A Mind Sure is a Terrible Thing to Waste
Read, fellow travelers, read. It's the best advice I can give anyone on the left or the right. The only way to have intelligent discussions and to prove your point is to be educated on that point. So often in debating someone on an issue, any issue, I find that they have failed to do the homework and thus usually do two things, embarrass themselves, and waste their fellow debater's time.
I just finished the Politically Incorrect Guide to American History by Thomas E Woods Jr. and 1776 by David McCullough.
Politically Incorrect Guide to American History is, as the left has called it, a "cherry picking" of moments in history, although it does provide good coverage. It is called "revisionist" by Publishers Weekly, but I find it and books like it more restorative of American History. From even my sheltered Catholic school days of the 70's and 80's, I recall being taught a history that I also heard from my grandparents. I do not hear that history when I listen to my daughter telling me about what she learned in school, or when I review sites like Tongue Tied and its ilk. I hear a warped retelling, designed to fit an agenda that dissolves the links to the past in order to reforge the nation and the culture in the image of those who would see the ideas and ideals of the Founders erased and forgotten. Books such as this one are an excellent start in taking back our history, the history of the real America.
1776 is sort of a pop history book at the moment. Its author, David McCullough is quite an excellent researcher and presents the more human side to the early members of the Revolution and the problems and doubts they faced. It teaches important lessons that allow us to better understand who these people were and what they were fighting for, and helps us also to see how they matured into the legends they have become. I did not find the book particularly biased. McCullough seemed to want to present a side of the early war that doesn't get covered in the mainstream texts, not only from a standpoint of the people, but from the military aspect as well. I recommend it highly.
I'm currently working through Oliver North's War Stories - Operation Iraqi Freedom. I find myself laughing one moment and then deeply moved another. North, love him or hate him, puts a very human face on the soldiers who fought their way across Iraq in 2003. His writing of his time as a FOX News correspondent during Iraqi Freedom is that of a typical old soldier, but one who doesn't believe he has all the answers. If you want to know a bit of what it was really like for those soldiers, and what the real story (not the current attempt at revisionism is trying to forge it into) of the buildup in the region and its reasons, you should really pick up this book.
I'm muddling through Into the Storm by Tom Clancy and Fred Franks, a story of the First Gulf War (remember when we called the Iran/Iraq conflict the Gulf War?). The initial part of the book covers the modern history of the Army and its rebuilding after Vietnam, so if you're not into that, it's a little slow. Even if you are into it, it's a little slow. Franks is a bit dry, but good still at conveying the overall feel of the era. I'm eager to get into the section detailing the VII Corps operations, but it is a slow read. Still, there aren't many books discussing the First Gulf War, and you take what you can get.
I'm eager to look into two works, Paul Williams' new release, Al Qaeda Connection, and Congressman Curt Weldon's new book Countdown to Terror. Both shed some light on how inept our government has been at responding to the Jihadist threat to the United States, noting once again in their own way that the one thing we should be entrusting out government with (our defense) is the one thing at which it consistently fails.
Thus ends my first book review and recommendation to anyone who has the time. Take the time to read, and choose your books carefully. Make sure they can provide you with some useful information and not just hate-filled propaganda.
Read, fellow travelers, read. It's the best advice I can give anyone on the left or the right. The only way to have intelligent discussions and to prove your point is to be educated on that point. So often in debating someone on an issue, any issue, I find that they have failed to do the homework and thus usually do two things, embarrass themselves, and waste their fellow debater's time.
I just finished the Politically Incorrect Guide to American History by Thomas E Woods Jr. and 1776 by David McCullough.
Politically Incorrect Guide to American History is, as the left has called it, a "cherry picking" of moments in history, although it does provide good coverage. It is called "revisionist" by Publishers Weekly, but I find it and books like it more restorative of American History. From even my sheltered Catholic school days of the 70's and 80's, I recall being taught a history that I also heard from my grandparents. I do not hear that history when I listen to my daughter telling me about what she learned in school, or when I review sites like Tongue Tied and its ilk. I hear a warped retelling, designed to fit an agenda that dissolves the links to the past in order to reforge the nation and the culture in the image of those who would see the ideas and ideals of the Founders erased and forgotten. Books such as this one are an excellent start in taking back our history, the history of the real America.
1776 is sort of a pop history book at the moment. Its author, David McCullough is quite an excellent researcher and presents the more human side to the early members of the Revolution and the problems and doubts they faced. It teaches important lessons that allow us to better understand who these people were and what they were fighting for, and helps us also to see how they matured into the legends they have become. I did not find the book particularly biased. McCullough seemed to want to present a side of the early war that doesn't get covered in the mainstream texts, not only from a standpoint of the people, but from the military aspect as well. I recommend it highly.
I'm currently working through Oliver North's War Stories - Operation Iraqi Freedom. I find myself laughing one moment and then deeply moved another. North, love him or hate him, puts a very human face on the soldiers who fought their way across Iraq in 2003. His writing of his time as a FOX News correspondent during Iraqi Freedom is that of a typical old soldier, but one who doesn't believe he has all the answers. If you want to know a bit of what it was really like for those soldiers, and what the real story (not the current attempt at revisionism is trying to forge it into) of the buildup in the region and its reasons, you should really pick up this book.
I'm muddling through Into the Storm by Tom Clancy and Fred Franks, a story of the First Gulf War (remember when we called the Iran/Iraq conflict the Gulf War?). The initial part of the book covers the modern history of the Army and its rebuilding after Vietnam, so if you're not into that, it's a little slow. Even if you are into it, it's a little slow. Franks is a bit dry, but good still at conveying the overall feel of the era. I'm eager to get into the section detailing the VII Corps operations, but it is a slow read. Still, there aren't many books discussing the First Gulf War, and you take what you can get.
I'm eager to look into two works, Paul Williams' new release, Al Qaeda Connection, and Congressman Curt Weldon's new book Countdown to Terror. Both shed some light on how inept our government has been at responding to the Jihadist threat to the United States, noting once again in their own way that the one thing we should be entrusting out government with (our defense) is the one thing at which it consistently fails.
Thus ends my first book review and recommendation to anyone who has the time. Take the time to read, and choose your books carefully. Make sure they can provide you with some useful information and not just hate-filled propaganda.
posted by Rob Beck | 9:57 PM
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