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Saturday, November 29, 2014

32 - I Heard My Country Calling: a Memior, James Webb, 400 pages

James Webb is a retired: Marine Captain, journalist, producer, Secretary of the Navy, and most recently, United States Senator from Virginia. He is also a prospective United States Presidential Canidate for the Democratic Party. From this brief list of his accolades, James Webb has a lot to say about his interesting life. From the many moves of his early childhood as a military brat to the rice paddies of Vietnam, this was certainly an entertaining reflection of a life well spent.

For my readers who follow this blog, you all know that I am pretty into military history and, more importantly, Marines. Webb had a lifelong passion to join the military in the footsteps of his father who retired as an Air Force Colonel and who also served in the last days of WWII. Webb details his life with unrelenting detail, illustrating his childhood and the conditions that led up to his decision to join the Naval Academy. He was a semi-professional boxer, excellent student, an avid reader, and really an intellectual from an early age. During his time at the academy, he details the harsh realities of "Pleb" year and how that benefitted him during his combat tours in Vietnam.

Webb joined the Marine Corps as a 2nd Lieutenant and shortly after "the Basic School" in Quantico, Virginia, the Marine Corps training school for fresh Lieutenants to become a platoon commander, he was shipped out to Vietnam. He received two purple hearts during his time there and wrote a famous book entitled, "Fields of Fire," which I plan to read soon.

After his time in Vietnam, he ceases to be as detailed about his life. Perhaps he thought his book was running too long to carefully notate everything as he did earlier. I would have loved to hear about his experience as Secretary of the Navy and about his time in the Senate. Instead, he leaves us with a moving passage about being true to the people he represented instead of following money on Capitol Hill.

This is a very well-written account by James Webb and his life. What I find a little annoying is all the political jargon amidst the careful anecdotes of his life. Early on he dictates the conditions his mother lived through during the Great Depression, but sidesteps the facts to detail a long diatribe on how the South has always been more poor and more taken advantage of then the North. While this may be true, it really is irrelevant to the story. All the detail in this several-page rant could be boiled down to something that would have been more significant than a politically driven agenda. But I suppose what can we expect from someone who just retired from the Senate? He has another sort of rant that speaks about the change in our military (which I found more interesting). Back in the day, he explains, the military was a single man's game. After the Korean War, money was diverted to programs that are geared more towards families such as base housing and food chains on base. He mentions Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, where I just came from, and says that one could live their entire deployment on the base without having to leave. This is largely true and a by-product of these innovations in the 1950's and 60's.

Overall, James Webb is an incredibly interesting man, and although I may disagree with some of his politics, he chose to lay his life on the line for his country as a servant, from the many moves that comes with being in a military family, to being a platoon commander in Vietnam, to eventually becoming a United States Senator. I believe that this, not politics, is the heart of the book.

Friday, November 28, 2014

31 - The Giver, Lois Lowry, 179 pages

In elementary school, I remember seeing kids carrying around copies of a book called "The Giver" that they apparently needed to read for class. While I never read it for class myself, the debut of a film version of the book pique my curiosity (thanks to a friend who encouraged me along the way!) and for a great deal, I bought the digital book to see what all the fuss was about.

In a dystopia-like future, Lowry presents a scenario where everything is regulated from what you can say to what you can do: everything must be proper and no one can lie or know much of anything that concerns morality. In fact, we are told later on that this bland, politically-correct community is seen through the lens of a grainy black and white world that is isolated from our polychromatic view. No one is informed of the history behind the community, no disease or war exist, and love is not a "correct" word for use because it is undeniably subjective: there is only one man that has inherited the lush coloration of various types of experiences that we often take for granted. This man is the giver.

Jonas, a boy in the community, is chosen as the next "receiver" of these experiences which he will use to help the council mitigate problems in the community. While no one can lie, he is informed that his new duties will enable him to lie and not talk about his work. He also takes liberal abuse of his status as receiver and gets into some trouble along the way. He receives memories from the giver that in turn shape his morality. He see's what war is for the first time, like a child who touches a hot stove to find out that it has burnt his finger. While not all the realities of what the giver shows Jonas are positive, they help him cognitively conjecture a different worldview that is a more informed than those around him. He begins to experience new emotions like love and sexually oriented feelings that are mostly forbidden, culminating in the development a "crush" on one of his former classmates.

