Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission

Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission Review

I am not even someone who is fascinated by war stories but this account is so well written and engaging and heart rending that you can not put it down.
When David Halberstam died I figured that was the end of greatest non-fiction story teller ever, until I picked up this book. Mr. Sides recounts a story in the same manner, giving background history, personal anecdotes and histories. Everything he writes about engages you completely. this story, aside from being an amazing part of history, but personal and military, is so well told you can not stop reading and crave for more at the end.
I can't recommend this book enough.

Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission Overview

On January 28, 1945, 121 hand-selected U.S. troops slipped behind enemy lines in the Philippines. Their mission: March thirty rugged miles to rescue 513 POWs languishing in a hellish camp, among them the last survivors of the infamous Bataan Death March. A recent prison massacre by Japanese soldiers elsewhere in the Philippines made the stakes impossibly high and left little time to plan the complex operation.

In Ghost Soldiers Hampton Sides vividly re-creates this daring raid, offering a minute-by-minute narration that unfolds alongside intimate portraits of the prisoners and their lives in the camp. Sides shows how the POWs banded together to survive, defying the Japanese authorities even as they endured starvation, tropical diseases, and torture. Harrowing, poignant, and inspiring, Ghost Soldiers is the mesmerizing story of a remarkable mission. It is also a testament to the human spirit, an account of enormous bravery and self-sacrifice amid the most trying conditions.

Ghost Soldiers: The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission Specifications

The Bataan Death March was just the beginning of the woes American soldiers captured by the Japanese army in the Philippines had to endure. The survivors of the march faced not only their captors' regular brutality (having surrendered, they were considered to be less than honorable foes), but also a host of illnesses such as dysentery and malaria. For three years these "ghost soldiers" lived in misery, suffering terrible losses.

When Army Rangers among Douglas MacArthur's forces arrived in the Philippines, they hatched a daring plan to liberate their captured comrades, a mission that, if successful, would prove to be a tremendous morale booster at the front and at home. Led by a young officer named Henry Mucci (called "Little MacArthur" for his constant pipe as well as his brilliance as a strategist), a combined Ranger and Filipino guerrilla force penetrated far behind enemy lines, attacked Japanese forces guarding Allied prisoners at a jungle outpost called Cabanatuan, and shepherded hundreds of prisoners to safety, with an angry Japanese army in hot pursuit. Amazingly, they suffered only light casualties.

In Ghost Soldiers, journalist Hampton Sides recounts that daring rescue, once known to every American schoolchild but now long forgotten. A gifted storyteller, Sides packs his narrative with detailed descriptions of the principal actors on both sides of the struggle and with moments of danger and exhilaration. Thrilling from start to finish, his book celebrates the heroism of hundreds of warriors and brings renewed attention to one of the Rangers' finest hours. --Gregory McNamee

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Autobiography and Other Writings (Oxford World's Classics)

Autobiography and Other Writings (Oxford World's Classics) Review

In many ways, this is, to someone coming to it for the first time, a very surprising book. For one thing, it is amazingly incomplete. Franklin is, of course, one of the most famous Americans who ever lived, and his accomplishments in a wide array of endeavors are a part of American lore and popular history. A great deal of this lore and many of his accomplishments are missing from this account of his life. He never finished the autobiography, earlier in his life because he was too busy with what he terms public "employments," and later in life because the opium he was taking for kidney stones left him unable to concentrate sufficiently. Had Franklin been able to write about every period of his life and all of his achievements, his AUTOBIOGRAPHY would have been one of the most remarkable documents every produced. It is amazingly compelling in its incomplete state.
As a serious reader, I was delighted in the way that Franklin is obsessed with the reading habits of other people. Over and over in the course of his memoir, he remarks that such and such a person was fond of reading, or owned a large number of books, or was a poet or author. Clearly, it is one of the qualities he most admires in others, and one of the qualities in a person that makes him want to know a person. He finds other readers to be kindred souls.

If one is familiar with the Pragmatists, one finds many pragmatist tendencies in Franklin's thought. He is concerned less with ideals than with ideas that work and are functional. For instance, at one point he implies that while his own beliefs lean more towards the deistical, he sees formal religion as playing an important role in life and society, and he goes out of his way to never criticize the faith of another person. His pragmatism comes out also in list of the virtues, which is one of the more famous and striking parts of his book. As is well known, he compiled a list of 13 virtues, which he felt summed up all the virtues taught by all philosophers and religions. But they are practical, not abstract virtues. He states that he wanted to articulate virtues that possessed simple and not complex ideas. Why? The simpler the idea, the easier to apply. And in formulating his list of virtues, he is more concerned with the manner in which these virtues can be actualized in one's life. Franklin has utterly no interest in abstract morality.

