March 2009
Book Review: Storm on the Horizon: Khafji by David Morris
(out of 5 stars)
Storm on the Horizon turned out to be an unexpected gem of an account of modern warfare. The author, a Marine himself, is an outstanding researcher and storyteller, and puts the reader right in the middle of the battle in and around Khafji, Saudi Arabia. No extra fluff, no added drama, just he raw recollections of the men who witnessed and participated in thwarting the large mechanized Iraqi raid across the border prior to the Allied invasion of Kuwait in the first Gulf War. An excellent read for any warfare history buff. Four and one-half stars.
Book Review: Voices of Courage by Ronald J. Drez
(out of 5 stars)
Drez and Brinkley have written an amazing history of the battle for Khe Sanh in Voices of Courage. This relatively short book is peppered with contextual photos and first-hand experiences of a battle that should have been a decisive victory in the Vietnam War. The stories are raw, often emotional, and I could not put this book down. Excellent descriptions of strategy, tactics, and maneuvers lend to the history of these brave Marines and their fierce NVA enemy.
The authors argue that press coverage of the seige, which saw overwhelming NVA forces surround and attempt to capture the Khe Sanh base and its outpost hills, turned this significant and successful American defensive battle into a quagmire of stalemate, leading to a disengagement politically from follow-up military attacks. President Johnson lost hope, and in turn caused the military to lose initiative in the war after such a decisive battle. 6,000 US Marines and a handful of Army and ARVN troops defended the base for 77 days with tremendous help from air and artillery bombing, along with ferocious trench grenade and firefighting, and finally forced the NVA regiments to retreat out of the area.
A stellar account of this pivotal battle, and well worth a read for any warfare history reader. The photos are priceless and numerous, and make this short work a very detailed one. Four and one-half stars.
Book Review: Running the Amazon by Joe Kane
(out of 5 stars)
An insane challenge issued, the author accepts an offer to join a kayaking expedition that was determined to be the first to travel the entire distance from the source of the Amazon River high in the Peruvian Andes all the way to Belem, Brazil and the Atlantic Ocean. Kane, the author, was to be the team's documentarian, with an invitation to write up an account of the voyage for publication. He discovers early that this oddly-assembled, multinational group of men and one woman would struggle on the trip, leaving only four of the original team to complete the journey. Instead of observing and logging from the sidelines, Kane becomes an integral part of the team, first as a key member of one of the white water rafts used early on the rivers, and later, as one of two men to complete the trip in kayaks.
Kane's writing is excellent, his narrative very easily read, and the story of their struggles, their interaction with both welcoming and dangerous native populations, and Kane's own soul searching, which included two episodes where he was certain on leaving the expedition only to be drawn back into the quest, made this book tough to put down. My only major complaint is the way the book ends, literally with the first indication that the kayakers had hit the Atlantic, salt water. There is no follow up, no reconcilation of the emotions and struggles, no 'where are they now' sort of summary, just a dead stop once the kayakers had reached their goal. This is sort of a natural end which Kane sets up throughout, but a short epilogue would have been a nice addition to wrap up the narrative. That said, Running was an excellent adventure expedition book that went way beyond kayaking a river. Four stars.
Book Review: The Sky is Not the Limit by Neil deGrasse Tyson
(out of 5 stars)
Having seen and enjoyed Neil deGrasse Tyson on PBS's NOVA program and various other television spots, I finally got around to reading his short biographical book The Sky is Not the Limit. Essentially a collection of six or so essays centered around Tyson's experiences, the book is fast paced and, with the minor exception of about ten pages, easily approachable for a non-scientific reader.
Tyson was driven early to become an astrophysicist, and his excitement for his craft comes through strongly in his writing. In the first half of the essays, he talks of his childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood as he developed an intense passion for astronomy and math. In one chapter, Tyson relays his experiences climbing the ranks as a black astrophysicist. Later in the book he jumps into his passion with discussions of Pluto, science in society, math's role in physics, the ultimate fate of the earth (and universe), and ends the book with an introspective response to the inevitable questions about his own views on God and science.
Throughout, I loved Tyson's passion for his subject matter, and he is tremendously effective at conveying his points through a simple, direct narrative and occasional dry wit. He mentions at one point that he had to develop a strong backbone to get through the difficult situations he often faced in the academic world. His advocacy for the things he cares about in this book shows it to be true. He makes strong arguments for the laziness and ennui of society with respect to science and fact. He argues for increased science education and funding, for better use of the scientific method, and for Hollywood, among others, to care as much about scientific details as they do about period costumes.
I would feel utterly honored to one day sit in this man's classroom, attend a seminar where he appears, or just have a beer with him and pick his brilliant brain. This book is a quick read and light science biography fun. Four stars.
Book Review: Seize the Daylight by David Prerau
(out of 5 stars)
Everything I thought I knew about the origins of Daylight Saving Time was wrong. So says Seize the Daylight, an interesting small-scale popular history book. Contrary to what I'd always heard (that daylight saving started as a way to help farmers), the movement to change daylight hours started first with a moment of lush inspiration from Ben Franklin, who observed late-sleeping Parisians could use some extra daylight in the evening. Later, the essential father of the movement William Willert proposed the idea as a means for greater evening recreation. Only later did arguments for increased productivity and lessened energy usage (the latter of which had been suggested by Franklin) catch on and drive the demand for DST. Farmers, as it turned out, were among the strongest opponents throughout the years.
I always enjoy pocket histories of specific subjects, and this one fits the bill nicely. It is a very quick read at only 220ish pages, is well researched, and peppers the text with reproductions of various legislative bills and political cartoons, as well as tables listing the major locals adopting DST at various times. A nice quick history, nothing fancy with little excursion into side stories, should make for an afternoon read for most popular history buffs. Three stars.
Book Review: The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944 by Rick Atkinson
(out of 5 stars)
Rick Atkinson's incredibly-researched second book in the Liberation Trilogy covers the Allied battle for the Axis 'soft underbelly' of Sicily and Italy. Told greatly from a US Army perspective, the concerns and considerations of Generals are comingled with the grim, gutter reality of life of Privates and Captains. From the initial movement of the Sicily invasion force (which started the trip in the recently conquered Tunisia and other spots in North Africa) through the triumphant entry into Rome, Atkinson proves yet again he is a master at his craft.
I felt this second entry in the Trilogy trumped the Pulitzer Prize-winning first book, An Army At Dawn. The landscapes of Sicily and Italy make the background more dense, more colorful, and unfortunately, more deadly to those doing the fighting. Soldiers fought and died in famous locations, such as Monte Cassino, and not so famous ones, such as the Rapido River. Gen. Mark Clark's conundrums are carefully and masterfully interwoven with various first-hand battle recollections of screams, sheets of mortar and machine gun fire, smells of burning flesh and cordite, visions of smoke and death, and the harrowing isolation of life on the front.
An amazing amount of research poured into this work, just like its predecessor, and Atkinson's gift of highly-readable narrative turns hundreds of sources into a breathtaking 588 pages. Starting with the invasion of Sicily, the reader follows the participants, high and low, to the invasion of Salerno and then Anzio, bloody battles for the various heavily defended German lines, numerous attempts to take key high ground, such as Monte Cassino, and the tactical decision-making that led to each success or failure. This is simply one of the most complete popular military history books I've ever read, one that will certainly inspire and haunt me for quite some time. I cannot wait for the third and final book in this Trilogy. Five stars.