[Spoiler Warning] Things go very awry when a baby in the care of his father is going to be "released" because he does not meet the standard weight requirements for newborns. The giver shows Jonas what the "release" really is: murder. Because of his new perspective, he sees what was always accepted (and perhaps encouraged) as a blatant, morally-reprehensible conundrum that enrages him. He jettisons his place in the community with the little babe and to search out a safe place.

Really the ending is the most awkward and mystifying part of the book. I'm not even sure what it means or how to interpret it. But this book gives us an idea of several important lessons we can learn from. The book touches on controversial subjects such as moral relativity and the removal of free will in an otherwise "perfect" society. While the society functions well enough on it's own, the strict consternations of always watching for "big brother" removes the beauty in making mistakes and learning from them. I do wonder if Lowry had in mind a particular society in today's world (perhaps Soviet Russia or communist China) from which she drew inspiration from.

While this book is recommended for 8-12 year olds, everyone can think critically about this short story and enjoy the tale. Lowry has crafted a masterpiece that is still selling well and enables young people to consider all the good things they have in America compared to the restrictions in other, more hostile, environments.

Sunday, November 16, 2014

30 - Level Zero Heroes: The Story of U.S. Marine Special Operations in Bala Murghab, Afghanistan, Michael Golembesky and John Bruning, 320 pages

Michael Golembesky promised the men in his MARSOC (Marine Corps Special Forces) team that if he lived through their experience in Afghanistan, he would write a book about it. And write he did (with help from John Bruning). Heroes follows Golembesky as he becomes part of MARSOC team 8222 and their exploits in Afghanistan, particularly in Bala Murghab.

This book was pretty much exactly like the rest of the books I've read of this genre: guy is in a special ops team, makes up dialogue that he can't possibly have remembered verbatim,  kills some bad guys (although this guy's job is to call in air strikes, so there is a lot more of jargon that deals with the equipment he uses and more use of aerial support in ground combat), plans an elaborate scheme to outthink the enemy, and wins at the end of the day.

Don't get me wrong: these guys definitely are heroes. I'm just a little worn down on how similar all these books seem to be. What is worse is it seems like these guys come back and can't wait to sign a book deal, as if all their accomplishments weren't enough. Sometimes war stories should be carried with a person and shared only in the intimacy of those who would understand. The public doesn't understand war and doesn't need to be spoon fed the next best "war story" that seems so trivialized by corporate profits in the literary industry. But, that's just my opinion.

Of the three books in this genre I have read, this is the weakest by far. It is overshadowed by the most deadly sniper in US Military History and the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden: tough players in the arena as far as stories are concerned. Still, if you are interested in learning more about what MARSOC Marines do, this is the book for you.

Saturday, November 15, 2014

29 - No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission that Killed Osama Bin Laden, Mark Owen and Kevin Maurer. 337 pages

Mark Owen, a pseudonym for former Navy Seal Matt Bissonnette, has recently come under heavy fire from the Pentagon for releasing classified information about his time as a part of Seal Team 6 and their raid to kill Osama Bin Laden. This story is even more intriguing when former Seal Team 6 teammate, Robert O'Neil, claimed that he shot Osama Bin Laden, miring a controversial situation in more uncertainty. In any case, after his participation in this secret operation, Owen wrote a book about his experience in Seal Team 6, and most notably the story behind bagging America's most wanted criminal: Osama Bin Laden.

The story begins on the night of Operation Neptune Spear, which had gathered intelligence that Osama Bin Laden was hiding out in a home in Pakistan. Owen details the helicopter ride in and how things started to go very awry as the copter he was on has to make an emergency landing. He then goes back and details a bit of backround of his own story: how he joined the Seals, the evolution of his thought post 9/11, how he joined the elite Seal Team 6, some of the training they did etc.

The whole book seems anticipatory to the last three chapters which actually details the day of Operation Neptune. The reader is informed on the secrecy that shrouded everything from their training to the classified information they were receiving. Finally, Owen writes a detailed account of that day in it's entirety, that we have already mentioned, isn't without controversy.

For those of you who have seen the movie, "Zero Dark-Thirty," the book reads much like this film in terms of the actual raid. For more details, I would recommend picking up a copy of the book.

As I have mentioned in another book of the same genre, one thing that bothers me is how artificial this book reads. Obviously Mark Owen did not write the entire book, and while it reads more intelligently than "American Sniper," it still has a hollow feel that seems surreal. It is obvious that Kevin Maurer had a heavy hand in writing the book. Unlike "American Sniper," it is also apparent that some liberties were taken such as dialogue. How Owen remembers specifically what people said years and years ago is beyond me. Yet it is played off as non-fiction. That seems a little farfetched if you ask me. It seems that the writers sacrifice historicity and scholarship for entertainment at times.

