October 12, 2009
I hit George Bush's total for 2008, so now I am racing to catch Rove. I also got lazy about writing my reviews as soon as I finished the book, hence some of the short ones.
40) Misunderestimated (Bill Sammon)
In honor of passing Pres Bush's book total for 2008, I read a book about him. A good book. I really liked this.
39) The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression (Amity Shlaes)
The book was a bit dense and slow going, but I enjoyed parts of it a lot, especially the chapter on Andrew Mellon's art collection.
38) A Thousand Splendid Suns (Khaled Hosseini)
AirForceWife lent me this book, and I read it very quickly and cried all through the last segment. It was a good, though horrifying, story.
37) The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy (Vicky Iovine)
I got a few laughs out of this book, learned some things, and especially appreciated the chapter on what to pack to take to the hospital. It also saddened me to keep reading about all the things a husband should be doing during a pregnancy...
I didn't realize this was a collection of speeches when Leofwende recommended it, but it was good...as Sowell always is.
35) Class 11: Inside the COA's First Post-9/11 Spy Class (TJ Waters)
I really enjoyed this book and thought it was super interesting, but I am still shocked that he was allowed to write it. I learned many things that I supposed I wouldn't be allowed to learn about the CIA.
34) Bold Fresh Piece Of Humanity (Bill O'Reilly)
My mom wanted this book for Christmas, so she brought it back so I could read it. I have never been the biggest O'Reilly fan, but this book rounded out his personality for me and made him more of a complete character than just his show does.
33) Showdown (Larry Elder)
Larry Elder always challenges me to think more libertarian.
32) Takedown (Brad Thor)
Another good one, as usual. I especially liked the idea of inventing a second attack on the US after 9/11. And I love Jack Rutledge as president.
31) A Red State of Mind (Nancy French)
I have known about this book for a long time, and Nancy French has even commented here a couple of times, but I just finally got around to reading it. I thought it was charming as all get-out. And if I ever thought I was irritated by Kerry voters in 2004...
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Posted by: BigD78 at October 12, 2009 02:10 PM (W3XUk)
Class 11 could contain a lot of disinformation.
What is the point of the title of O'Reilly's book? Is he trying to refer to himself in a funny way? I don't get it.
Posted by: Amritas at October 12, 2009 02:57 PM (+nV09)
And I apologize for saying "notice" in my comment about Cosmic Justice, as if you wouldn't have already known that. I assume Sowell also made the same point about cosmic government. Looking back (just a few minutes ago!), I don't know what I was thinking.
Do you want to read Hosseini's The Kite Runner?
One difference between this war and previous ones is civilian interest in the non-Western lands where it is being fought. The Kite Runner "was the number three best seller for 2005 in the United States, according to Nielsen BookScan." A Thousand Splendid Suns was "#2 on Amazon.com's bestseller list before its release." Were there any similar novels during WWII, the Korean War, or the Vietnam War? I can't imagine 1940s Americans empathizing, much less weeping for the ethnic Imperial Japanese in Ten Thousand Years (a literal translation of è¬æ² banzai; I made up that title).
Posted by: Amritas at October 12, 2009 03:20 PM (+nV09)
My remark yesterday about American attitudes in the 40s toward the Japanese came to mind when I stumbled onto this passage by democide expert RJ Rummel:
During World War II I was a young boy highly influenced by anti-Japanese war propaganda. I saw the Japanese as buck toothed, monkey-like, inscrutable, cruel and devious, and without feeling or sentiment. It was a cultural shock, therefore, to see the Japanese people as they really are while I was stationed in Japan during the Korean War. I found that the Japanese were nothing like my war engendered stereotypes. They could laugh and cry and love flowers and animals. They could be loving and considerate. Moreover, this period was close enough to the Second World War for me to see still the effects on the people and cities of American bombing. This experience had a life-long effect, for it made me ask myself why, if we are really all the same as human beings, we make war on each other.
Rummel is an expert on peace studies, but he's no Goodist.
I just found Nancy French's blog!
Posted by: Amritas at October 13, 2009 02:40 PM (+nV09)
I recommend the "The Kite Runner" it is a book I could not put down till I finished it. My granddaughter who was then 14 had it on her reading list at school. She is very advanced, 16 now she is doing rounds at hospital as part of her school plan.
I also recommend "The Life of Pi", I think you will see you have been living it. Also got it from granddaughters pile of books. If you read it I will send you a copy of the song my son wrote about it, it is great, but I will have to have his permission.
Read now, babies take a lot of attention.
Posted by: Ruth H at October 14, 2009 09:30 PM (adQh6)
I have read Life of Pi, but years ago. And I saw the Kite Runner movie but didn't read the book first.
Posted by: Sarah at October 15, 2009 08:29 AM (gWUle)
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