What Are You Reading Right Now?

[Rogue Valley]

The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together

By Heather McGhee - One World - 2021 - 448pp

One of today’s most insightful and influential thinkers offers a powerful exploration of inequality and the lesson that generations of Americans have failed to learn: Racism has a cost for everyone—not just for people of color.

 

[CimpleMan]

As a company we're reading Mindset: A New Psychology of Success. By Carol S Dweck

It's compare and contrast of a Growth vs Fixed Mindset with examples of real life people, some very notable. Not a bad read overall, and like the contrasts of famous athletes and coaches.

The books we've read have run the gamut from being interesting to boring and from the perspective of management and true self improvement type.

 

[ChezC3]

 

[Ringo Stalin]

"A Fresh Start"

Aladdin's Lamp sends me back to my teenage years. Will I make the same mistakes, or new ones, and can I reclaim my life?

A Fresh Start - rlfj :: Режим чтения

royallib.com

 

[Rogue Valley]

Flush Times and Fever Dreams: A Story of Capitalism and Slavery in the Age of Jackson

By Joshua D. Rothman - University of Georgia Press - 2012 - 440pp.

The Ledger and the Chain: How Domestic Slave Traders Shaped America

By Joshua D. Rothman - Basic Books - 2021 - 512pp.


Two excellent books by Professor Joshua D. Rothman, Chair of the Department of History at the University of Alabama.

 

[jmotivator]

We Were Soldiers once, and Young is an book by retired Lt. General Harold Moore, and war correspondent Joseph Galloway detailing the first two major compat encounters of US troops during the Vietnam war.

The first encounter of book details the first engagement of the war, and the test case for the Air Cavalry strategy developed for the war in Vietnam. The first major battle of the Vietnam war for the Americans was to establish what amounted to a beachhead deep in Vietcong Territory. The strategy was to drop advance forces into a defensible position, establish a perimeter, and a landing zone to begin flooding the region with troops, delivered by rotating flights of helicopters. LZ X-Ray would be the first Air Cavalry deployment, and lead to a 3 day firefight that would result in 200 American dead and wounded and upwards of 2000 Vietcong dead.

This encounter was used as the basis for the film We Were Soldiers. That film can be credited with mostly staying true to the first hand accounts with minimal Holywoodization... save for the climax of the film which was simply absurd. But I'll avoid that conversation mostly. The treatment of the book was better, for instance, than what the miniseries The Pacific did for the book Helmet for My Pillow...

The second half of the book details the disastrous engagement a few days later as the relief battalion at LZ X-Ray attempted to march on the next designated LZ Albany. The choice to forgo helicopter deployment, that had been proven effective in LZ X-Ray is a mystery that the book asks, but can't answer. On the march to LZ Albany the US battalion was ambushed with the Vietcong inflicting more than twice the casualties on the US troops in a matter of hours.

The one thing that was interesting about the recount from soldiers who were there is it becomes apparent that the Vietcong actually made huge blunders that they probably were ill equipped to even conclude on their own due to the large chasm between US and Vietcong leadership with regard to life and the judicious use of your soldiers.

LZ X-Ray was a success for the US troops because of the abysmal waste of Vietcong troops by their leadership. The Communists had learned little over the many years, and still believed that a glorious charge into entrenched machineguns was a viable strategy. When the battle was over there were machinegun emplacements surrounded by stacks of Vietcong in a perfect semi circle.

Conversely, at LZ Albany, the Vietcong major miscalculation, in my view, was in their method of dealing with enemy wounded and captured. Within hours of the engagement, the remnants of the forward platoons were in retreat because the Vietcong and US troops were too intermingled. But as the Vietcong overran the US positions the retreating soldiers saw the Vietcong wandering the battlefield, executing wounded US soldiers. At that point, all forward deployed US troops were safely considered dead, freeing up the US artillery and air support to bombard the Vietcong positions.

Had the Vietcong taken prisoners and tended to the enemy wounded, that air and artillery support would not have been called.

Very interesting book. A great source to contrast Helmet for my Pillow.

 

[NewfieMom]

Flush Times and Fever Dreams: A Story of Capitalism and Slavery in the Age of Jackson

By Joshua D. Rothman - University of Georgia Press - 2012 - 440pp.

