A. Lincoln: A Biography, by Ronald C. White Jr.: Focuses on Lincoln's writings and speeches, also evokes and captures the politics of the age. Reviewed at "Have Faith that Right Makes Might"
The Age of Reagan: The Conservative Counterrevolution: 1980-1989, by Steven F. Hayward: The second volume of Hayward's political biography of Ronald Reagan, a sympathetic but critical, extensively researched account. Discussed in The Palin Equation
The Bomb: A New History, by Stephen M. Younger: A compact and cogent political and technical history of nuclear weapons by one of the world's leading experts addressing numerous misconceptions and unquestioned assumptions.Reviewed at Never Mind the Nightmares, Reality’s Hard Enough
The Cavalier in the Yellow Doublet, by Arturo Perez-Reverte: The latest volume in the Captain Alatriste series to be published in English, exquisitely set during the years of the Spanish Empire's decline. Reviewed at Just read: THE CAVALIER IN THE YELLOW DOUBLET
Going Rogue: An American Life, by Sarah Palin: Essential reading for anyone hoping to understand one of the major political stories of our time.Discussed in The Palin Equation
The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century, by George Friedman: George S. Friedman applies his geopolitical template to the next century, demonstrating why America's position in the world should continue to give it "unfair" economic, political, and military advantages almost regardless of transitory difficulties and challenges. Reviewed at Why the 21st Century Will Be an American Century
The War After Armageddon, by Ralph Peters: Peters describes a descent into global religious war in a deeply pessimistic, thankfully not very persuasive, future-historical novel. Reviewed at From Here to Eternal Damnation
'What the Heck Are You Up To, Mr. President?': Jimmy Carter, America's 'Malaise,' and the Speech that Should Have Changed the Country, by Kevin Mattson: Cultural and political evocation of a turning point in American history, organized around President Jimmy Carter's notorious "malaise speech."Reviewed at Portrait of a Failed Presidency
World War One: A Short History, by Norman Stone: A masterful book-length essay on the Great War - dense with anecdotes, characterological observations, and biting humor, as well as with diplomatic and miiltary history.Reviewed at If At First You Don’t Succeed…
Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan, by Doug Stanton: The tale of the first "Jetsons vs. the Flintstones" campaign of the Conflict Formerly Known as the War on Terror, with unexpected lessons for subsequent, seemingly very different battles. Reviewed at Victory in the War on Terror
7 Deadly Scenarios: A Military Futurist Explores War in the 21st Century, by Andrew Krepinevich: Seven potential American catastrophes that add up to One Big Deadly Scenario - and an indictment of current and recent U.S. political and military leadership. Reviewed at Tales from the Geopolitical Crypt
The War That Killed Achilles: The True Story of Homer's Iliad and the Trojan War, by Caroline Alexander: The Iliad read from beginning to end, with generous excerpts and extensive historical and archaelogical background and a novel critical interpretation.Reviewed in Books in Brief
I, Sniper: A Bob Lee Swagger Novel (Bob Lee Swagger Novels), by Stephen Hunter: A bouquet to the NRA, Vietnam Vets, and rightwing bloggers, in which Hunter's hero Bob Lee Swagger solves the murders of a series of leftwing celebrities.Reviewed in Books in Brief
The Life Of Belisarius, by Lord Mahon: The century following the fall of the Wester Roman Empire, in the story of Rome's last great general. Reviewed in Books in Brief
(last updated December 17, 2009)
December 11th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
The Soviet-Afghan War
How a Superpower Fought and Lost
by Michael Gress, Lester Grau, and the Soviet General Staff
December 11th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
Can you tell us a little about it, Mr. Cluck?
December 11th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
It details the Soviet strategy of garrisoning the cities and keeping the main roads clear. When resistance in the countryside intensified, the Soviets began offensive sorties with armor and helicopter gunships.
What happened after their initial successes makes for great reading.
Along with this, you’ll learn much about the composition of the Red Army and a great deal about the conduct of the Afghan resistance.
Reading this account willl provide a fair amount of insight into what our coming offensive in Afghanistan may face and what we should plan against.
Reading this in conjunction with Charlie Wilson’s War will provide a fair idea of the forces that opposed and defeated the Soviets.
December 11th, 2009 at 6:17 pm
To copare the Russianss, who have always had a soft touch in Germany, Afghanistan, Chechnya and I believe Georgia, with the US seems an odd comparison. Actually /Charles Allen’s God’s Warriorsm has a better view of the situation
December 11th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Both sound interesting, actually. Not sure da Frog was urging a direct comparison.
Also, on the subject of movies, an excellent little film to put up against Charlie Wilson’s War is The Beast
December 11th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
CK, if they made a movie from Charlie Wilson’s War I kinda doubt that it was much like the book, unless someone really skillful and dedicated handled the project.
narc, an interesting aspect of the book was the Soviet military being shocked by the barbarity of the Afghans when they captured Red Army soldiers.
