Ambassador Charles Hill, Fouad Ajami, and the World

I just got done watching the latest episode of UK with Fouad Ajami and Ambassador Charles Hill and my initial reaction: wow! Just wow.

That was absolutely the best discussion on foreign policy I've heard in a long time. My mind is still racing from what they've said. For enhanced visual effect they should have had a map of the world on the table-or a globe-because it was as if you were looking at the world i one glance and seeing how it all worked. A few thoughts I wanted to share:

I was struck by the connection between our foreign policy in Iraq and Afghanistan and the turmoil in other parts of the Middle East, namely Syria at the moment. Ajami sends it home when he says that it's not the tide of war that is receding (Obama's comment) but the tide of American power.

We had an opportunity to do something about Syria when Turkey's F-4 was shot down but there was no guidance from Washington. Again Ajami puts it pointedly when he describes an Erdogan stuck not knowing what to do because he wasn't getting any signals from Obama, much less a phone call.

I was struck by Ambassador Hill when he said that isolationist/anti-war rhetoric is not reading public opinion but feeding it. It is not leadership. The American people need to know the state of global affairs as discussed by these men and make an informed decision. It is up to the President or candidate to make that case.

The last thing I realized is that Obama is not so invulnerable on foreign policy as I fear I may have allowed. After watching this interview and looking at the world through a strategic lens there is no reason why Romney can't effectively challenge Obama on foreign policy.

My hope is that what was said makes it from their lips to Romney's ears. I think this is probably one of the best episodes of UK I've seen because of how relevant and insightful it is.

Michael Totten Goes To The Fatima Gate

I came across this interview that I first saw awhile back and it was one of those nice trips back in time with a video I forgot I enjoyed. Michael Totten seems like an interesting man and a unique journalist because of his talents and his personality. He seems to fit the stereotype of a foreign correspondent but says he's not the adrenaline junkie that some of his colleagues are. His time in the middle east gives depth and uniqueness to what he has to say and write. He knows what he's talking about. It's not an academic matter to him-it's real life.

His book The Road to Fatima Gate is an account of the events in Lebanon in the 2005-06 time period that involved the rise of Hezbollah and the proxy war between Iran and Israel. Given the events of the "Arab Spring" I think that anyone who has paid more attention to the region will find the book interesting since Lebanon was a predecessor to the revolutions that took place in other countries. Below is a link to the first part, of 5 parts, of the interview and, if you have 40 minutes available, a link to the entire interview.

Reviews:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/06/08/on_the_road_to_fatima_gate_110128.html

http://damianpenny.wordpress.com/2011/04/10/book-review-the-road-to-fatima-gate-by-michael-j-totten/

O'Reilly On Killing Lincoln

Most people think of Bill O'Reilly as the host of the primetime program The O'Reilly Factor but he does know a lot about history-much more than people recognize. He's written books on other topics but this is the first I've seen in recent years on history. I haven't read the book but it's on my "to-read list." O'Reilly knows how to cater to a broad audience and so I expect his book to be one that is accessible for the layman. He writes in a narrative style which I am coming to appreciate more and more. I think if you want to make history interesting there has to be some kind of a narrative. 

I think O'Reilly's most controversial claim is that Lincoln is the greatest president-before even Washington. He makes a legitimate case for him, pointing out that Washington's major successes came as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. Well, that will start a debate that can go for hours into the night. In this interview with Glenn Beck, another history buff, you will learn a lot of interesting things about Lincoln and that period time. 

The Birth of Modern Chicago

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Luigi Zingales On Crony Capitalism

Luigi Zingales is the first crusader from Italy who is actually doing some good for the world. His book A Capitalism for the People: Recapturing the Lost Genius of American Prosperity is another in the defense of free enterprise. He rightly points out the difference between being pro markets and pro business, which too many people confuse. Over the last few years the idea of free markets has come under much assault from those who are outright against and from many others who have doubts in the wake of the recent financial crisis. It seems like this year, in particular, is seeing an intense debate over this topic with many books being published over the last few weeks on months. It could also be because we are in an election year and so more people are discussing it.

Many comparisons have been drawn between our future and what is going on in Greece due to the large amount of spending. But Zingales draws a comparison with his home country of Italy where there is rampant cronyism and corruption. Maybe our problem is that we are somewhere between Greece and Italy.

The Near Assassination of Ronald Reagan

On March 30, 1981 Ronald Reagan made history: by staying alive. He is the only serving President to have survived an assassination attempt. For such an historic event very little has been written and Del Quentin Wilber's Rawhide Down: The Near Assassination of Ronald Reagan is the only account of what happened that day. Needless to say, if we had lost Reagan that day the world may be drastically different today. The Cold War and the Soviet Union may have still been with us.