In all, if you are curious as to the dubious nature of Operation Neptune and don't have big problems with the aforementioned controversies and inconsistencies but are looking for an exciting and interesting book to pick up, I would recommend this book for purchase. And to help give you an extra perspective, also see "Zero Dark Thirty."

Friday, November 14, 2014

28 - American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History, Chris Kyle with Scott McEwen and Jim Felice, 525 pages

In October, I went through a phase of reading the stories of former service members and their time in combat. Clint Eastwood is producing a movie called "American Sniper" that is based off of the events in this book, as it follows the career and life (as the subtitle says) of the most "lethal sniper in U.S. Military history."

This book will appeal to the military history buff and the layman who wants to read about the brave conditions these heroes had to endure. In the beginning of the book, Kyle tells a story about his time in Iraq, where he saw a small child received a bomb and began walking towards the Marines he was protecting (you can see the reenactment of this in the "American Sniper" trailer). He speaks of this kind of ethical/moral debate throughout the book and seems to have a clean conscious in regards to the people he has killed (in one interview he calls them "savages").

In all, Chris Kyle lived a very interesting life. From becoming a Navy Seal to all the many deployments to Iraq, he narrates the story of his life and dictates how he became one of the most deadly snipers in the history of our nation. He attributes a lot of his success to luck and being in the right place at the right time. One such story is the longest confirmed kill of his career, which came at an incredible distance of 2100 yards (21 football fields). Other stories he tells include his partner waiting in the nest for hours without a kill; he took over in relief and put rounds down range that illustrates how "lucky" he was.

Kyle had established for himself a reputation among the arabs in Ramadi that coined the nickname, "the Devil of Ramadi," and at one time had an $80,000 bounty on his head. But his career really took off before that in Fallujah, where he participated in both being an excellent sniper, and took turns clearing houses with the Marines. The long narratives of the situation are broken up by anecdotes of particular situations he was in that are of importance or are more rememberable. This helps the flow of the book read like an exciting fiction novel instead of a dry biography.

Kyle's story is filled with twists and turns as he documents trouble at the home front with his wife and children. The phrase "service member" designates that a man or woman is a part of the United States Military and that he or she is involved with "serving" their country. Part of this "service" (as I, a fellow "service member" have come to realize) is the sacrifice one makes for his country that impacts the family sphere. Kyle, with help of vignettes from his wife, show how much Kyle sacrificed for his country by placing his family as number two to his country. He struggles throughout his time as a Seal trying to be a family man but fulfill the obligations to his country. This is a struggle many service members wrestle with: even more so as a Seal where deployments are the golden standard.

While this is a very entertaining book (I read it in just a couple of days), this whole genre of American heros telling war stories in book form really bothers me. What is most annoying is how poorly it is written. As you can see from the title, two other writers helped Kyle pen his thoughts. This is significant of the whole genre: it seems like any time a service member wants to document their experience in combat, they need a team of editors and writers to help them out. And even then, why is the writing so awful? While the stories Kyle tells are interesting, it is overshadowed by the thought, "did he really write this?" But if that doesn't bother you like it does me, pick up a copy of "American Sniper" before you see the movie!

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

27 - The Life of the Automobile: The Complete History of the Motor Car, Steve Parissen, 447 pages

It is curious at how much history there behind something we take for granted everyday. You buy, sell, use, and see a car everyday: but what secrets lay beneath the reputation of the car that you have yet to unearth? Steve Parissen tries to tackle this question in "The Life of the Automobile." 

Often times, in our American-centric view, we like to think that the car was a product of American genius Henry Ford. I think you would be surprised to know that the car was actually "invented" in France around the turn of the century. Ford was merely on the cogs in the industry that grew up with the popularization of the automobile. What Ford did was make the manufacturing process of cars easier with the "conveyor belt" production model. His "Model T" car became an icon almost overnight in the history of the automobile.

Initially, the car was a machine that was only afforded to the rich and governments. It is also interesting to see how the industry took off in the wake of both World Wars. Ever heard of the brand, "Jeep?" This would be a vehicle that would be invented after the popularity of American jeeps after the second World War, as an example. In fact, after World War II, many of the production centers created for war machines were transformed into factories that produced civilian equivalents of the same name. Interestingly enough, this is an idea explored in George Orwell's "1984," which I wrote about some time ago. 