One of Franklin's virtues is humility, and his humility comes out in the form of his book. His narrative is exceedingly informal, not merely in the first part, which was ostensibly addressed to his son, but in the later sections (the autobiography was composed upon four separate occasions). The informal nature of the book displays Franklin's intended humility, and for Franklin, seeming to be so is nearly as important as actually being so. For part of the function of the virtues in an individual is not merely to make that particular person virtuous, but to function as an example to others. This notion of his being an example to other people is one of the major themes in his book. His life, he believes, is an exemplary one. And he believes that by sharing the details of his own life, he can serves as a template for other lives.

One striking aspect of his book is what one could almost call Secular Puritanism. Although Franklin was hardly a prude, he was nonetheless very much a child of the Puritans. This is not displayed merely in his promotion of the virtues, but in his abstaining from excessiveness in eating, drinking, conversation, or whatever. Franklin is intensely concerned with self-governance.

I think anyone not having read this before will be surprised at how readable and enjoyable this is. I think also one can only regret that Franklin was not able to write about the entirety of his life. He was a remarkable man with a remarkable story to tell.

Autobiography and Other Writings (Oxford World's Classics) Overview

Franklin's writings span a long and distinguished career of literary, scientific, and political inquiry--the work of a man whose life lasted for nearly all of the 18th century, and whose achievements ranged from inventing the lightning rod to publishing Poor Richard's Almanac to signing the Declaration of Independence. In his own lifetime, Franklin knew prominence not only in America but also in Britain and France. Here was a cosmopolitan statesman, public servant, inventor, and editor with a distinctly Yankee sensibility; here was a moral philosopher who divided his faith between the natural sciences and the American experiment. This volume includes Franklin's reflections on such diverse issues as reason and religion, social status, electricity, America's national character and characters, war, and the societal status of women. Also included is a new transcription of his 1726 journal, and several pieces that have only recently been identified as Franklin's work.

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The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University

The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University Review

After recently wondering aloud what book I should read next, my sister (we're both agnostic) recommended, yet again, that I read The Unlikely Disciple. I basically know nothing about the Bible or Christianity (I groan and can't even begin to guess at the correct answers when "The Bible" is a category on Jeopardy), so I thought this book might be mildly interesting and entertaining, but worried it would be a long, slow read. Boy, was I wrong. I found this book fascinating and finished it in two days. I had no idea what evangelical Christianity was about, knew the name Jerry Falwell and had heard of Liberty, but beyond that, nothing.

The book details how Kevin Roose, a not really practicing Quaker, leaves liberal Brown University in Rhode Island to attend a semester, undercover, at evangelical Liberty University in Virginia in an attempt to bridge, as he puts it, the God Divide (though I'm sure the book deal at 19 didn't hurt either).

Roose gives us an inside look at what goes on at Liberty, from classes and church services to extracurricular activities and dorm life. But it's more than that. We find out about some of the people that are fundamental Christians (or are on the path to becoming one); people most of us might never meet unless they were trying to witness (aka convert) us. I really liked the fact that Roose threw himself into his semester at Liberty wholeheartedly, despite the fact that he disagreed with many of things he heard and saw, and that he kept an open mind about everything.

There was plenty about Liberty that annoyed me and, at times, boggled my mind from the intolerance, the way students weren't supposed to question anything in the Bible, the almost obsessive compulsive praying over anything and everything and don't get me started on the classes (yes, Dr. Dekker, I'm talking about yours). However, I really found myself liking and feeling for some of the students there (Though I think a few of them are working on ulcers worrying about how all of us heathens are going to try and corrupt them as soon as they enter the real world). Speaking of intolerance, I found myself kind of ticked off with the reactions of a good deal of Roose's secular, liberal friends and family. **Minor spoiler** When he finally fessed up to his friends and former mentors and classmates at Liberty, they still liked and accepted him, while it was obvious that his supposedly open-minded friends and family would have derided him if he'd told them how he really felt about his time at Liberty.

