Random Pensées

Some interesting book recommendations

I have lately been meaning to update my list of "Daily (practically) Reads" to include some new ones. One of them, the Diplomad is a blog by a bunch of conservative U.S. State Dept. Foreign Service Officers. It has a list of books they liked and I thought it looked pretty great. Here's the link to the list and here's one or two of their selections I want to run out and pick up:

Holy Madness, Romantics, Patriots, and Revolutionaries, 1776-1871, Adam Zamoyski: A great book, well-written, insightful and funny. You will never think of the French Revolution in quite the same way again after reading this tome. Zamoyski analyzes the European and other revolutionaries who were inspired by the American Revolution and tried to make some of their own -- generally with disastrous results. A definite must-read.

Thunder Below! The USS Barb Revolutionizes Submarine Warfare in World War II, Admiral Eugene B. Fluckey: A rollicking good read! You'll tear through this one. A superb account, published in 1992 (we re-read it this weekend), of the US Navy's submarine campaign against the Japanese Empire. It focuses on the remarkable achievements of the USS Barb under Fluckey -- it "sank" an enemy train, among other accomplishments. We don't want to give any of it away, so go read it. You won't be sorry. The most stunning thing to us was how incredibly young these American submariners were and the almost suicidal missions they went on without hesitation. A real testimony to the American fighting man and his will to win.

Happy reading!