Tag: U.S. History
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Book Review: ‘The Missiles of October: The Declassified Story of John F. Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis’
The Missiles of October: The Declassified Story of John F. Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis By: Robert Smith Thompson Publisher: Simon & Schuster Year of Publication: 1992 🧨 Revisionism Run Amok: A Look at Robert Smith Thompson’s The Missiles of October History, especially the kind still warm to the touch, is a fragile thing.…
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Book Review: ‘World War II: America at War 1941-1945’
World War II: America at War 1941–1945 — A Richly Layered Reference to a Defining Global Conflict The Second World War was not merely a chapter in history—it was the seismic event that reshaped the 20th century. Every major power was drawn into its vortex: some aligned with the Axis, most with the Allies, and…
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Book Review: ‘Desert Victory: The War for Kuwait’
Strategic Scope Without Sentiment: A Review of Desert Victory by Norman Friedman 📘 Title: Desert Victory: The War for Kuwait🖋️ Author: Norman Friedman🏛️ Publisher: Naval Institute Press📅 Publication Date: Fall 1991📚 Genre: Military History / Strategic Analysis Military history comes in many flavors—some rich with battlefield grit, others cool and cerebral. Norman Friedman’s Desert Victory…
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Book Review: ‘The Crisis Years: Kennedy and Khrushchev 1960–1963’
📘 Review: The Crisis Years: Kennedy and Khrushchev 1960–1963 by Michael R. Beschloss Michael R. Beschloss’ The Crisis Years is that rare gem in historical nonfiction: a book that not only illuminates a pivotal era in 20th-century geopolitics but does so with the narrative drive and emotional texture of a finely wrought novel. Published in…
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Book Review: ‘The Greatest Generation’
The Greatest Generation By: Tom Brokaw Publisher: Random House (now Penguin Random House) Year of Publication: 1998 Genre: American history, World War II, Biographical Portraits/Non-Fiction Reconsidering “The Greatest Generation”: A Reflection on Tom Brokaw’s Timeless Tribute There was a time I questioned the phrase Greatest Generation—it sounded too sweeping, too sentimental, maybe even a little…
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Book Review: ‘The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11’
We have some planes. – Mohammad Atta, Hijacker I look at the clock, and every time I look at the clock, it seems to be 9:11. I’m like, “Oh, 9:11 again.” It just happens, something so simple like that. – Sharon Miller, Officer, Port Authority Police Department (PAPD) On September 10, 2019, Avid Reader Press…
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Musings & Thoughts for Wednesday, July 27, 2022, or: Remembering Korea, the ‘Forgotten War’
It’s hard to believe, but today is the 69th anniversary of the signing – in Panmunjom, Korea – of the agreement that ceased major fighting and put on hold the Korean War. On July 27, 1953, the representatives of the U.S.-led United Nations Command (UNC), the Communist-ruled Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (aka North Korea),…
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Old Gamers Never Die: Pointers for First-Time Players of ‘Crusade in Europe’
Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force: You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. – General Dwight D. Eisenhower, USA, Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary…
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On Books & Reading: My TBR Stack for Late March 2022
Yesterday, Dear Reader, I wrote in A Certain Point of View, Too about my list of movies to watch on home media (mostly on “old school 2K” Blu-ray, but with some 4K UHD Blu-ray titles in the mix) during the last week of March. Whether or not I’ll stick to my To Be Watched (TBW)…