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I haven't read that one yet. I read I read Retribution: The Battle for Japan, 1944…by Max Hastings. Here's my CD "review" (link), about the war in the Pacific. As far as August 1914 I read The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman. I will look into the Hastings book because what Guns does not cover is how Europe surrendered control of the civilized world to the United States and Canada since Europe merrily and literally carved itself up.
I also read The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman. I found it confusing to follow. I think Hastings did a better job analyzing the initial outbreak between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, which Tuchman skimmed over.
I also read The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman. I found it confusing to follow. I think Hastings did a better job analyzing the initial outbreak between Austria-Hungary and Serbia, which Tuchman skimmed over.
Thanks. I already added it to my "to be read" list on Goodreads. If Retribution is any guide I may not fully agree with Mr. Hastings. On the other hand he may have been seeking political correctness by not favoring the atom bomb attack. I strongly favor it historically as I might well not be here if my father had served in the war zone. As it was he served a few months in 1945 and was recalled for Korea.
I recently finished Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano. It was the story of a young boy who is the sole survivor of a plane crash and goes to live with his aunt and uncle following the crash as his parents and brother are killed. It was not very enjoyable or uplifting and though it had some sparks of interest, I felt like I was just plodding through the whole time.
I just finished Dear Edward. I loved it! I'm now going to look for Napolitano's other books.
I did not finish reading Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal Hypocrisy by Peter Schweizer. Not that it was a bad book. I read selected chapters. Much of it is out of date, so that is not "on" the author. The problem with the book is it discusses the fact that many politicians, philanthropist and public figures are warm-hearted towards the poor verbally but live the lives of the rich and famous. To me there is nothing wrong with that. One of the examples that hits a bit closer to target is Edward Kennedy. He was an environmental advocate, except when the wind farms would sully his sightline or sailing playground.
I would appreciate an updated version, if the author writes one. For example, BLM leaders do not truck with their constituency.
I just finished Dear Edward. I loved it! I'm now going to look for Napolitano's other books.
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I loved Dear Edward also!
I also read her other book "Hello Beautiful", and that was a really good book.
Every night ( I read before bedtime) I'd look forward to going into the world of the Padavano sisters and their lives, yes, that was really one of my favorites.
started this yesterday, just the prologue is pretty disturbing.
Quote:
Hell on Earth. Washington, DC, Possibly Sometime in the Near Future
A 1-megaton thermonuclear weapon detonation begins with a flash of light and heat so tremendous it is impossible for the human mind to comprehend. One hundred and eighty million degrees Fahrenheit is four or five times hotter than the temperature at the center of the sun.
In the first fraction of a millisecond after the bomb strikes the Pentagon, there is light. Soft X-ray light with a very short wavelength. The light superheats the surrounding air to millions of degrees, creating a massive fire-ball that expands at millions of miles per hour. Within seconds, this fireball increases to a diameter of a little more than a mile, its light and heat so intense that concrete surfaces explode, metal objects melt or evaporate, stone shatters, humans instantaneously convert into combusting carbon. The five-story, five-sided structure and everything inside its 6.5 million square feet of office space explodes into superheated dust; all 27,000 Pentagon employees perishing instantly.
I've finally found a winner! This was a 5 star read for me.
"Much as I love my mother, much as I love that fabulous fridge, the free heating, the coffee grinder with whole, organic beans, much as I love reading on the sofa while she shifts and grunts over her Sudoku, I really did need to get away."
"They lived like teenagers, both of them. Terry had family money, but not enough of it, and when it ran out she just became confused. They had pork chops, they had no pork chops. There was nothing she could do."
"Consider the poet called Harvey. He is standing at the postbox, his beautiful, heartfelt letter is halfway into the slot, he's like, Is it, maybe, a bit mad? The envelope falls and . . . too late! His words are in the gap -- sent but still unseen. That chasm from which arise Terrible Uncertainty and Terrible Joy. A place so unbearable, it is where we live all the time now, checking for the likes."
"Harvey said that in her 'grass widowhood', and then beyond, my grandmother accepted everything that happened, the bad along with the good, because she had known a great love. She had said this to him many times, how this knowledge was something that could never be lost or stolen from her. She was fortunate, she had been blessed. And this knowledge (underlined) would sustain her in her last days."
Status:
"I don't understand. But I don't care, so it works out."
(set 2 days ago)
35,596 posts, read 17,927,273 times
Reputation: 50623
All the Forgivenesses by Elizabeth Hardinger.
I LOVED this book. It's a debut novel, written in first person. A girl coming of age in Appalachia in the early 1900's, and into her young adulthood. Narrated in the common speech patterns in Appalachia at the time, it comes off as very authentic, and thought-provoking. Things are not always as they appear. Lovely book. 5 stars.
I RARELY give Fiction 5-stars anymore (I'm on Goodreads), but this one i did.
It's called "Infinite Country," by Patricia Engel. It's about immigration/immigrants - and even though it's Fiction the author is born of Columbian parents. I highly enjoyed it; I found it very moving and very educational - even though i already read and study a lot about immigration.
If you want to read a good story about a family split between two countries i highly recommend this one. Beautiful writing, also.
I'm now starting a NF - "The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating." Looking forward to it.
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