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Another Great Account of Marines in Battle

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 07-12-24

"Colder than Hell" by Joseph R. Owen was recommended to me by a retired Marine first sergeant, so of course I listened to it. It covers a similar story to that of "The Last Stand of Fox Company" by Bob Drury and Tom Claven, "One Bugle, No Drums" by William B. Hopkins and probably numerous portions of other books about the Korean War which cannot avoid telling the story of the Marines who fought in and around Chosin Reservoir. "Colder than Hell" is different in part because of the precise viewpoint of the author who was a mortar platoon commander who begins his story before his assignment to the mortar platoon and ends his story after the end of the battle. The author's observations about the tactical employment of company weapons and supporting fires are precise and educational (unlike some non-veteran authors who seem to avoid the technical and tactical aspects of war) but his narrative flows easily. The narrator for the Audible recording, Mr. Richard Rohan, obviously knows the material and did a great a job.

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Tenacity in The Face of Extreme Hardship

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 06-30-24

Most any American having read this book (or any number of other historical books about American warriors in combat) should never complain again about anything. "The Last Stand of Fox Company" focuses primarily on Fox Company which occupied strategic terrain allowing other units to reorient their attack southward. There were obviously other Marine and Army units involved in this battle. "One Bugle No Drums" is a pretty decent account of the broader battle fought by the Marines. The Audible reader for "The Last Stand of Fox Company" does a great job.

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Not Just About One Man

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 05-13-24

The subtitle of the book "African Kaiser" by Robert Gaudi says what the book is about (General Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck and the Great War in Africa, 1914-1918) but the book also serves as a decent overview of Germany's colonial enterprises leading up to WWI. The broad scope was disorienting at first but the narrative quickly became a satisfying account of a small part of the Great War in a the far off corner of the world couched in the proper context of history. This was obscure and controversial material handled well by the author Mr. Robert Gaudi.

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Understanding the Stuff We Call Money

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 07-18-23

I first heard Mr. Joseph Wang while listening to a podcast wherein this book was referenced. Mr. Wang has been guest on a handful of podcasts and does a great job explaining things in layman's terms. Central banking is not what the average person would think but makes sense, works and solves (and causes) a lot of problems. I rank this book alongside John Bogle's "Common Sense on Mutual Funds" in terms of readily explaining economic realities.

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America's First Major Act in Europe

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 01-29-23

Without having read any books specifically about the American campaigns in North Africa, An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa (1942-1943) was very helpful to me by filling in a gap in my literary exposure to WWII. I look forward to continuing Mr. Rick Atkinson's trilogy with The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy (1943-1944) which covers another area of WWII of which I know little. The reader, George Guidall, is very good to my ear.

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The Problem with "The Problem with Lincoln"

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
3 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 11-18-22

"The Problem with Lincoln" by Mr. Thomas J. DiLorenzo will present a view of Lincoln that is different from what many Americans have been taught (it is different from what I learned growing up). Long-standing points of debate are at the center of the book: Why was the Civil War fought and which side was in the right? Were the several states of the Confederacy fighting to keep their slaves or to defend the rights of their citizens? Were the remaining United States fighting to free the slaves, to preserve the "Union" or for something else? Mr. DiLorenzo's view is essentially (though worded more professionally and extensively) that Lincoln was a blood-soaked, power-tripping, big-government tyrant who cared not for the freeing of slaves but for the maintenance of "the Union" and his personal political power above all else and at the expense of various legal rights of the several States, the legal rights of citizens (to the extent of murder and political imprisonment), and hundreds of thousands of lives. Because of the present day situation and potential future of individual and state rights, it is probably important to consider Mr. DiLorenzo's view but not to swallow it whole. The reader may gain some wisdom for how to think about the purpose and specific responsibilities of federal and state government.

The reader Mr. John McLain is a talented reader and I believe he matched the tone of the book about as well as anyone probably could.

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Great Story, Morally Questionable Protagonist

Total
3 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
3 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 11-14-22

The reader Mr. Dick Hill has my recognition for his reading. He has done his homework and knows the story and characters well, but doesn't try too hard either...it's relaxed but engaging.

It should be noted that I read (or listen to) history books far more than novels and so my taste for the latter is admittedly not well developed, but nonetheless "The Black Echo: Harry Bosch Series, Book 1" by Mr. Michael Connelly is pretty well done. Mr. Connelly manages to tell an engaging story with characters that would be, in one real-life context or another, relatively normal people.

But nobody is perfect, and it shows (which may be precisely as the author intended).

Each character has peculiarities if not faults. Harry Bosch has faults too, and this might be OK for a novel except that not all his faults and moral shortcomings are recognized as such by the author or the narrative. His mistakes made in his capacity as a police officer get recognition in the story while his personal moral errors do not. While he does lie it is generally presented as helpful in catching a murderer etc so that tendency can almost be excused, but his relations with a female character outside of marriage (and referenced historical promiscuity) are morally unacceptable. If it weren't for his unacknowledged shortcomings then Harry Bosch might be a pretty decent fellow, but as it stands he must be taken with a grain of salt and should not be thought of as a "good guy" in some of his personal actions.

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The Hobbit

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 09-26-22

A delight. Not exactly required reading in general, but certainly the best introduction one can have to J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. The narrator, Rob Inglis, does an excellent job. Listening to this landmark recording of "The Hobbit" by J.R.R. Tolkien brings to mind memories of borrowing the treasured CDs from my Grandmother almost 20 years ago. An easy five stars.

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A (at the time) New Era of Firearm Technology

Total
4 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
4 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 07-27-22

"Gun Barons" by John Bainbridge Jr. is not among the most important history books, but Mr. Bainbridge does an excellent job of telling the engaging story of a breakthrough era of American gun making. Mainly, the book covers approximately the second half of the 1800s. Here are the stories of these new guns and of the men that invented and fought over (and with) them. This is an educational book. The narrator, Lee Goettl, is basically flawless and completely undistracting. I would read part II (covering gun making in say, 1900 to 1940) if Mr. Bainbridge would write it.

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The Fed

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 06-22-22

"Fed Up" by Danielle DiMartino Booth is to the Federal Reserve System what "Slanted" by Sharyl Attkisson is to the media; a presentation of personal experience, firsthand accounts and historical facts about a momentous system that has taken on goals and objectives--indeed, an identity--of its own to the detriment of the society that supports and feeds on it. Besides the difference of subject matter (the media vs the Federal Reserve System), an important difference between Slanted and Fed Up is that many Americans already believe their media is slanted (because they hear the lies and baseless assertions every day) but don't know anything about the central bank of the several United States. While the memoirs of Ben Bernanke, Hank Paulson and Tim Geithner (and their joint literary works) are fascinating and telling as to the generally accepted narrative of the 2008-2009 financial crisis and as to how these men lead their respective government agencies, "Fed Up" is an important counterweight to the carefully curated official views of these and other well-known top-level leaders. I highly recommend this book and (less highly) the aforementioned memoirs to anyone with a proactive interest in understanding how money works in the United States of America. There are of course many other informative books about the Federal Reserve System of the United States, including but not limited to "The Power and Independence of the Federal Reserve" by Brian Holsopple and "America's Bank" by Roger Lowenstein. The reader may be well-advised to read widely before coming to a firm opinion on what we call "the Fed".

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