Jasper Journal

With the weekend upon us, I want to share a book  review submitted by my friend Paul in Virginia.  With so many books out there, when we find one that calls to us,  it is almost magical.  Enjoy the review, and if you have a favorite book or see a good movie this weekend, let me know and we can share it with others.

Our Finest Hour

I recently read a great book, entitled Daring Young Men by Richard Reeves.  It is the story of the Berlin Airlift.  For those not familiar with this operation, in June 1948 the Soviet Union closed all rail and road traffic into Berlin.  At that time, the city was divided into four occupation zones (American, British, French, and Soviet). Because the city was located 150 miles inside Soviet-controlled Germany, the blockade basically curtailed all food, fuel, and raw material shipments into the Western-occupied zones of Berlin.  The Soviet goal was to force the Western powers to withdraw from Berlin, ceding the entire city to Soviet control.

The book tells a superb story of courage — moral, political, and physical.  The moral courage came from men like General Lucius Clay, the U.S. military governor of Berlin.  He argued that the West could resupply Berlin by air, fighting tremendous opposition and pressure from his superiors in the Pentagon.  The political courage came from President Truman.  Despite opposition from every one of his senior advisors — the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the entire Joint Chiefs of Staff —  he stood firm.   At the start of the crisis, he cut off the Under Secretary of State’s objections and simple said, “We stay in Berlin. Period.” 

The physical courage came from the American and British aircrews who flew into the besieged city.  Braving terrible conditions — fog, snow, ice, darkness, apartment buildings at the end of the runways, harassment by Soviet fighters, aging aircraft, fatigue — they delivered critical supplies to Berlin.   In the process, 32 Americans and 39 British personnel lost their lives.  No one believed that aircraft could feed, fuel, and clothe a city of two million people, but the aircrews and maintenance personnel proved them wrong.  On April 15-16, 1949, the Allies staged what they called “the Easter Parade,” a massive airlift surge into the city.  Over a 24-hour period, aircrews flew 1,383 missions into Berlin; there was an aircraft taking off or landing in the city every 31 seconds.  That remarkable performance further convinced the Soviet Union that its plan to starve the Allies out of Berlin had failed.  Three weeks later, Moscow reopened all rail and road corridors into the city.

Reeves does an excellent job interleaving personal narratives with the larger political and military context of the airlift.  The result is an eminently readable book that chronicles an heroic effort to save a besieged city and with it, the credibility of the West to confront Soviet pressure.  In many ways, it was our finest hour, captured by the inscription on the last British aircraft to fly in the city during the airlift.  On the side of the transport were written the words, “Psalm 21, Verse 11.”  That verse reads, “If they plan evil against you, if they devise mischief, they will not succeed.”

Admiral Rickover, the father of the US Nuclear Navy, was among other things tyrannical, egotistical, and eccentric.  During the course of interviews that he had with every officer in the nuclear program during his tenure, he would subject these men to the most outrageous inquisitions, and if they didnt perform to his satisfaction, they were gone. I have personally spoken to several officers who underwent this ordeal, and the stories are indeed true. One question that he would sometimes ask the candidates was what were the last five books they had read?  Their answer had to be books on nuclear, scientific or enginnering disciplines or else they would be subjected to ridicule or elimination for wasting their  time.  Once I read  this I started to keep track of the books I read each year. Those of you that know me know that my tastes are varied and that I would never have made it in Rickovers nuclear navy. Nonetheless, I truly enjoy reading and thought as this year came to an end I would suggest some of the books I have read this year for your consideration. Since this is a multi person chat, I would also ask you for any good recommendations you might have. So with that, here are the recommendations for this past year.

Science Fiction:  I read the four books in the Twilight series, and while not they are not classics, they are certainly interesting, easy reads, with enough suspense to keep one coming back.  However, the author, Stephanie Meyer, wrote another stand alone book that I thought was excellent. It was called “The Host,” and it is not vampires and werewolves. For true sci fi fans, it is a very uniquely written and suspenseful book. I recommend it.

I also read the first in a trilogy by Guillelmo del Toro called the Strain… A very nifty sci fi thriller with the premise what if NY was  infected by a disease that turned people into cannibals? Imagine that?

Medical thrillers: I enjoy Robin Cook and read his two most recent books this year: Foreign Body and Intervention. The best was Intervention. It touches on a number of  areas and is a great thriller combining aspects of the Davinci Code with a critique of todays mediccal establishment. I recommend it.

Thrillers: Lee Child continues to write incredible books with his Jack Reacher character. The most recent , Gone Tomorrow, is top notch. Definitely worth reading.

I discovered another great author this year, Greg Iles. He writes thrillers with a southern flavor. I can heartily recommend Mortal Fear, Turning Angel,   the Devils Punchbowl, and Blood Memory. He also wrote a trememdous WW II thriller,  Black Cross. Great writer.

 I read two James Patterson thrillers this year, Swimsuit and Run for your life. Both were excellent.

John LeCarre’ s most recent book A Most Wanted man is a must for anyone interested in today’s world of espionage, terrorism and homeland security. It is a brilliant piece on ordinary people being caught up in events they have no control over. It definitely makes one think.

History:  I read Stalingrad by Anthony Bevor and came away with a much better appreciation for that epic battle from all perspectives.

I am finishing the year with the Coldest Winter, by David Halberstam, on the Korean War. That is a war I knew very little about. The book is over 600 pages but meticulously done and looks at the war from all sides. It is outstanding.

There were other books I read for fun but the ones above were the best. I hope this helps you in your reading choices for next year. If you have suggestions for other readers, please add them to the blog.

Gov Blagojevich of Illinois is such a good source of humour and satire that he  just has to remain in office so we can have something to amuse us during these bleak times. Yesterday he likened his family’s reaction to his arrest  for corruption to the country’s reaction to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Wow! It is hard to even put that analogy into context.  To the victims of Pearl Harbor and people who lived through those  truly horrible times, please forgive the Governor as he is under a great deal of stress these days.

In the same speech he used an even more outlandish analogy of a cowboy accused of stealing a  horse. Now horse thief is not a good charater type  to use as an example for your defense . But his point was that the other cowboys wanted to just hang him, but the honorable ones   said give him a trial first and then hang him.  The Governor claimed he wasn’t even going to get a fair trial in  the Illinois legislature before he was hung. Its tough being a horse thief isnt it?

While on the subject of cowboys, the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo is in town and the papers  here are filled with stories, pictures, and anecdotes about cowboys and the west. One of these articles  alluded to a book called “Cowboy Ethics” written by James Owens and David Stoecklein several years ago. Like similar management books ( Atilla the Hun etc) ,  its purpose was to take a system of values and apply it to everyday life or business. I thought the code of the west described in the book was appropriate as we start a new year, a new administration and possibly a new direction for our country. Here is the code of the west according to the authors:

live each day with courage

take pride in your work

always finish what you start

do what has to be done

be tough but fair

when you make a promise , keep it

talk less and say more

ride for the brand

remember some things aren’t for sale

know where to draw the line

Whether or not this described the thinking  of a majority of people in  the old west,  or just Hollywood, I think it can serve as a  useful guide today.  Personally I would like to see this posted on the walls of congress . But  then at least six items in the code would have to be removed and the rest modified.  Maybe Governor Blagojevich can write an ethics code for congress? They could surely live up to that one?