5 comments about Into The Storm: A Study in Command (Commander's).

1. I found this book interesting and entertaining at the same time. I just don't know the level of understanding that can be reached by any reader who is not familiar with the subjec. Most of the acronyms are not explained, and the different levels of the chain of command are not depicted with the proper clarity. Both the above issues are not critical for those familiar with warfare and doctrine, but could be a problem for casual readers.



2. Good read. Also gave me a better understanding of Desert Storm and made a talk by Genereal Franks more enjoyable.



3. I like Tom Clancy, really; but this book was so boring that I found myself constantly falling asleep while trying to read it. It's a good and informative story, but seriously needs an editor.
   
   This is the problem with Clancy's non-fiction work, in my opinion. Much too wordy, and not edited enough to seem as engaging as his original fiction. We've seen better books written in military and war time situations, but Clancy constantly gets sidetracked by the 'essay' approach to non-fiction.



4. First of all, you should know that the parts of this book written by Gen. Franks are not literary masterpieces. But then again Franks is not an author, he's a soldier.
   
   However, if you want to learn about the no BS day by day actions of VII Corps during the 4 day ground war... this is the book for you. I was a young Sergeant in 3rd Armored Division during Desert Storm and this book really brings back the images of the war better than any other book on the subject I've read (including "Crusade" and "It doesn't take a hero").
   
   The General has painstakingly written most of the essential information that one must read in order to know what happened during the infamous "Hail Mary" (as Schwarzkopf likes to refer to it) from the point of view of the soldiers of VII corps.
   
   Gen. Franks is a gentleman soldier who, above all else, is a consummate professional. You won't get the theatrics that were included in Schwarzkopf's book... all you get is the down and dirty facts of what VII Corps went through.
   
   Apart from the info regarding Desert Storm, I also enjoyed the background information on Gen. Franks, his service in Vietnam and how he overcame a potential career killer (losing half of his leg to a grenade) and became a Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army (and a 4-Star before he retired).
   
   However, memoirs like this aren't really written for the public. Rather, their written for students of the event so they can learn from the past. And, for that, this book deserves a spot on any military enthusiasts book shelf.
   
   Oh, and Tom Clancy did a good job too!



5. The book is very dense and poorly written. I expected a clearer narrative from Clancy. The book is repetitive and could be much tighter. Franks complains about being criticized for the tempo of his forces during the war. While he may have been wrongly criticized, it seems to be eating him up and the book reads like a 700 page justification of his decisions. I think it really detracts from what could have been an expert level description of the ground war. I appreciate that Franks is describing the war from his perspective, but I would have preferred less of his emotions and more matter of fact information about how the war progressed and the battles fought. He uses much more ink describing how the criticism of him was incorrect than he does describing his corps elimination of the Iraqi divisions.

5 comments about Mussolini.

1. It should not be surprising that how people think today is shaped largely by the media and influenced by a need to conform to the majority. Americans, in particular, get most of their information of their world from TV and do not read books or feel the need to examine issues of concern in depth. Americans, although characterized as individualists, have a strong need to be a part of the majority and not of the kooky far-out fringe. It is the popular media and the need to be within the mainstream that has shaped the American's perception of history. Have a typical American describe "Benito Mussolini" and the result is a caricature. Jasper Ridley's "Mussolini" describes an "Il Duce" who is definitely more than a cartoon. Ridley describes Mussolini's path from committed socialist revolutionary to leader of Fascist Italy. Mussolini's work ethic and firm sense of nationalism is detailed. One interesting fact is that Mussolini never really admired the Germans or National Socialism and Hitler in particular. However, he eventually co-operates with Hitler to further Italy's security. After reading this book, one gets the impression that the oft parroted Allied fantasy that the Axis powers were committed in taking over the entire world is exactly that. Rather than a unanimous vanguard, the Tripartate Alliance was merely a marriage of convenience. Indeed, one can see the same kind of propaganda being generated by American neo-cons, with such nonsense as the "axis of evil."
   
   The book also details events throughout the world during Mussolini's time which impacted his decisions relating to the state. In particular, the entire world was not interested in another European war. Rather than follow obey the will of the people, the governments then, and now, followed the agenda of the elites and plunged the world into senseless slaughter. As with Italy of the past, true American patriots are those that place the interests of America, and not those of other tribes, first.