Everything about the book and its story is interrelated and unanticipated. The book started out as a story about a bribery scandal involving Ethiopian taxi drivers in Washington. Wilber was working a tip he received that the FBI was investigating the matter. In the field office the chief agent pulled a gun in a bag from a desk drawer and showed it to Wilber. It was the gun that John Hinckley, Jr. used to shoot Reagan and others that day. When you read the book you'll see how, for decades, people and events were woven together until they arrive at this unique time and place in history.



The book was very well written and Wilber stays focused on what matters. He never drifts off onto meaningless tangents. I also appreciate that the book didn’t turn into an opportunity to take pot shots at Reagan or opine on political issues. While he does provide us with a charming portrait of Reagan you do not have to be a fan of his or even a conservative to read this book. Wilber does a great job of writing about why Reagan matters today without getting bogged down in political debates about his policies or his legacy. And with the stories he tells of Reagan in the early part of the book it is hard not to find him a charming and impressive figure. They endear the reader to the President and set him up to be hoping for him to get well even though it is no surprise how the story ends.

The book felt like three biographies to me: one for Reagan, Parr, and Hinckley. Reagan's was endearing, Parr's inspiring, and Hinckley's ominous. I did get annoyed a bit when reading about Hinckley. I felt like he was the villain and I didn't care to know much about his life but it did show how random the threat to the President's life can be. Parr's connection with Reagan though is much more interesting. Ever since he was nine years old, when he saw The Code of the Secret Service starring Reagan, he wanted to become an agent. How amazing it must have been for him to be protecting the President all those years later, much less the fact that Reagan was elected.

As you get to the day of the shooting the suspense picks up. It’s not because Wilber is increasing the pace  of the narrative but because he is writing like a newspaperman who is recounting the events but with no limit on the number of words. Not only is the narrative very good but it is also quite informative. He gives you a behind the scenes look at how officials prepared for that day and then responded to the tragedy. One thing Wilber highlights is that Reagan was in much worse shape than anyone had known. Although the President walked into the emergency room on his own he took a bullet that ended up an inch from his heart and they had to put him down to operate. There was a potential vacuum in leadership as top administration officials were trying to decide whether to have Vice President Bush take over and how to make that transition happen according to the 25th Amendment. 

Once I picked up the book I kept reading it everyday and was pulled along by the suspense and interest brought out by great writing. It is such an amazing story and eye-opening story and you’ll enjoy reading it. This book is a page-turner. I would recommend it to anyone.


http://rawhidedown.com/

Painting With Words

I had read the book on John Adams and the accompanying HBO series after it came out on DVD. It was the first time I had read the book before seeing the film. No surprise that the book was better but it also was able to give a full picture of Adams' life. David McCullough does an amazing job of putting you into the shoes of Adams and his wife when you read the letters they wrote to each other. The same is true of his letters with Thomas Jefferson in the latter part of his life. McCullough talks about that in his book and how he gets into the mind of his subjects. He tries to retrace their steps, which is not difficult to do since he lives on the very ground they walked. He also understands why history is so remarkable and appealing and his books bring it to life. If you know someone who thinks history is boring then they need to read one of McCulloughs books.

And The Beat Goes On

John McWhorter is a linguist by trade and his career as a writer of books on current issues was unexpected. His first major book (the first one I'd heard of at least) was Losing the Race: Self-Sabotage in Black America. He was interested in issues regarding race and it became a second career. He brings an interesting perspective in that he is not a conservative but nevertheless goes against the grain of the conventional wisdom of black intellectual circles. In particular, his aforementioned book talks about disturbing trends in black culture that contribute more towards the deprivation of blacks today than institutional racism. He explains and tackles the rampant and popular victimology of many blacks.

In All about the Beat: Why Hip-Hop Can't Save Black America McWhorter again challenges popular sentiments by debunking the fantasy that hip-hop is this deeply intellectual art form that will drive major changes in society. He doesn't do with disdain either since he points out that he enjoys the music. It's just that he doesn't make more out of it than what's there.

http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-all-about-the-beat/

A critical review:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-book19-2008jun19,0,3026167.story

Christianity & Capitalism

I'm going to go back a few years to a book by Jay W. Richards entitled, Money, Greed and God: Why Capitalism is the Solution and not the Problem. Jay is a clear writer, thinker, and speaker and has a humble, charming demeanor. He explains, persuasively, that Christianity and capitalism are not at odds with each other. In the book are several myths which he debunks about capitalism and then shows how it actually accords with Biblical teachings on economics. Jay himself has made a philosophical journey from socialism to being for free enterprise and he talks about how his views changed. I think this makes the book very relevant to the layman and shows that it's not a high-brow, stuffy book on abstract concepts but something that is very concrete and real. I particularly learned a lot from his chapter dealing with free trade and fair trade.