Overall, this is a great read, with lots of humor and insight. Roose did a fantastic, balanced job of telling us what life at Liberty is like, without turning it into a farce or a bashing of evangelical Christianity. Highly recommended.

The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University Feature

• ISBN13: 9780446178433
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The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University Overview

No drinking.
No smoking.
No cursing.
No dancing.
No R-rated movies.

Kevin Roose wasn't used to rules like these. As a sophomore at Brown University, he spent his days drinking fair-trade coffee, singing in an a cappella group, and fitting right in with Brown's free-spirited, ultra-liberal student body. But when Roose leaves his Ivy League confines to spend a semester at Liberty University, a conservative Baptist school in Lynchburg, Virginia, obedience is no longer optional.

Liberty is the late Reverend Jerry Falwell's "Bible Boot Camp" for young evangelicals, his training ground for the next generation of America's Religious Right. Liberty's ten thousand undergraduates take courses like Evangelism 101, hear from guest speakers like Sean Hannity and Karl Rove, and follow a forty-six-page code of conduct that regulates every aspect of their social lives. Hoping to connect with his evangelical peers, Roose decides to enroll at Liberty as a new transfer student, leaping across the God Divide and chronicling his adventures in this daring report from the front lines of America's culture war.

His journey takes him from an evangelical hip-hop concert to choir practice at Falwell's legendary Thomas Road Baptist Church. He experiments with prayer, participates in a spring break mission trip to Daytona Beach (where he learns to preach the gospel to partying coeds), and pays a visit to Every Man's Battle, an on-campus support group for chronic masturbators. He meets pastors' kids, closet doubters, Christian rebels, and conducts what would be the last print interview of Rev. Falwell's life.

Hilarious and heartwarming, respectful and thought-provoking, THE UNLIKELY DISCIPLE will inspire and entertain believers and nonbelievers alike.

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This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection

This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection Review

I laughed starting with the beginning of the book to the end of the book. Except for the sad parts. I had tears - (good thing my girlfriend was busy in the other room!) Anyways, it was extremely well written and if you love Carol Burnett as I do, you should get this book and pick a good time to read. You will not want to put this book down once you start! I bought my book on the Kindle, but I am buying the hard cover for my mom from Amazon... ENJOY!

This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection Feature

• ISBN13: 9780307461186
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This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection Overview

THIS TIME TOGETHER is 100 percent Carol Burnett – funny, irreverent, and irresistible.
 
Carol Burnett is one of the most beloved and revered actresses and performers in America. The Carol Burnett Show was seen each week by millions of adoring fans and won twenty-five Emmys in its remarkable eleven-year run. Now, in This Time Together, Carol really lets her hair down and tells one funny or touching or memorable story after another – reading it feels like sitting down with an old friend who has wonderful tales to tell.
 
In engaging anecdotes, Carol discusses her remarkable friendships with stars such at Jimmy Stewart, Lucille Ball, Cary Grant, and Julie Andrews; the background behind famous scenes, like the moment she swept down the stairs in her curtain-rod dress in the legendary “Went With the Wind” skit; and things that would happen only to Carol – the prank with Julie Andrews that went wrong in front of the First Lady; the famous Tarzan Yell that saved her during a mugging; and the time she faked a wooden leg to get served in a famous ice cream emporium. This poignant look back allows us to cry with the actress during her sorrows, rejoice in her successes, and finally, always, to laugh.

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Bitter is the New Black : Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass,Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office

Bitter is the New Black : Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass,Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office Review

I really enjoyed reading Jen Lancaster's "Bitter is the New Black." Obviously, it is not of award-winning caliber, but it is a ridiculously funny and sarcastic read! One word of advice...DO NOT BUY THE KINDLE VERSION!! I bought this on Kindle and was pretty confused as I was reading because there were all of these footnote numbers, but no footnotes! A few weeks later, I found a paperback copy of this book in the bookstore and flipped through it out of curiosity. Well...the paperback/"real book" version actually has the footnotes that were indicated and they are hilarious! I feel like I missed out on half of the book by purchasing the Kindle edition. Pick it up in paperback and enjoy!

Bitter is the New Black : Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass,Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office Feature

• ISBN13: 9780451217608
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Bitter is the New Black : Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass,Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office Overview

Jen Lancaster was living the sweet life-until real life kicked her to the curb.

She had the perfect man, the perfect job-hell, she had the perfect life-and there was no reason to think it wouldn't last. Or maybe there was, but Jen Lancaster was too busy being manicured, pedicured, highlighted, and generally adored to notice.