2. It should not be surprising that how people think today is shaped largely by the media and influenced by a need to conform to the majority. Americans, in particular, get most of their information of their world from TV and do not read books or feel the need to examine issues of concern in depth. Americans, although characterized as individualists, have a strong need to be a part of the majority and not of the kooky far-out fringe. It is the popular media and the need to be within the mainstream that has shaped the American's perception of history. Have a typical American describe "Benito Mussolini" and the result is a caricature. Jasper Ridley's "Mussolini" describes an "Il Duce" who is definitely more than a cartoon. Ridley describes Mussolini's path from committed socialist revolutionary to leader of Fascist Italy. Mussolini's work ethic and firm sense of nationalism is detailed. One interesting fact is that Mussolini never really admired the Germans or National Socialism and Hitler in particular. However, he eventually co-operates with Hitler to further Italy's security. After reading this book, one gets the impression that the oft parroted Allied fantasy that the Axis powers were committed in taking over the entire world is exactly that. Rather than a unanimous vanguard, the Tripartate Alliance was merely a marriage of convenience. Indeed, one can see the same kind of propaganda being generated by American neo-cons, with such nonsense as the "axis of evil."
   
   The book also details events throughout the world during Mussolini's time which impacted his decisions relating to the state. In particular, the entire world was not interested in another European war. Rather than follow obey the will of the people, the governments then, and now, followed the agenda of the elites and plunged the world into senseless slaughter. As with Italy of the past, true American patriots are those that place the interests of America, and not those of other tribes, first.



3. This is not a comprehensive biography of Mussolini the man and politician. More a fragmentary story of the life of M. The process of ascension to power, the conversion of the socialist into the fascist, and the politics of the first ten years of consolidation are not really explored in their depth, as is now expected from a Duce's biography.
   Moreover there are considerable gaps in the treatment of the pre-war years and the foundation of the Empire. Also, there are many subjective statements and personal appraisals of the author that do not correspond with the objective view of the modern historians about Mussolini. For instance, his position regarding the jewish question and the racial laws, is not objectively assessed, in its historical context. Also, Salo's period and Mussolini's uncomfortable relationship with the germans are not satisfactorily analyzed. For a more balanced and comprehensive one volume approach I would recommend professor Richard Bosworth's Biography of Mussolini. For truly in depth study, Renzo De Felice's books remain unsurpassed.



4. Jasper Ridley offers the reader a facile biography of the Italian dictator. Though Benito Mussolini's youth and early adulthood as a radical intellectual are adequately explained, the analysis of Mussolini's rise is shallow. An internationalist socialist until just before World War One, he becomes an Italian nationalist with almost little explanation of why he changed other than his serving briefly as a draftee in the pre-1914 Italian Army. Surely, there is more to explain Mussolini's turnabout. The analysis of post-war Italy and it's ungovernability and social breakdown is weak. Was Italian democractic tradition inch-deep, ready to be exploited by an authoritarian? The Fascist economic system is barely mentioned. Mussolini's thoughts on Hitler's big gamble of sending troops to the demilitarized Rhineland in 1935 are not explained. How did Mussolini come to be the weaker of the two European right-wing authoritarians and did he acknowledge that Hitler dominated the political alliance between the two men? Why did the Italian army have problems defeating the primitive Ethiopian army in 1935-36? Or why did the small, woefully armed Greek army defeat the Italian army and chase it across the Albanian frontier? Why was Italy not ready for World War Two? This biography lacks analysis. More muscle is needed to fill out the man who was Benito Mussolini.



5. Jasper Ridley's biography of Mussolini does a good job of retelling the life of this ambitious but fatally flawed leader. Mussolini was no Hitler. Even had he desired it, he could never have established totalitarianism in Italy as the temperment of the Italian people simply would not have allowed it. Instead he was sort of like the neighborhood bully elevated to power. Threatening yes, but not truly evil. Had World War Two not happened, his fate probably would have been more similar to Spain's Franco, whose regime died of natural causes with him. The most interesting aspect of Mussolini's life was his transistion from socialism to fascism, but even this can be viewed as opportunism from a man with no real political convictions other than obtaining and maintaining power. Overall, this is a good introdution to the man who in the end got what he deserved from his own people.

No comments about Ty Cobb.

1 comments about Ronald Reagan: A Tribute.