The Ledger and the Chain: How Domestic Slave Traders Shaped America

By Joshua D. Rothman - Basic Books - 2021 - 512pp.


Two excellent books by Professor Joshua D. Rothman, Chair of the Department of History at the University of Alabama.

Is there anything that got you interested in this author or this topic right now, Rogue Valley? Sometimes something in the news or in my life gets me interested in a topic I once pursued or a new topic. Just wondering. I do not know the author, but I read a bit about the Atlantic slave trade decades ago so I wouldn't mind hearing about the theses of these books if you ever wanted to share here.

 

[Ringo Stalin]

The Time Ships - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

A canonical sequel to the 1895 novella The Time Machine by H. G. Wells, it was officially authorised by the Wells estate to mark the centenary of the original's publication.
Good one!

 

[NewfieMom]

I am reading a James Patterson novel, 4th of July, from his "Women's Murder Club" series. I came to James Patterson, one of the world's bestselling writers, very late in life. I read a lot of escape novels, but I generally pick them for certain quaIities that appeal to me. I got started reading Patterson when I read a book he co-authored with Bill Clinton, The President is Missing. I have been reading his books just when I am not in the mood for a challenge since then.

 

[PoS]

View attachment 67329949

We Were Soldiers once, and Young is an book by retired Lt. General Harold Moore, and war correspondent Joseph Galloway detailing the first two major compat encounters of US troops during the Vietnam war.

The first encounter of book details the first engagement of the war, and the test case for the Air Cavalry strategy developed for the war in Vietnam. The first major battle of the Vietnam war for the Americans was to establish what amounted to a beachhead deep in Vietcong Territory. The strategy was to drop advance forces into a defensible position, establish a perimeter, and a landing zone to begin flooding the region with troops, delivered by rotating flights of helicopters. LZ X-Ray would be the first Air Cavalry deployment, and lead to a 3 day firefight that would result in 200 American dead and wounded and upwards of 2000 Vietcong dead.

This encounter was used as the basis for the film We Were Soldiers. That film can be credited with mostly staying true to the first hand accounts with minimal Holywoodization... save for the climax of the film which was simply absurd. But I'll avoid that conversation mostly. The treatment of the book was better, for instance, than what the miniseries The Pacific did for the book Helmet for My Pillow...

The second half of the book details the disastrous engagement a few days later as the relief battalion at LZ X-Ray attempted to march on the next designated LZ Albany. The choice to forgo helicopter deployment, that had been proven effective in LZ X-Ray is a mystery that the book asks, but can't answer. On the march to LZ Albany the US battalion was ambushed with the Vietcong inflicting more than twice the casualties on the US troops in a matter of hours.

The one thing that was interesting about the recount from soldiers who were there is it becomes apparent that the Vietcong actually made huge blunders that they probably were ill equipped to even conclude on their own due to the large chasm between US and Vietcong leadership with regard to life and the judicious use of your soldiers.

LZ X-Ray was a success for the US troops because of the abysmal waste of Vietcong troops by their leadership. The Communists had learned little over the many years, and still believed that a glorious charge into entrenched machineguns was a viable strategy. When the battle was over there were machinegun emplacements surrounded by stacks of Vietcong in a perfect semi circle.

Conversely, at LZ Albany, the Vietcong major miscalculation, in my view, was in their method of dealing with enemy wounded and captured. Within hours of the engagement, the remnants of the forward platoons were in retreat because the Vietcong and US troops were too intermingled. But as the Vietcong overran the US positions the retreating soldiers saw the Vietcong wandering the battlefield, executing wounded US soldiers. At that point, all forward deployed US troops were safely considered dead, freeing up the US artillery and air support to bombard the Vietcong positions.

Had the Vietcong taken prisoners and tended to the enemy wounded, that air and artillery support would not have been called.

Very interesting book. A great source to contrast Helmet for my Pillow.

I read that book years ago, and came up with a different conclusion. After visiting the war museum in Saigon, an entry there said the Vietnamese learned how to fight Americans effectively by engaging at point-blank range in order to nullify US airpower. Moore's unit wasnt facing NLF, but rather NVA regular troops, and the only reason why the US troops werent annihilated was due to airpower.