Further, there are other anecdotes that I found intriguing: the car industry today is obsessed with advertisements. You can't watch TV for long without seeing a commercial for a car. This found it's roots in the way automobile companies handled business in the aftermath of the second World War and continues today. Another observation would be how many cars proved to be a massive mistake. One can take an example like the PT cruiser or the "Hummer" model, which were at first wildly successful and then gradually become non-existent. This has been a part of the industry since it's inception. 

There are four major let-downs in this book: the first has to do with the little data on the car industry in Eastern Asian countries. As we know, brands like "Toyota" dominate the car market today. I was a bit perturbed on the one chapter dedicated to how the car industry sprang up in Japan and Korea, and even more menacingly, China. Parissen explores the rise and fall of the Western car companies, which reached their height in the late 1950's, but I thought more could be said about their Eastern counterparts. The second is Parissen's future thoughts on the car industry. He says that with oil becoming more scarce, her replacement will eventually be hydrogen fuel cells. While the book only covers up to about 2012, just the last couple of years have seen electric cars become increasingly popular. Matthew Debord recently wrote an interesting article where he pronounced Tesla as "the most important car company." I was disappointed with the lack of emphasis on the electric car movement, which I personally see as the future of automobiles in a time where our dependance on oil is waning.   Third, it is somewhat irritating to read all this information about the automobile, and then see brands on the road that it seems Parissen has missed. I found myself wondering, "I wonder what the story is behind that particular car?" I know Mr. Parissen spent quite a lot of time researching his book, but I wonder how practical it would have been to include all the off-shoots of a company. Lastly, there are pictures in this book of the various different cars that the author speaks about, but they are all at the end of the book. I found it would be more helpful to have pictures of the cars within the text and not a separate chapter so one can picture what the car looks like and not leave it to the imagination.
 
I would recommend this book because it is so interesting to see the vast history of something that is so important to our culture as the automobile. Overall, Parissen has not shirked on his responsibility to portray the history of the automobile. While there may be deficiencies, this is definitely an interesting read!

Saturday, November 8, 2014

26 - Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Ron Chernow, 832 pages

Ron Chernow is one of my most favorite biographers. I read his biography on George Washington that was captivating and interesting. I've also gotten about 3/4 the way through his biography on Alexander Hamilton, constructed with equal precision and acclaim.

One of Chernow's first biographies was a look at one of America's most controversial figures: John D. Rockefeller. Many have heard of Rockefeller (particularly because "Rockefeller Center" in New York City bears his name), but few are inclined to know the details that make this man intriguing and contentious.

Succinctly, John was an oil man. At the height of his wealth in the early 1900's, he had nearly a billion dollars to his name (which would equate to several billion dollars in today's economy). But how he got here is a matter of debate. John started buying property and soon had a booming business in the oil industry. He made an agreement with the rail companies that boosted his success enormously. Essentially, he would choose a particular train company that would ship his oil in exchange for extensive price cuts to the cost of shipping. It seems like a win-win: Rockefeller's oil gets delivered for cheap and the train companies get the business of a burgeoning industry on the cusp of a huge breakthrough. This, of course, is illegal now and should have been back then: but that is not the extent of his controversy.

We must imagine in this time, there are no large corporations like "Wal-Mart." It was literally the wild west when it comes to big business, and the laws concerning these businesses were largely unregulated. For example, a company cannot buy up all his competition because that hurts the market: one company is in control of the price and can do with it what he wants. Back in Rockefeller's time, this was certainly legal but the morality of it was questionable. However, Rockefeller indeed did buy up all his competition. Even when legislation was passed to stop this practice, he developed a system where a third party would represent the company but be passed as an individual company. This was called a "trust."

Rockefeller literally had total control over the oil industry in America. For years, his corporation, "Standard Oil," reigned king in the oil business, squelching competitors who would try the open market. But in all his controversy, Rockefeller is known for something else: philanthropy. Growing up in wake of the Second Great Awakening, Rockefeller was a spiritual man who generously gave away millions of dollars to schools, foundations, organizations, churches etc.

When antitrust laws were passed and Standard Oil was disassembled from the inside out, Rockefeller enjoyed retirement with ease. He was able to live very comfortably for the rest of his life as his son dealt with Standard's affairs for the remainder of the time it was a corporation. The breakup of Standard brings familiar names that our generation would recognize: ExxonMobile, Chevron, Texaco, and BP.

