At around 270,000 words, Stanley Karnow’s Vietnam – A History is something of a monster, as is its subject. Even those who did not live through the era when reports of the conflict dominated most international news, the title itself is still probably recognised as something iconic, something that sums up the third quarter of the twentieth century. The word iconic would be inaccurate, however.
This book starts out when two young men meet at West Point and become lasting friends. This novel deals with the thoughts and actions of those on both sides of the slavery controversy and how they interact. These two families remained connected throughout the times at West Point and leading up to the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln becomes the hero of slaves everywhere.
Chicago and the American people desired to have something that would at least rival or do one better than the French. They would build a giant wheel at Bethlehem Steel that would be the largest one piece casting ever. The axle and its fittings weighed 142,000 pounds. Meanwhile there was a serial killer operating in and around the city of Chicago.
Philippe Charbonneau, born with his mother’s maiden name, later took his father’s name and Americanized it to Philip Kent when he was newly in America. He had grown up in France. His actress mother, Marie, had had an affair with a British nobleman and Philip grew up not knowing the truth. The unfriendly sibling and his mean stepmother weren’t having any part of another share in the inheritance. Eventually, they were chased out of the country by the brother, stepmother and their employees. Philip wanted to seek his fortune in the new land and hoped to do it in the printing business.
World War II was the “Big War” with “Big” Players. Hitler’s Germany was busy in Europe trying to control the rest of the continent with their military might and influence. Meanwhile in the Pacific region, Japan was plying its growing influence in that part of the world.
So much of the written word today is only used to titillate or sensationalize, to hide opinion within thinly veiled pseudo-objective commentary and to debase the beauty of language once used within a covenant to inform and illuminate the process of discovery and growth. Too much of the public record in a sharply divided nation has been used to wound, destroy and tear down the subjects of print and online articles, editorials and books. Even sadder than the bitter harvest of dry columnists and stealth agents for political masters masquerading as journalists, are many of the works of so-called learned…
When I approached the reading of this book I was afraid it would contain so many boring facts and figures, but to my delight, “The Final Storm” is not bogged down by anything. It is a great story that begins on February 21, 1945 as WWII is concentrated on the battle for Japan and all the islands that nation controlled. The author tells this excellently written book through the eyes of many involved in the war on land, sea, and in the air, both Allies and Japanese views with no holds barred.
This wonderful history delves into the years before Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII, becomes queen. Her story is fascinating, involving, frightening, a tale of the kinds of royal intrigue and treachery that can end at the hangman’s noose. We know that Elizabeth lived a long, fruitful life, and it’s wonderful to see the youthful influences that made her what she was as a queen. A fascinating read, one to be savored time and again.
Aviation and American history buffs will find a wealth of such detail in Air Force One, a reference book detailing each of the aircraft assigned to transport the U.S. presidents. Author Robert F. Dorr, a U.S. Air force veteran and retired diplomat, has been writing about military aircraft for decades and brings his years of expertise to bear in this handsome coffee table book. With over 150 color and black-and-white photographs, the authoritative volume allows you to climb aboard and catch a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes of the flying White House.
Dr. Cheryl Wills is our nationally known public speaker, the anchor woman for New York 1 News. She just released “Die Free” a book about tracking down slavery ancestry.