In the end, that battle was a microcosm of the entire war, since the Vietnamese reoccupied it after the US troops left, thereby giving them the win.

 

[jmotivator]

I read that book years ago, and came up with a different conclusion. After visiting the war museum in Saigon, an entry there said the Vietnamese learned how to fight Americans effectively by engaging at point-blank range in order to nullify US airpower. Moore's unit wasnt facing NLF, but rather NVA regular troops, and the only reason why the US troops werent annihilated was due to airpower.

In the end, that battle was a microcosm of the entire war, since the Vietnamese reoccupied it after the US troops left, thereby giving them the win.

Maybe I didn't explain it well since I agree with you.

My point was that early on in the fight near LZ Albany the American forces withheld air strikes and artillery because the NVA and American troops were occupying the same ground.

When it became clear that the NVA were executing the American wounded, the intermingled American troops who were left behind, severly wounded, were assumed dead, which cleared the air support and artillery to begin pounding the NVA positions.

Had the NVA been seen to be taking US soldiers captive, they would have stymied the American response since it would have kept the artillery and air support on the sideline.

 

[RetiredUSN]

I'm back on a Steinbeck Kick.

Cannery Row.

 

[PoS]

Maybe I didn't explain it well since I agree with you.

My point was that early on in the fight near LZ Albany the American forces withheld air strikes and artillery because the NVA and American troops were occupying the same ground.

When it became clear that the NVA were executing the American wounded, the intermingled American troops who were left behind, severly wounded, were assumed dead, which cleared the air support and artillery to begin pounding the NVA positions.

Had the NVA been seen to be taking US soldiers captive, they would have stymied the American response since it would have kept the artillery and air support on the sideline.

According to the after action reports, America ended up killing some of their own when the airstrikes hit, so its not exactly something to be proud of, imo.

 

[Rogue Valley]

Is there anything that got you interested in this author or this topic right now, Rogue Valley? Sometimes something in the news or in my life gets me interested in a topic I once pursued or a new topic. Just wondering. I do not know the author, but I read a bit about the Atlantic slave trade decades ago so I wouldn't mind hearing about the theses of these books if you ever wanted to share here.

The ongoing battle to rename 10 US Army bases named after Confederate generals originally kindled my interest. Most of these CSA generals were also slave owners/traders.

The systemic racism in America today stems from the high reluctance of white America to fully come to terms with slavery in this country.

 

[Rogue Valley]

From Fascism to Populism in History

by Federico Finchelstein - University of California Press - 2019 - 371pp

"Is Trump fascist? A proto-fascist? Fascist-curious? In his thoughtful book, From Fascism to Populism in History, New School historian Federico Finchelstein concedes that Trump’s campaign 'had clear fascist and racist undertones,' and he cites the 'fascist pedigree' of Trump’s 'America first' slogan." ― The Washington Post

---

A Brief History of Fascist Lies

by Federico Finchelstein - University of California Press - 2020 - 152pp

The companion piece to the above.

 

[jmotivator]

According to the after action reports, America ended up killing some of their own when the airstrikes hit, so its not exactly something to be proud of, imo.

The Americans on the front line at LZ X-Ray and LZ Albany, as well as South Vietnamese forces, were calling down artillery on their own locations to clear out NVA troops. The calculated risk was that the American positions were dug in, most of the time, while the advancing NVA were not. But in those cases, the air support and the artillery relied of radio confirmation from those companies to authorize drops on their positions. In the early fighting in LZ Albany the ambushed American forces lost their radios and radio operators so the air and artillery support was withheld.

It was only when soldiers began to pull back into the perimeter, after narrowly escaping the NVA execution squads, and the casualty reports began to reveal exactly how grim the encounter was, that the consensus was that the soldiers in those forward positions were presumed dead, and the artillery and air support started.

In the retelling of the engagements in this book those soldiers who came under artillery fire were, for the most part, accepting of the risk, and in some cases with LZ Albany, credited those strikes with saving their lives.

None of this is meant to cheer the actions in question, but just to point out that the brutality of the NVA was their own undoing in those engagements.

