2012 Reading
Stanley Fish: How to Write a Sentence: And How to Read One
"Writing" matters now more than ever. Most of us don't do it well enough. An excellent book! (****)Daniel Silva: Portrait of a Spy (Gabriel Allon)
Want a weekend of pure fun? Follow international affairs? Just read it! (****)Sean Parnell: Outlaw Platoon: Heroes, Renegades, Infidels, and the Brotherhood of War in Afghanistan
Powerful combat reality that most Americans (and even non-combat soldiers) cannot fathom. Read it. (*****)Walter Isaacson: The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made
If you're a student of the Post WWII era and the Cold War this one adds fantastic depth! In the twentieth-century tradition of an informal brain trust of internationalists who tried to figure out how to make the world work. What would these "Elites" do now? (*****)Thomas Mallon: Watergate: A Novel
Mallon brings it all back. Rose Woods, (the 18 min. gap), LaRue Haldeman, Mitchell, Liddy the whole bunch. Fun political Journalism. Misanthropes will be gratified. (****)Robert K. Massie: Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman
If you enjoy History, Russia, or engaging storytelling. Read of this great lady. (*****)David Wolman: The End of Money: Counterfeiters, Preachers, Techies, Dreamers--and the Coming Cashless Society
Interesting and probing look at the reality of "money and it's discontents". Entertaining too! (****)L. Douglas Keeney: 15 Minutes: General Curtis LeMay and the Countdown to Nuclear Annihilation
A look back at the Strategic Air Command and Nuclear War Operations. Weird structure, but tolerable. (***)
2011 Reading
Alan Furst: Spies of the Balkans: A Novel
1940 Greece. Furst takes you there. War is coming to the Balkans. Salonkia, Greece is the setting. Read in big chunks! (****)Frederick Kempe: Berlin 1961
Henry Kissinger called it "Gripping"! If you enjoy near history, this is a ride! Must read for students of the period. (*****)Arthur Wiknik Jr.: Nam-Sense: Surviving Vietnam with the 101st Airborne
It's not last year's Matterhorn and Wiknik is no Neil Sheehan But a fair representation of Combat operations in I Corps/ 101st Abn. (****)Orlando Figes: The Crimean War: A History
Russia, Tolstoy, Tennyson, and brilliant History writing. Keep maps handy! (*****)Debora Halpern Wenger & Deborah Potter: Advancing the Story: Broadcast Journalism in a Multimedia World
Fresh thinking about storytelling in a multi-media multi-platform eco system. (Jeez that was a mouthful). Way too many get involved in gadget worship and not the message crafting. (***)Wes Simpson: IPTV and Internet Video, Second Edition: Expanding the Reach of Television Broadcasting (NAB Executive Technology Briefings)
2nd time around to read of this subject Simpson is the Master of Internet video technical explanations. Still, I'd get Simpson's more thorough Video over IP (On Amazon) (***)Diana B. Henriques: The Wizard of Lies
Fast Read. Insightful and you don't need an MBA in Finance to understand it. Madoff greed, and it's aftermath! (****)Susan Jacoby: Never Say Die: The Myth and Marketing of the New Old Age
About 25% of the way in. I confess complete bias. Susan Jacoby's world view, intellectual depth and unflinching pen are awesome. Early review? Fellow Boomers: Failure to read "NSD" is at your own peril.Martin Jacques: When China Rules the World: The End of the Western World and the Birth of a New Global Order
Big sweeping book! Stimulating and many historical concepts to digest. Made me realize how shallow my understanding of Asia really is. Whether Jacques is right/wrong or in the middle--- a must read for those interested in China. (****)Fitzroy MacLean: Eastern Approaches
Steve Jobs, the Marlboro man, James Bond, Malcomb Gladwell, Dan Rather, and Charlie Rose, all wish their lives were as interesting as Fitzroy McClean's. No Kindle Edition. Used on Amazon, $5. Buy it and enjoy! (*****)
