to smoke. He has talked about how you never knew friend from foe. He was badly wounded and almost died.

Speaking of armies and such, this is a dumb question I am sure, but if you or anyone else could tell me how exactly names are assigned to troops? Books set in the military often make reference to a "Bravo" troop, as for instance in Andy McNabb's Bravo Two Zero, without explaining the designation and in Kill Bin Laden, I've come across the author being part of a "Bravo" troop, and also references to a "Jackal" troop and an "India" troop.

I thought maybe the lead troop took the name "Alpha" and then the second troop in a country or action took the name "Bravo", and so on, but I got lost when I got to the "Jackal" troop.

Is there some kind of standard way of of referring to troops and assigning names based on the alphabet, and order of importance perhaps, with any "A" name being the most important, and a "B" being a backup? Does the military assign these names or do the people in the troop just get together and invent a name they like to go along with the letter? (The "India" troop had me puzzled. The "Jackal" troop, I thought, could have something to do with rah rah, we're so tough, we're jackals.")

Am I even being remotely clear? I have no military background or friends with military background at all, not counting the Russian, and for all I know, they have entirely different ways of referring to troops.

It's not necessary for me to know to enjoy the story, but knowing exactly how some of these things work, might add a little more to the story for me.
Yeah, I'm a Texas girl but I grew up on Air Force bases all over the US. I have a great affinity for the military because it took good care of us and still takes great care of my mother.

Check out this site. You may find some answers you are searching for:

Wikipedia talk:Naming conventions (military units) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Old 01-28-2011, 07:42 PM
 
169 posts, read 524,968 times
Reputation: 126
Quote:
Originally Posted by phonelady61 View Post
Okay just finished half broke horses OMG !!! it blew me away and so good . wow talk about strong people !!! Wonderful book and thanks to all those who recomended it !!!!
Half Broke Horses took me by surprise - I wasn't interested in the topic/premise, but gave in because I loved The Glass Castle, so thought I'd give Walls a chance to show me she's not a one book wonder. I ended up liking Half Broke Horses quite a bit, but still like The Glass Castle better!
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Old 01-28-2011, 07:47 PM
 
Location: Texas
15,893 posts, read 18,265,550 times
Reputation: 62766
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ummm View Post
Half Broke Horses took me by surprise - I wasn't interested in the topic/premise, but gave in because I loved The Glass Castle, so thought I'd give Walls a chance to show me she's not a one book wonder. I ended up liking Half Broke Horses quite a bit, but still like The Glass Castle better!
Okay, You've made up my mind for me. I just finished a book and now I'm to choose between three:

97 Orchard
My Life in France
The Glass Castle

I really liked Half Broke Horses. So, I'm opting to read The Glass Castle next.

Thanks
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Old 01-28-2011, 10:30 PM
 
Location: Spokane via Sydney,Australia
6,612 posts, read 12,821,934 times
Reputation: 3132
Put aside SK's Full Dark, No Stars for now, maybe I'll be in the mood for it at a later date. Went back to the Change series, reading Scourge of God.
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Old 01-28-2011, 10:35 PM
 
Location: Bradenton, Florida
27,232 posts, read 46,578,960 times
Reputation: 11083
Napoleon's Pyramids Wm. Dietrich
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Old 01-28-2011, 10:53 PM
 
Location: San Francisco
28 posts, read 28,283 times
Reputation: 51
Awesome. Haven't got my copy yet. Need to get on that. Long time Keith Richards fan!
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