This is the smart-mouthed, soul-searching story of a woman trying to figure out what happens next when she's gone from six figures to unemployment checks and she stops to reconsider some of the less-than-rosy attitudes and values she thought she'd never have to answer for when times were good.

Filled with caustic wit and unusual insight, it's a rollicking read as speedy and unpredictable as the trajectory of a burst balloon.

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The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier's Education

The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier's Education Review

I enjoyed Mullaney's "The Unforgiving Minute". He is an exceptional writer and brought the scenes in his autobiography alive. I thought the synopsis provided on the back cover of the book was misleading as it talks almost exclusively of Mullaney's combat experience in Afghanistan. That was NOT the focus of this book - an integral part, yes. But this book really journalizes Mullaney's experiences of coming from a blue-collar background and graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, completing Army Ranger school, attending Oxford University on a Rhodes Scholarship, meeting his future wife at Oxford and some of the difficulties faced in a Catholic/Hindu courtship and finally marriage, his combat experiences in Afghanistan, his assignment to the "Old Guard"(3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, Washington, DC) and finally teaching history at the Naval Academy.

I enjoyed the detail provided in the book on the author's time spent at Oxford (very interesting), his travels around the world while at Oxford, his endeavors to be a scholar-soldier. The pages on Afghanistan were engrossing especially since my son is also an Army officer.

I really felt in many ways that this book was a way for Mullaney to write down his adventures - more of an expanded version of the daily journal he keeps - both so the memories wouldn't be lost but also so that by setting them to paper maybe he could get some insight into some very hurtful time periods in his life and either come to understand them better, lessen their negative impact on his life, or exorcise old demons. I didn't agree with the way he handled some of his personal issues but I am quite sure he would feel the same way if he was able to dissect my life, and I think he is brave to put his life out there for all of us to see. How many of us would be as candid?

He idolized his father and his father hurt him terribly by leaving the family. At least at the time this book was written, he had still not forgiven his father. Hand in hand, he had not forgiven himself (even though it was not his fault) for the loss of a soldier during battle in Afghanistan. He was not able to correspond with the fallen soldier's father, even though the father contacted him. In some ways this young man was very mature, also bright and engaging. But it comes across strongly in the book how rigid in some of his thinking he is, how he expects himself to be perfect and by the same token, others around him. Hopefully he is learning that no one is perfect. We all have our imperfections-it is part of being human.

I would like to read another later autobiography by this young man and see what life lessons he has learned, read more about his marriage and his doctor wife's career, about why he left the service (or why he thinks he did), about his family including more on his brother's Army adventures, about his time working with Obama, etc. As I wrote earlier, he is a very talented writer.

The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier's Education Overview

"One of the most thoughtful and honest accounts ever written by a young Army officer confronting all the tests of life." -Bob Woodward

In this surprise bestseller, West Point grad, Rhodes scholar, Airborne Ranger, and U. S. Army Captain Craig Mullaney recounts his unparalleled education and the hard lessons that only war can teach. While stationed in Afghanistan, a deadly firefight with al-Qaeda leads to the loss of one of his soldiers. Years later, after that excruciating experience, he returns to the United States to teach future officers at the Naval Academy. Written with unflinching honesty, this is an unforgettable portrait of a young soldier grappling with the weight of war while coming to terms with what it means to be a man.

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Dirty Sexy Politics

Dirty Sexy Politics Review

Dirty Sexy Politics Overview

Meghan McCain came to prominence as the straight-talking, progressive daughter of the 2008 Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain. And her profile has only risen since the election ended in favor of the other guy.

makes Meghan so appealing? As a new role model for young, creative, and vocal members of the GOP, she's unafraid to mix it up and speak her mind. In Dirty Sexy Politics she takes a hard look at the future of her party. She doesn't shy away from serious issues and her raucous humor and down-to-earth style keep her positions accessible.

In this witty, candid, and boisterous book, Meghan takes us deep behind the scenes of the campaign trail. She steals campaign signs in New Hampshire, tastes the nightlife in Nashville, and has a strange encounter with Laura and Jenna Bush at the White House. Along the way, she falls in love with America--while seeing how far the Republican Party has veered from its core values of freedom, honesty, and individuality. In Dirty Sexy Politics, Meghan McCain gives us a true insider's account of life on a campaign trail.

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