The Boston Massacre - Bonnie L. Lukes

Famous Trials - The Boston Massacre by Bonnie L. Lukes
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a relatively short summary of the Boston Massacre that occurred in 1770. After tensions in Boston had escalated about recent taxes imposed on colonial America it came to head when after a mob that was harassing a group of British soldiers shot and killed 5 people. They were put on trial and only 2 were convicted of "manslaughter". One of the defense lawyers for the soldiers was the future 2nd President of the United States, John Adams.

I'm sure there are more in-depth books and writings on this event but this gives you a pretty good overall summary of what happened. It also pays a lot of attention to the trials that followed. It's a good book that's easy to understand and will give you a decent summary of the event.

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A Bridge Too Far by Cornelius Ryan

 

A Bridge Too Far by Cornelius Ryan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Like many my first encounter with this story was the star studded movie of the 70's. Say what you will about movie adaptations from books but this was one of the cases that it inspired me to find out more of the event and seek out this incredible book. I've read the book at least once before but this time around I did it by audio-book(via Audible) and I wasn't disappointed. I've also read his other well known books The Last Battle and The Longest Day so I am familiar with Ryan's work.

I imagine it's easier to write about victory's verses defeats in war time. No one wants to dwell on defeats or mistakes they made. Perhaps that's what drew Cornelius to this story. In battling cancer in his own life maybe he was looking back in his own life too. I only recently learned he died shortly after finishing this book.


The story itself seemed to be one of missed opportunity, underestimating the opponent, ignoring intelligence out of arrogance and not wanting to rock the boat. Indeed Allied forces had the Germans on the run in early September. Unfortunately even with the Herculean effort that was made to use airborne troops to attack on such short notice it still gave the Germans enough time to regroup and put up a stiffer defense than was expected. It is disappointing and infuriating that Dutch underground intelligence seemed to be casually dismissed. It seemed to be a combination of the not wanting to go against Montgomery and blinded by the heady proposition that this will be the break thru battle that leads to end of the war by Christmas. Who wants to spoil that?

What also can't be forgotten is the human cost of this battle. I think this time around I noticed more of the brutality and shear numbers of casualties in war. Those who made it through were not only heroic but survivors. No amount of training and determination will prevent your glider being hit by flak or your plywood/canvas boat being raked by machine gun fire crossing a wide river. The phrase war is hell is an understatement. It is why it is important these stories be told to not only remember those made it thru but also not to forget those who didn't.

I certainly recommend this book to those interested in this period of military and world history. I would also recommend Cornelius Ryan's other books "The Longest Day"(D-Day) and "The Last Battle"(the fall of Berlin).

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The Room Where It Happened by John Bolton

 

The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir by John R. Bolton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There was a great controversy about even buying or reading this book. Being a bit of amateur civics and politics follower it was hard to resist the hype. Ever see a movie trailer show all the good parts of the film and then when you see the whole film you realize those were all the best parts? It was like that. Should have Bolton testified during the impeachment of Trump? Yes. Would it have changed the outcome? No. So why not read it anyway? It gives us a glimpse into the dumpster fire that is this administration's symbol.

The few things I picked up on in this book.

One: John Bolton likes to take notes, notes and more notes. I’m sure he has in his original notes when he used the White House bathroom.

Second: Bolton is so arrogant it borders on comedy. In the beginning of the book he was a bit more human. Occasionally he’d throw in a one-liner as if to see if you’re paying attention. The meat of the book is tedious in long segments unfortunately.

Thirdly: The book is a foreign policy geeks heaven. There are long sections of foreign policy details that will make an average person's eyes gloss over and probably nod off in boredom. I really had to plow through this myself.

Fourth: To paraphrase a former Secretary of State the President is a f’n moron. Trump truly didn’t get the concept of why we had troops stationed in places like South Korea and Germany. Seemed oblivious to history and only took a “what have you done for me lately” type of attitude. It was purely transnational. He'd harp on many NATO country's financial or military participation share as if he were squabbling about a golf club member's fees. Unless of course their leaders would flatter and suck up to him. Loyalty and appearances on Fox News seemed to be the only job requirements. Not to mention all the wasted effort in trying to give North Korea’s Kim Jong Un an autographed, by Trump, copy of a ``Rocket Man” CD. Seriously?