By the end of this book, Rockefeller dies in the last pages and I felt as if I had lost a friend I had grown to know intimately. For all his controversy, there is no doubt that Rockefeller possessed an immense character of giving that is often shrouded in dispute of his immoral practices as an executive. In any case, the legacy of John D. Rockefeller continues on, whether it be in the form of the beautiful Rockefeller Center in New York City, or a bygone era of complete control of the oil industry seen in the aftermath of the collapse of Standard Oil.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

25 - Those Who Are Dead and Those Who Are About to DIe: D-Day: the Big Red One at Omaha Beach, John Manus, 385 pages

Last June marked the 71st anniversary of "Operation Neptune," more commonly referred to as "D-Day" that encompassed a massive invasion of Allied Forces on the beaches of France during World War II. The quote in the title is attributed to George Taylor, a retired Brigadier General who was a colonel at the time of the invasion. On the beach, he reportedly said, "there are two kinds of people who are on this beach: those who are dead and those who are about to die"; a phrase that would make General Chesty Puller well with pride.

Those Who are Dead follows the story of "the Big Red," a part of the 16th Infantry Regiment USA that was tested by combat in Sicily before transferring to England to prepare for the invasion. While major films "the Longest Day" (which features the members 82nd Airborne Brigade) "Saving Private Ryan" (this movie follows 2 Ranger Battalions) focus on the invasion on Normandy, both regretfully fail to acknowledge the "Big Red's" presence on Omaha.

Tested by the fires of combat, Big Red was chock full of experienced Non-Commissioned Officers who were able to train the inexperienced during their training in England. From here, they were briefed on Operation Neptune, and then jump into the foray of war on the beaches of Normandy.

The book tells a gripping account of the chaos once the men landed. It details the numerous logistical nightmares once the soldiers hit the beach: most notably, the plan dictated that tanks were to arrive by boats soon after the first wave made their landing. Only a few of these boats managed to make it to shore however, and the men were burdened by an excess of gear that made maneuvering difficult. One gets a real sense of dirty reality of war in this account.

Tragically, many men lost their lives on the beach that day. The positioning of Germany weapons was superior to the naked beach that men of Big Red were forced to land on so they could easily wipe out hundreds before they even left the machines that brought them to shore. The bravery of such men as George Taylor proved the Big Red more resilient to such a defense. Spoiler warning: they took the beach. A phenominal account of military history that I would highly recommend!

Monday, November 3, 2014

24 -The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames, Kai Bird, 448 pages

Last month commemorated the 31st anniversary of the bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut. I was just reading an article about it here:

http://www.nola.com/military/index.ssf/2014/10/marines_resume_beirut_embassy.html

One of the least known casualties of the bombing was one Robert Ames. He was a CIA agent that was working closely with the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) and was instrumental in the peace settlements reached between Israel in 1993 with then President Clinton. Kai Bird wrote an interesting biography on his life to commemorate his service to his country of this forgotten hero.

Much could be said about Ames and his life, but most important was his love of the Middle East. In the CIA, contrary to what movies may tell you, the goal is to make contacts in exchange for monetary gain. What makes a good CIA agent is how many contacts you make and what contracts you fill. But if this is the case, Ames was a very bad spy. However, he did have a very close relationship with Hassan Salameh, a Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) fighter, who was in cahoots with Yasser Arafat. In this way, Ames became the first person with a contact in the upper echelon of the then new organization. Throughout his life, he spent most of his time in the Middle East and came to have a passion for his work there that rivaled the comfort of family, friends, and the cushy lifestyle of Americans in the United States.

Although I might have included a spoiler warning, the fact that Ames died in service to his country is made evident in the first pages of the book. He was tragically killed prematurely during the civil war in Lebanon which saw one of the first acts of terrorism against the United States abroad: the bombing of the United States Embassy in Beirut.

Ames would never see the historic handshake between Israeli Prime Minister Iztak Rabin and Yasser Arafat that occurred on the lawn of the White House during President Clinton's time as President of the United States: many attribute Ames as a key figure in this moment.

As a Christian observing this story, it is important to keep in mind the "ache" that Ames felt for people who lived differently then he did. Colossians 3:12a tells us: "Put on therefore, as God's elect, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion.." The Jews would have interpreted the word "heart" as "stomach." In their culture, empathy came from the stomach, much like when you are nervous you get "butterflies" in your stomach. When we see a people group that has been put in a place that is so tragic, such as the Palestinians that were displaced when Israel became a nation, it is easy for us to cast them in a very negative light as terrorists and radicals. This presupposition did not stop Ames from loving them and yearning to be a part of their culture. While Ames was a Roman Catholic, he demonstrated compassion for his fellow man instead of gross overestimations of their situation.