 

[PoS]

The Americans on the front line at LZ X-Ray and LZ Albany, as well as South Vietnamese forces, were calling down artillery on their own locations to clear out NVA troops. The calculated risk was that the American positions were dug in, most of the time, while the advancing NVA were not. But in those cases, the air support and the artillery relied of radio confirmation from those companies to authorize drops on their positions. In the early fighting in LZ Albany the ambushed American forces lost their radios and radio operators so the air and artillery support was withheld.

It was only when soldiers began to pull back into the perimeter, after narrowly escaping the NVA execution squads, and the casualty reports began to reveal exactly how grim the encounter was, that the consensus was that the soldiers in those forward positions were presumed dead, and the artillery and air support started.

In the retelling of the engagements in this book those soldiers who came under artillery fire were, for the most part, accepting of the risk, and in some cases with LZ Albany, credited those strikes with saving their lives.

None of this is meant to cheer the actions in question, but just to point out that the brutality of the NVA was their own undoing in those engagements.

The North Vietnamese were conditioned for war, and brutality and sacrifice was in their psyche at that time. The French occupation was very harsh, and created a fanatical leadership in their Politburo- they ousted Ho Chi Minh (who wanted to fight a low intensity guerilla war with the US) and pushed for a massive escalation. Those were the times they lived in.

 

[NewfieMom]

I just finished Dark Sky by C.J.Box, who is one of my favorite authors. It is the latest in a series about a game warden in Wyoming, Joe Pickett. His protagonist is really upstanding and a family man, although his daughters have aged, as he has, as the series has continued. The books are highly atmospheric and have an interesting plot which involves adventure combined with really good writing. I was grateful to take a break from James Patterson and get some fresh air. I can usually endure the hunting cenes, but sometimes someone abuses an animal in an unusual way and the reading gets tough for me. I'm a major animal lover.

 

[jmotivator]

The North Vietnamese were conditioned for war, and brutality and sacrifice was in their psyche at that time. The French occupation was very harsh, and created a fanatical leadership in their Politburo- they ousted Ho Chi Minh (who wanted to fight a low intensity guerilla war with the US) and pushed for a massive escalation. Those were the times they lived in.

Yes, my point being that in the fight for LZ X-Ray and LZ Albany, their brutality worked against them.

There is no doubt of the brutality of the NVA, it seems to be part and parcel with Communist armies. The NVA were responsible for great and small atrocities all across Vietnam, but unlike the American forces, they weren't put on trial or demonized, they were rewarded. Violent subjugation was the norm, the same as it was in the the Soviet Union, Cuba, China, Cambodia...

A quick side story: I was a social worker in the 90s, and in the first half of the 90s I was supporting refugee intake. In that time, following the fall of the Soviet Union, there was also an opening of Vietnam to the west, and the Washington DC area had a sizeable Vietnamese population, so the feds funneled a lot of Vietnamese refugees our way. Largely the Vietnamese government's refugee program appeared to be seeking a way of offloading Vietnamese citizens they didn't value (aka. the disabled).

Two most memorable clients:

One woman was 24 years old, and she was missing both arms below the elbow. During my interview with her she told me how it had happened. She was one of many war orphans from South Vietnam, and the Vietnamese government used these children to sweep mine field to prepare them for rice patties. The girl next to her one day found a mine, lost her life, and she lost her arms. the survivors were then used as slave labor to serve in the fields, and eventually she was simply thrown in a cell for the crime of having no hands to harvest rice.

She was discovered in the cell by a Methodist ministry and brought to the US. I only knew her for a few months but she was an amazing individual.

The second case was an old man, who appeared to have severe arthritis, and a mouth full of bad teeth, and a very timid nature.

As I was handling his intake I noticed that he had listed in his application that he had attended "The Hanoi College of Psychological Warfare" from 1972 through 1996. Being the dumb kid I was at the time I assumed I had landed a war criminal, but during the interview it was clarified that he didn't so much attend the college as he was a test subject for the "College of Psychological Warfare" for 24 ****ing years.

 

[PoS]

Yes, my point being that in the fight for LZ X-Ray and LZ Albany, their brutality worked against them.