1. Loved this touching portrait of a great American and wonderful human being. Giuliano does a great job in writing, editing, and narratoring this audio. I hope this series continues forever!

No comments about Land's Edge.

5 comments about VISIONSEEKER: Shared Wisdom from the Place of Refuge.

1. Visionseeker is the final of three books. The first two being "Spiritwalker," then "Medicinmaker."
   
   In Visionseeker, Hank Wesselman continues to beautifully illustrate his extraordinary visionary experiences with using a writing style which is easy to follow and often peppered with humor. The concepts presented in the book -- such as out-of-body consciousness and shamanism's healing methods, etc. -- are thoroughly investigated and explained to the best of the author's ability, with the Western, scientifically-oriented perspective in mind. Hank's "inner scientist," stemming from his previous education in the Anthropological field, compels him to come up with rational and logical reasons as to how and why these extraordinary experiences are taking place. Using scientific reasoning and traditional Hawai'ian beliefs, he is able to explain (was able to explain to me, at least) what would normally be unexplainable.
   
   The content of the entire trilogy generally includes: 1) his first encounters and reactions to his initial out-of-the-ordinary experiences, 2) his understanding and explanation of these experiences through a scientific and traditional Hawai'ian Kahuna's perspective, 3) an extraordinary account of his repeated "journeys" to a possible future Earth, seeing it through another man's eyes, and 4) several undeniably relevant and important proposals which connect his experiences to our present time and global situation.
   
   I appreciated Hank's openmindedness and sincerity when he approached his difficult-to-explain/understand experiences. Both his experiences and perspective inspired me to look at my life and future in a new way. The Spiritwalker trilogy has made a significant difference in my life. I highly recommend all three books.



2. Hank has been there, done that. He allows you to join his ecstacy as he receives vital information for humankind's growth and survival. Don't miss it.



3. "Visionseeker" is the third book in a series concerning the author's amazing, beautiful, and insightful connection with his future ancestor (Nainoa), as well as his awesome journeys into various transcendent experiences. In this book he continues to share a great amount of "ancient wisdom" that is helpful for us to learn/remember today.
   
   Hank Wesselman's writing style is such that he is able to pull the reader into his experiences - so much so that there were times when I could actually see/feel/hear/sense that which he was describing. In this way, Mr. Wesselman takes the reader on a journey as well - an awesome & powerful journey to be sure!
   
   Overall, I would highly recommend "Visionseeker" to anyone interested in spirituality in general, &/or shaminism in particular. This book has much to offer!



4. All other considerations aside, Visionseeker--like Spiritwalker and Medicinemaker--is a good story. By the way, if you haven't read any yet--READ THEM IN ORDER! It's interesting to consider what a possible future might look like. I like to hear about Wesselman's shamanic/visionary encounters and lessons with Nainoa. Unlike some other reviewers, I didn't read this with a particular agenda and specific questions I needed to have answered. If a pressing question came up, I think I'd just write to Dr. Wesselman and ask. I read on to book three because I enjoyed the other two and find the "characters" to be multi-dimensional, aware and very human. Their consciousness is expanding with each visit. Some of their epiphanies help to clarify my own thinking--things I've been turning over in my own mind. The author has a gift for articulating hard-to-define concepts, particularly regarding the nature of the soul. I have a stake now in knowing what happens to these characters, and how they continue to learn and make sense of their uncommon relationship.

   Wesselman is not painting of picture of 21st century life, culture and morality when he visits Nainoa. It's a foreign point of view in most respects. Nor do I think the author is omniscient when it comes to life in that time and place. He is learning as he goes and gathering information and understanding. Readers have to be aware of these things. Personally, I read the books with a curiosity about the possibility of a spiritual connection across time. If you believe in the possibility of reincarnation, his narrative is intriguing. What if he and Nainoa share a portion of an enduring soul? I don't think he is asking us to believe what he is saying beyond a shadow of a doubt; we didn't experience what he did, so how can we? But I respect his experience/his beliefs about them--and I think they contain something of value for us.

   One of the things I liked best about this particular text was that he goes into specifics about his shamanic practices. As he begins to develop some control over his visionary states, he is also able to share the knowledge he's gained more clearly. He discusses the energy/levels of soul and seems to be honing in on what connects him and his ancestor in these visionary states. I haven't had a conscious experience quite like his, but I've had enough powerful visions in dreaming and other moments to give me an open mind about it.

