Its History, Its People and Culture, and its Designs for the Future In his most prophetic and frightening statement in his book, On China, Kissinger cites Immanuel Kant’s argument that perpetual peace will come to the world in one of two ways: “by human insight or by catastrophes of a magnitude that leave us no other choice.” And, he says, we are at that juncture. Those … Continue reading Ten on a Topic: China
It may be D-Day and the Normandy invasion all over again. If you don’t believe me, take a glance at the number of books about World War II swarming bookshelves this year. I’ve given up trying to find an accurate count. Goodreads identified 61 newly released WWII novels at midyear, compared with 100 last year at this time. While Amazon had no trouble finding 100 … Continue reading WWII Historical Fiction: The Enduring Interest
PTSD in History in Literature and in All of Us In the wake of the United States military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, mainstream and social media were all consumed with the news. A suicide bombing that resulted in the deaths of thirteen of our soldiers and marines. Reports of our abandonment of citizens and allies. Images of terrorists celebrating America’s defeat. The result, reportedly, for untold … Continue reading A Casualty of the Spirit
Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore and journalist Joe Galloway, who once accompanied Moore into the field, wrote the acclaimed book We Were Soldiers Once … and Young about a battle in the Ia Drang Valley of Vietnam. The book, published in 1992, was a New York Times Bestseller. We don’t often think of our military leaders as writers outside the very narrow realm of treatises on war … Continue reading “We Were Soldiers” and Wielded Pens
Whether you have a family member or friend who served in World War II or even if you just enjoy reading the exploits of those who served, you’ve likely tripped over a repository of veterans stories in your travels across the internet. The different websites housing the stories have different goals … perhaps the best known is the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project which … Continue reading Progress on WWII Remembrances
Can you name a film from the 1940s or 1950s where the actors did not smoke, sometimes throughout the movie? Probably not. Besides giving characters something to do with their hands, Hollywood considered smoking to be sophisticated and sexy. Thankfully, today, with greater awareness of the hazards of smoking, and noble efforts by the American Cancer Society, we see much less tapping of cigarette packs, … Continue reading Cigarettes in War and Peace
Memorial Day is often thought of as the beginning of summer, although the official start is still three weeks away. And this weekend, after the long months of pandemic-induced isolation, many Americans will gather the kids and head to the beach or the mountains with bicycles strapped to the bumper and the trunk full of beach blankets. With amusement parks and barbecue bake offs calling, … Continue reading Memorial Day x 3 in Georgia
What we know to be true about UFOs and Norden Bombsights In January 2021, the CIA released a trove of previously “secret” documents on unidentified flying objects. And then, as CIA representatives pushed their chairs back from the table, they claimed to have disclosed everything they have. But after looking at the videos about Unidentified Aerial Phenomena, most of us would say, “nothing to see … Continue reading Precision Research: UFOs and Bombsights
Research is at once the bane of my existence (so much information and so little time) and a passion that I pursue day in and day out. It is also a necessary endeavor for those who write about history. I am one of those writers, and it is all I can do to tear myself away from following another scatter of breadcrumbs or a tiny … Continue reading Searching for Patsy
Aaron, Hubert Charles Titus is the first name listed on the memorial at Pearl Harbor. Zwarun, Jr, Michael. is the last. Two very different men, as no doubt all 1,177 who perished aboard the USS Arizona on December 7, 1941 were. Yet they shared something in common then, both were young, twenty-somethings, both had chosen to join the navy, both were seamen, both perished. And they share … Continue reading Pearl Harbor: A to Z