There is no doubt of the brutality of the NVA, it seems to be part and parcel with Communist armies. The NVA were responsible for great and small atrocities all across Vietnam, but unlike the American forces, they weren't put on trial or demonized, they were rewarded. Violent subjugation was the norm, the same as it was in the the Soviet Union, Cuba, China, Cambodia...

A quick side story: I was a social worker in the 90s, and in the first half of the 90s I was supporting refugee intake. In that time, following the fall of the Soviet Union, there was also an opening of Vietnam to the west, and the Washington DC area had a sizeable Vietnamese population, so the feds funneled a lot of Vietnamese refugees our way. Largely the Vietnamese government's refugee program appeared to be seeking a way of offloading Vietnamese citizens they didn't value (aka. the disabled).

Two most memorable clients:

One woman was 24 years old, and she was missing both arms below the elbow. During my interview with her she told me how it had happened. She was one of many war orphans from South Vietnam, and the Vietnamese government used these children to sweep mine field to prepare them for rice patties. The girl next to her one day found a mine, lost her life, and she lost her arms. the survivors were then used as slave labor to serve in the fields, and eventually she was simply thrown in a cell for the crime of having no hands to harvest rice.

She was discovered in the cell by a Methodist ministry and brought to the US. I only knew her for a few months but she was an amazing individual.

The second case was an old man, who appeared to have severe arthritis, and a mouth full of bad teeth, and a very timid nature.

As I was handling his intake I noticed that he had listed in his application that he had attended "The Hanoi College of Psychological Warfare" from 1972 through 1996. Being the dumb kid I was at the time I assumed I had landed a war criminal, but during the interview it was clarified that he didn't so much attend the college as he was a test subject for the "College of Psychological Warfare" for 24 ****ing years.

That's cuz many Southeners were viewed as traitors by the Vietnamese in the North. I grew up in L.A. and had a few Vietnamese classmates in school. When I visited Vietnam a few years back, most of the divisions have pretty much healed. But I gotta say, if the North were overly concerned about casualties during the war, they would not have won it- they won the war because they were willing to sacrifice everyone-they viewed it as a war of independence against a colonial power, just like their war against the French, while America viewed it as a war against communist advancement.

 

[Rogue Valley]

The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans--and How We Can Fix It

By Dorothy A. Brown - Crown - 2021 - 288pp.

A tour de force. With clarity and conviction Dorothy Brown reveals how U.S. tax policy sustains and deepens the wealth gap between black and white Americans.

 

[NewfieMom]

I have read and enjoyed all of the Joe Picket novels. Just picked up Shots Fired; Stories from Joe Pickett Country (once I finish my college paper with help of https://www.topwritersreview.com/reviews/privatewriting/ , I will start reading). These are excellent series about a game warden who can't turn his back to any type of evil or lawbreaking.

I have read all of the books in the series and love it.

 

[NewfieMom]

I like it, but The Moonstone is better IMO.

I read The Moonstone as part of an on-line book club for a diamond and jewelry forum to which I belonged.

 

[NewfieMom]

The Plot to Betray America: How Team Trump Embraced Our Enemies, Compromised Our Security, and How We Can Fix It

By Malcolm Nance - Hachette Books - 2019 - 352pp

A bit dated at 1 year old, but there are still nuggets of good useful information within these pages.

I love Malcolm Nance, whom I know only as a television commentator, and not as a writer. I'm glad to know about this book.

 

[NewfieMom]

During the pandemic I was sent a book list that was like a chain letter. I added a book I recommended and my name to the list and sent the list of names to ten friends. Then I received book recommendations from other women.

One of the books recommended to me was the very lengthy Handling Sin by Michael Malone. I loved it. It was set in North Carolina with what seemed was an almost random group of eccentric characters, but I couldn't stop reading and it was very funny as well as totally bizarre. I spoke to my husband about it and he said it sounded like A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole which he had recently read. I told him that Handling Sin had been compared with that book, but favorably, in one of the reviews I had read. A Confederacy of Dunces is set in New Orleans and is about a quirky group of people and their adventures. It, also, is very long and beautifully written. My husband and I each read the book the other had recommended and then discussed them. If you love to read and have a sense of humor, I highly recommend both books.

Has anyone else here read either or both books? I realize that A Confederacy of Dunces is a classic, and many people may have read it, but it was new (and very fresh) to me!