For what it’s worth, I don’t think that I’ve compared the Red Army with the US Armed Forces except insofar as saying that both have been fighting in Afghanistan.
December 11th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
Silly me, I immediately associated Charlie Wilson’s war with the movie, which I recently caught, rather than with the book, which I’ve never read. Are you suggesting that you’re completely unaware of the movie? I think the people who handled the project – Mike Nichols, Aaron Sorkin, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman – qualify as “skillful and dedicated,” but I think it’s fair to say that they’re generally more interested in entertaining than in informing.
December 11th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
The book was a journalistic effort that was vastly entertaining.
If the movie (heard of but not seen) contains the details of Wilson’s efforts to employ the Saudis, Israelis, Pakistanis and American in supplying the opposition to the Soviets it would be impressive and unusual.
If Julia Robert’s is on-screen for more than 5 minutes, it’s not the book.
December 11th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Well Avrokotos, who was the Agency man, I don’t think Phillip Hoffman does him justice. Tom Hansks as Charlie Wilson. that was almost as bad as his lockjawed Sherman McCoy in Bonfire
December 11th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
Kinda hard thinking of Hanks as a liquor,coke and sex addicted 6’4” Texas Congressman.
December 11th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
Hard, how about impossible, Hogffman might have been able to pull it off, or M. Emmett Walsh, although he might be a little
long in the tooth for it.
December 11th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
I just finished listening to Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin. An entertaining historical novel about a Jewish serial killer investigator, an atheist female forensic specialist and her Muslim eunuch bodyguard who are sent by the King of Naples to find out who is killing the children of Cambridge. Henry II of England requested the team because the populace is blaming the Jews of Cambridge and he’s had to pen them up in the castle to protect them. They can’t work and earn so he can’t squeeze them for revenue – very bad for his finances.
Terrible stuff handled entertainingly. Sort of Clarisse hunting for Mr. Hyde in the 11th century without Hannibal Lecter to give her clues. Revealing too. Lots of historical background on who’s who and what’s what among the Church (temporal and religious), the monks versus the nuns competing for prestige and pilgrimage revenue, attitudes re the “proper place” of women in England versus relatively more liberal attitudes in (the educated part of) Sicily at that time, etc. And lots of historical facts one would never know without being a dedicated midievalist. Who knew there was one approved Jewish cemetary in all of England (in London) before Henry II ordered the setting aside of land elsewhere. Who knew Henry, presented very believably in a cameo role as a sort of benevolent bureaucratic tyrant aiming at rule of law goals with Machiavellian purpose, established the first jury system as a substitute for trial by ordeal and/or combat.
The Diana Gabaldon review excerpted at Amazon contains more facts about the book. Ariana Franklin is a better novel writer than Gabaldon; but don’t expect the kind of explicit sex scenes one finds Gabaldon relishing a bit too much. No sex scenes at all from Franklin but a worthwhile read.
December 11th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
Missed a couple of question marks in the above and find that editing of comments is not possible here.
December 11th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Don’t see why editing comments shouldn’t be possible for you, Sully. If you’re logged in , you should be able to edit either by clicking the “edit” link or by double-clicking on the text-area.
December 11th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
You ever try CJ Sansom?
I mean the Matthew Shardlake mysteries. Never tried the other stuff. The portrayal of Henry VIII’s reign (SOVEREIGN esp.) is excellent, very dark.
December 11th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
Thanks. I’ve never tried CJ Sansom. I’ve put his Henry VIII book in my wish list for action down the road when I get over this mental block about adding more books to the house.
As for editing. Double clicking on the comment doesn’t work and I don’t see an edit link. Even when I go to site admin page I don’t see an edit link option for my comments. I do on the other hand see an edit link option for my Posts at the site admin page.
December 11th, 2009 at 9:28 pm
For instance, right now it’s 9:26 and I’m looking at my 9:23 comment. It has no “you have 30 minutes to revise” link. In the thread of another post on which I commented recently my comment does have that “30 minutes to revise” link.
December 11th, 2009 at 9:46 pm
What you’re observing has to do with some weird qualified comments-on-pages (as opposed to comments-on-posts) functionality problem that I may very well figure out someday, maybe someday soon. Same reason the Reply/Quote tabs don’t work. I have an e-mail in to a SMART GUY, and, if he can make out my English and has a spare minute, he may tell me what I need to do.
Check your e-mail.
December 16th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
I’m forty pages into her book and I can already understand why the left is decidedly not making love with that woman, Sarah Palin.
December 24th, 2009 at 7:49 am
Hey, Tsar do you fell comfortable letting folks grab your rss?
December 24th, 2009 at 8:11 am
That probably depends on which folks grab it, and how hard.
December 24th, 2009 at 8:20 am
@ fuster:
We invite RSS-ification. Don’t know what the problem would be, Mr. cluck.