Huế 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam by Mark Bowden

Huế 1968: A Turning Point of the American War in Vietnam by Mark Bowden

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


One of the most intimate and intense books of American War in Vietnam I’ve ever read. It just seems now that the battle of Hue during Tet in 1968 is getting the attention it deserves. It seemed to have been just bundled in with the Tet offensive all together. Where most of the Tet offensive was over relatively short time the battle for Hue went on for over 3 weeks in what could at first be called lost in the chaos in the beginning of the offensive when all of South Vietnam. Then a denial or lack of awareness of military commanders on the seriousness of the situation in Hue where the whole city had been taken over except for two hold outs, a MACV(American) compound and a ARVN(South Vietnam) HQ in separate parts of the city. What followed was weeks of vicious street fighting for every inch of land. Of course the civilian population were not only trapped but were often caught in the crossfire and many fell victim to Communist reprisals.

Militarily Tet and battle of Hue was a defeat for North Vietnam. What made it significant was that our government had been leading the public to believe we were winning and light was at the end of the tunnel. An essential reading for those trying to understand the Vietnam War in general as it encapsulates many of elements that were prevalent such as military leadership caught by surprise, tenacious enemy that won’t quit, and our government leading us to believe the light was the end of the tunnel when in fact we were no closer than when it all started.

I did listened to this on audio(which was awesome) but I will probably get the physical book to reread as it’s that good.



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Folsom Untold: The Strange True Story of Johnny Cash's Greatest Album by Danny Robins

Folsom Untold: The Strange True Story of Johnny Cash's Greatest Album by Danny Robins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm the mildest of Johnny Cash fans but I have found his persona fascinating and his place in American popular is legendary. I remember as a kid finding this album(they were among aunts and uncles collection at my grandparents house) and had wondered why a country album was mixed in with pop and rock albums of early 70's. Honestly I've only heard a few of Cash's songs and probably most I know about Cash's career can be summed up in the movie "Walk the line"(Joaquin Pheonix as Cash) which begins and ends just as he's about to go on stage at Folsom Prison. I did read his autobiography also many years ago to after seeing the aforementioned movie.

What this turns out simply to be is another audio-documentary about the classic live album of Johnny Cash's "At Folsom Prison". It was turning point in Cash's career in the late sixties. Coincidentally Elvis Presley, a friend and musical peer, also had a similar experience with career around the same time after a TV special.

The story narrated a sometimes the overly dramatic English author loses it's charm at times. Some of the more interesting facts is that this was not Cash's first prison concert as he had done("Walk the line" movie gives the impression it's the first one) as he had been doing them before but this was the first one recorded for an album which was a hard sell to the record company at the time. It features interviews and soundbites from the album.

A major part of the story was about Glen Shurley, a prisoner at Folsom, who's song "Greystone Chapel" was smuggled to Cash and was featured in the concert/album. After which Cash lobbied for his early release a time afterward. Upon release he did record an album and tour with Cash enjoying some success but it was short lived. After a falling out with Cash he fell into obscurity and tragically took his own life in 1978.

Perhaps the biggest bit of drama is about the title song(Folsom Prison Blues) itself in which we find out the iconic cheer after the line" I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die" wasn't real and was actually added in later in production.

It's an interesting story if you want to know a bit more backstory about the iconic album, Johnny Cash and Glen Shurley. The author does play up the drama but seems a little thin on actual substance but is still interesting at times.

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P.S. At the time of this posting this audio book appear to be unavailable on Audible and I'm unable to find out what this is about. This was a free offering as part of my Audible membership as an "Audible Original". If someone knows what the issue is feel free to post about it. Thank you ahead of time.

The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis

The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Unlike many other books about the Trump administration which take aim at Donald's actions and words this book instead takes a look at the inner workings of government. It paints a picture of a picture of incompetency or the very least a lack of knowledge of the what the departments in government actually do and how the benefit all of us.

The author takes an in depth look at few government departments and takes in in depth look at them. He looks at how the department of Agriculture funds food stamps and school lunch programs for families in need. Or how important it is that the Department of Energy keeps track of (and maintains) our nuclear arsenal and the materials that make them. How the Commerce Department is one of the worlds biggest collectors of weather data.

One gets the feeling that the incoming administration was caught off guard in winning and still hasn't taken seriously the concept of managing these vast departments. I think this lack of knowledge of how much our government does and either a lack of awareness or appreciation for what is being done is a pervasive outlook of a lot of Americans. In short our government does more good than you may be aware of.

The book is relatively straight forward reading style and is not too long. Although it gives relative statistics and facts it does not overwhelm you with too much information which could make for heavy reading and cause one to lose interest and attention.

As I said before this doesn't take direct aim at the President himself but takes a look at how his management style(or lack of) and how it can affect how our government is run. For gossipy tales of Trump's awfulness from former staffers , leaky aides or whoever you'll have to look elsewhere.

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