   With regard to the sexuality that a few have taken issue with...if it's part of the overall experience and story, why should it be filtered out? Some might think it's overdone--I hear similar complaints about Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear series--but sexuality and intimate partnerships are part of life. I found them to be tastefully and lovingly captured, though a few could make you blush.... For some who follow a more mystical path, I have heard that you CAN launch some journeying via sexual buildup and release. I can't confirm or deny it myself, though I have spoken to people who claim it happens and I've read about it more than once. You might think it's new age mumbo jumbo--that's your prerogative, but as far as I'm concerned Mr. Wesselman is the author and he gets to choose what goes in and what he feels is important or worthwhile to share. Seems rather courageous to me to lay bare the details of one's life so openly. It's also inspiring to read about couples who love and respect each other with passion and tenderness, though it might not always be comfortable to read coming from our cultural framework.

   At any rate, author/mythologist Joseph Campbell cautions that when the hero comes back after his transformational journey with gifts for his/her community, a lot of times those gifts turn to ashes in his hands, because the the community is often not ready/able to understand and receive those gifts--yet.

   Keep the stories coming, Dr. Wesselman! We'll embrace whatever gifts we are ready for.




5. Title: Very disappointed

   ...

   I hoped the books would shed light, from Dr. Hank's perspective as well as from his descendant Nainoa's perspective(supposedly 5000 years in the future), on how human society got to where it is in Nainoa's time. Specifically, I wanted to know:
   (1) How is Dr. Hank sure it's the year 7000 AD (or so)? Does Nainoa have some kind of written history? If so, why wasn't it shared with the reader?
   (2) What happened to Earth (and when) that turned California into an equatorial tropical jungle, complete with tropical animals? Obviously some kind of pole shift/planetary displacement.
   (3) What is happening in the rest of the world at 7000 AD? The California coastline is now an Hawaiian chiefdom (apparently deserted before they arrived in canoes) and the Nevada area is now sparsely populated by hunter-gatherer type tribes (the Ennu) of unknown descent, possibly Eskimo and/or French-Canadian. What about the rest of the world? And what happened to wipe out most of the population (assuming the rest of the Earth is as sparsely populated as these areas)?

   Dr. Hank rants and raves about global warming and overpopulation leading to civilization's downfall ... but then he turns around and says that humans are reaching a critical mass of spiritual enlightenment (just look at all the shaman training centers, like his, after all), hinting that everything will be all right if we all just become enlightened like him. So, what happened then? It can't be both ways, can it? Or maybe there was something else that took the earth down (when?) ... a nuclear war, an asteroid hit, a near-miss by Planet X/Niburu?

   I was also hoping that Dr. Hank, being the anthropologist he is and working where he is (African Rift Valley, the apparent "birthplace of intelligent humans"), with or without Nainoa, might shed some light on prehistoric human life. No such luck. All we get are brief glimpses into the far past ... a hairy arm at one point and some pre-human-type primates sleeping in a tree at another.

   Then there were the parts of the books that just plain annoyed me:

   Nainoa had married a woman in the Ennu tribe, then he travels back to his Hawaiian-culture land and marries another woman (and even thinks about someday marrying a third) ... I guess there isn't any commitments, faithfulness, or jealousy in the future. Polygamy and promiscuous sex is the natural deal ... after all, we are in "repopulate-the-earth-mode."

   Dr. Hank, in all three books, includes many, many (many) sexual encounters, between him and wife Jill, as well as between Nainoa and his wives, in extensive, too-intimate, minute descriptive detail. What's the point? Titillate the reader some? Sell books? This isn't a steamy romance novel, is it? So what if you have a hot, randy sex life ... so what if the glories of your orgasms often lead to trance experiences ... it felt like exhibitionism and bragging. It disturbed me and I didn't think it was necessary to the subject matter of the books.

   In summary, if Dr. Hank indeed has the powers he has, I wish he would tackle some of the important questions I have (above) for the benefit of all mankind, instead of just using his shamanic visions to eavesdrop on a man in the future, to create his own private paradise (secret garden), and to fly into the Source and poke the eye of God, living to tell about it. It felt like an advertisement: Look at all the cool stuff I can do and you can do it too ... just sign up for my next "Be a Shaman" class.