Here is a review and a talk he gave at AEI in Washington, D.C.:

http://blog.acton.org/archives/10317-review-money-greed-and-god.html

Roll Call Reed

Thomas B. Reed is a little known figure but his legacy is still seen today. He was a Speaker of the House of Representatives during the post Civil War era and made significant changes to the institution. We often hear complaints about the gov't in deadlock today but the House at that time would make the current Congress look like workaholics. He was a tall, imposing man at 6' 2" and 300 lbs but he used his wit to get his way. Nicknamed "Czar Reed" he bluntly disregarded the rules in order to get more legislation through the chamber. He was so successful that they called the 51st Congress the "billion-dollar Congress." He had the size of Taft and the wit of Churchill.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703730804576312150786321850.html

"Peace, peace," they say...

Back in April Jay Nordlinger writes an article in National Review in which he talks about how abused and slippery the term 'peace' really is and why it is so hard to define. The challenge is even more difficult for those who have to decide who is advancing peace and therefore worthy of the Nobel every year.

Nordlinger gives us a fascinating tour through the history of the prize and the ups and downs related to the people that have been chosen and, in one year I believe, not chosen. It's probably a topic that you don't know much about even though the prize is ubiquitous. Jay has a way of making things interesting too so it will be worth your while. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jay-nordlinger/nobel-prize-history_b_1386005.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpVykTULagY

The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday

Watching the SEALs do what they do is a source of great motivation for me to overcome hurdles and endure any challenge. They're subjected to such grueling tests and come out on the other side successful. They get the toughest assignments and they carry them out under intense circumstances and with professionalism. Quitting is not in their vocabulary and it is not something they're familiar with. You figure it out and push on no matter what.

Marcus Luttrell's story is a profile in courage, sacrifice, and service. He wrote his first book, Lone Survivor, about his combat service in his Afghanistan and the harrowing story about his rescue when his unit got into some trouble. He was awarded the Navy Cross and returned to Iraq after he recuperated from his wounds. He served for a few months in the Al Anbar Province before he injured himself again and had to come back home for good.

A Winter Of Discontent

I just bought Valley Forge: George Washington and the Crucible of Victory today and I'm hopeful it will be as good as the previous books that Newt Gingrich and William Forstchen have written on the Civil War, WWII, and now the Revolutionary War. Their previous book was To Try Men's Souls and it was an account of weeks leading up to the Christmas morning attack on the Hessian camp in 1776. There the army and the entire cause of revolution was meeting its first major challenge in the harsh winter months and their commitment was being tested.

The winter at Valley Forge was a similarly trying time for Washington and the army. Baron von Steuben shows up and turns the ragtag boys into professional soldiers. He is responsible for the military's traditions for instilling discipline and professionalism into its new recruits. After the war he also became the first Inspector General for the U.S. Army. He said that when he gave orders to his soldiers in Prussia that they would execute it without question. With his American soldiers, though, he found himself spending time explaining what he wanted them to do and why. That's a telling insight into American culture.

Here are a couple of reviews for the book which are a bit mixed:

http://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/valley-forge/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/02/AR2010110205357.html

Why Does Margaret Thatcher Still Matter Today?

I recently finished Claire Berlinski's There Is No Alternative and it was the most interesting biography I've read for a few reasons. Claire writes this biography based on talking to the people who worked with her in government and even those who did battle with her from the other side of the dispatch box. She also knows how to focus in on what matters and so I felt like I was in good hands. It's like that friend who is a great storyteller and knows how to keep you in suspense along the way. Being a novel writer before this book, it helped having a little of the feel of a novel unfolding at certain points and made it interesting.

Claire argues that Thatcher matters today because she was able to perceive the significance of what was going on at that moment in time and she knew how to seize the opportunity to great effect. This short clip is a better explanation, in her words, of what the book is really about. I think it captures the essence of her argument.

They Eat Puppies, Don't They?

Christopher Buckley is one of those people who gets me laughing before he even starts in with his mischievous humor. He is one of the best satirists in the country and a great writer, and apparently has the gift of unintentional clairvoyance. A few of his books have turned out to anticipate real people and events occurring in culture and politics. This Nostradamus-like man seems to force life to imitate art. Here he discusses his latest book, They Eat Puppies, Don't They?

Wilber On Reagan's Near Assassination

This is a snippet from C-SPAN's BookTV in which Del Quentin Wilber explains how he got the idea to write the book. It's an interesting story involving the handgun sitting in an evidence bag in drawer of an FBI office. It was a story that was supposed to be about corruption involving Ethiopian taxi cab drivers and turned into a story about the day Reagan was shot.

Wilber Explains The Origins of His Book