The book itself starts off interesting but kind of slogs through a lot foreign policy details that I think would bore an average reader. The infamous Ukraine phone call (the one that led to impeachment) is towards the end doesn’t really reveal more than we already know. Unless you're really a civics and current political events geek I’d probably skip this one.


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Goodbye Eddie

 

In my youth.

 

I couldn't believe the news of Eddie Van Halen's passing from cancer yesterday. A guitar hero's hero. He was the guitar God of a generation.He had a nonstop smile and lightning quick fingers on an electric guitar. No matter where or what he was doing he seemed to be having the time of his life in that moment. His music had an amazing way of lifting your spirits. In essence the group was a party band that made it big, especially in the early days with David Lee Roth at the microphone. The music was uplifting, energetic and sometimes naughty but never got too dark.

 

I loved them and had their famous logo scribbled on school book covers, notebooks or anything with a flat surface while a teenager. They seemed to match the intensity, attitude and energy of adolescence. Coincidentally lead singer David Lee Roth left and the band took on a more mature sound just as I hit adulthood too. Eddie was still Eddie though. 

 

I'm forever grateful for his music that brought joy to millions of fans. The music itself lives on. Thank you for music and my heart goes out to his family at this time. 

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a book I've seen on countless "must-read" or "favorites" book lists. I've had this on my shelf for quite a while and when I recently saw in the news that the now famous bus where the protagonist Chris McCandless died in the Alaskan wilderness in the early 90's was removed due to being a dangerous location where others have made treks to see because of the book’s fame. I finally decided it was time to pull it off the shelf. I was glad I did.

It is the story of the retracing and trying to understand Alex McCandless and his journey across America after shunning his family and then civilization he lived upon land living upon edges of the society he scoffed at. I couldn't help draw a similarity to Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" which was about a journey across America on the edge of society that also caught people’s imagination.

After finishing college Alex pretty much left everything behind. Donated his $25K his parents gave him and packed up his beat-up Datsun and hit the road. He had often done this in the past but this time he had next to nothing pulling him back, not even family. He spent the next two years floating between society and loner. He eventually abandoned the car after it was flooded by a flash flood and hitchhiked, walked, and even used a canoe for a bit. He would connect with certain people along the way often making a big connection with them in even a short amount of time. They were often left curious and puzzled about how this intelligent, well-read, and hard-working young man was traveling like this.

He eventually ends up in Alaska for the adventure he’d been working up to. He set out and “into the wild” as were his last words he sent to an acquaintance. Tragically four months later he would be found starved to death in an abandoned bus which had been his base. The story is a retracing of his steps, as much as possible, and a deeper goal of trying to figure out his motivation and why he did this.

His journey seemed to have elements of past literary classics like “On the Road” by Jack Kerouac’s journey across the western states of America and also Robert Pirsig’s “The Zen and Art of Motorcycle Maintenace” for the same reason(I believe Alex McCandless was found with this book). Another that came to mind was Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger as the book has strong elements of a coming of age story and disenchantment with society in general.

There is also a strong element of a father-son conflict, even though Alex left everyone behind his relationship with his Dad seemed to be the lynchpin of some underlying resentment of past family matters. Alex’s closest relationship seemed to be with his sister(much like Holden Caulfield in Cather in the Rye mentioned previously) but even she was left in the dark as to his whereabouts.
Alex was not without his faults either. He seemed to have a stronger desire to do things on his own, or at least figure things out on his own. He did well in school and had a strong motivation to figure stuff out but as soon as someone offered help or tried to help him excel further he would shun or just ignore them. This trait would come back to haunt him later.

The book is well written and will stay with you long after you finish it. I can see a bit clearer why this was such a talked-about book. I’ll be hanging on to this one and will probably reread it in the future. Did Chris McCandless ever find what he was looking for? We may never know for sure.


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