No comments about John F. Kennedy: A Personal Story (Biography Audiobooks).

5 comments about Every Mother Is a Daughter: The Neverending Quest for Success, Inner Peace, and a Really Clean Kitchen (Library Edition).

1. Beautifully written, beautifully read, I thoroughly enjoyed this book which I actually listened to but then bought the book for my mom to enjoy which, in time, I'll borrow back and re-gift to my daughters. Dr Klass and I are both pediatricians, both of our dear fathers have died and we are both the eldest daughters of smart, literate mothers. We somehow did not get the genetic code for applying make-up, but I do like to knit and children literacy is close to our hearts!



2. It's a beautiful book. I love the format - daughter writes a section, mother replies, mother writes a section, daughter replies. It brings about a wonderful comedic banter that isn't at all forced. I so envy that Perri and Sheila now has this wonderful memoir to pass on. It's a quick and easy read and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys their own mother or daughter immensly.



3. This was a great book all around about motherhood, mother/daughter relationship, women at the work place/career, fatherhood, wife/husband and how society's expectations change over generations. I love how the authors (Mother and Daughter) took turns writing her perspective and seeing how the Mother's behavior/upbringing influences her daugher forever, and influences how she decides to bring up her own children. It made me think a lot about my mother and how her mother brought her up; and how all of our choices/decisions/outcomes are heavily influenced by circumstances of the time.



4. Surprisingly interesting book. Was fast reading and was enjoyed by our book club of "ladies of a certain age" and my 33 year old daughter.



5. It was such a treat to read this book! I love memoirs, but often you finish them feeling rather depressed about the state of relationships today. Here a mother and daughter who love and respect each other take turns writing about their lives together and apart. They are both authors, and so the writing is skilled, but warm and down to earth and never overblown and literary.
   
   Some moments I especially enjoyed---how both mother and daughter spoke about how they never really learned to wear make-up or have their hair done---something I often feel very alone about as I share that trait! Perri making her mother a vest---her mother's reluctance to have any fancy or labor intensive done for her, and how the buttons cost $30, which Perri said she would never tell her mother and of course could not resist telling her right away! How both mother and daughter remember their husband/father---this book is a fine tribute to him. The tale of Bingo---the dumbest and most useless dog around---one of the only dog stories I've ever read that didn't end with everyone loving the hopeless mutt!
   
   I almost missed reading this book, as the title and the cover dont't really describe well what it is---a memoir. I thought it was an advice book, or a book of stories of MANY mothers and daughters, not a specific pair. I am glad I read it anyway, based on my enjoyment of previous Klass books. It is a heartwarming book in the most true, non-sentimental way.

No comments about Jacques Villeneuve (Grand Prix Heroes).

3 comments about Goodbye Soldier.

1. Originally Spike Milligan intended his war memoirs to be a trilogy, but they eventually stretched to six volumes. This one is less funny than the earlier volumes (monty, His Part in my Victory is the funniest), but still has plenty of humour. Spike is travelling round Italy with a concert party and meets the exquisite Maria Antoinetta Fontana (Toni) and falls madly in love. Most of the book is about their romance, culminating in a magical holiday on Capri. Their romance is so hot I find myself wishing when I read it that they had got married, but they didn't. Maybe it was better like that, I doubt if Spike was an easy man to live with, and probably Toni would not have much cared for postwar England, how drab it would have seemed after Italy. He sent her flowers every year for the rest of his life, probably it was just as well they left it like that, a perfect italian romance.



2. His absolutely last (for the time being) war diary. Mostly concerns his relationship with Toni, an Italian ballerina, whom he met whilst a member of a travelling show in Europe. What happens to the relationship after he returns to England? We don't get told in this (last) war diary. A sad/happy/funny/touching account of part of Spike's life in 1946



3. This is another episode in Spike Milligan's wonderfully sad, poignant and hilarious series of war diaries. It's impossible to read any of these books (Hitler/Rommel/Mussolini/etc) without laughing out loud. And yet they are also the most honest, forthright and real war diaries I have ever read. In Goodbye Soldier, Spike is finally discharged and has to sort out what he is going to do with his life after six years in the army. It's a bumpy road, full of disappointments and setbacks, but it ends with the formation of the Goons with Peter Sellars, Harry Secombe and Michael Bentine. More please,Spike!