Don't Double Cross Me: The Spies Who Made D-Day A Success

I find espionage a fascinating topic whether in real life or in Bond films. Of course, in real life the suspense and amazement is greater because you know it isn't a game-at least, not one you want to lose. The fact that the D-Day invasion was successful is astounding given the difficulty of keeping the operation secret and the multiple close calls when the secret almost got out. There's an interesting story about the codenames for some of the beaches finding their way into a newspaper crossword puzzle several months before the invasion.

Well, Ben Macintyre's book looks very interesting to me and in the video below explains what the book is about with passion and excitement. I only hope that his book is as well written. Macintyre focuses on the work that MI-5 did to keep the operation a secret, especially by tricking the Germans into believing that the invasion would happen at Pas de Calais. The reason why they were able to deceive the Germans was because they were certain that Patton would lead the invasion and so a fictitious army of plastic tanks, planes, vehicles, and other equipment was constructed in order to make it look so. For weeks after the landing the Germans still were convinced that the real invasion was yet to come. Macintyre has written a couple of books on espionage and seems to have a knack for it.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/historybookreviews/9183328/Double-Cross-by-Ben-Macintyre-review.html

Richard Brookhiser's James Madison

I have for you a great writer and an interesting subject. Richard Brookhiser is a senior editor at National Review and has written several other books on the Founders. I always enjoy watching him in an interview because he really makes history come alive for me in eye-opening ways. He talks about men who lived 200 years ago as if they're alive today.

James Madison is an interesting figure whom people don't know much about. I find it interesting to read about men who today are remembered in history but who, at the time, probably did not seem to be destined for greatness. Madison wasn't a great speaker at all but he was very intelligent and passionate about his political beliefs. He was also very shy. He is known as the Father of the Constitution but Brookhiser says he is also the Father of Politics and was the first President to have a political First Lady. Madison lead the first party with Jefferson, the Anti-Federalists. He was also one of the first English speakers to use the phrase "public opinion."

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/books/review/james-madison-by-richard-brookhiser-book-review.html

Groseclose on Media Bias

Tim Groseclose's  Left Turn: How Liberal Media Bias Distorts the American Mind is on my hopelessly long and growing reading list. I have had the privilege of enjoying his writings on Ricochet. I can tell from his posts that he is very rigorous and diligent in his work. He believes in the science part of political science and has worked to come up with a scientific way of measuring a person's political views and the media's bias. 


If you like some interaction then you'll like this book because there is a quiz you can take that will tell you what your PQ is, which stands for political quotient. Your PQ is where you are on the political spectrum. The average American's PQ score is 50.4 and your score is higher if more liberal and lower if more conservative. For the media he gives them an SQ (slant quotient) which is structured the same way and is based on 20 media outlets that Dr. Groseclose evaluated. The New York Times and Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut both have an SQ and PQ, respectively, of 74. That means the paper has the same bias as a speech Sen. Lieberman gives on the floor. His research showed that 18 out of the 20 outlets were more liberal. His approach is to look at the facts that the media mention in order to determine where their bias lies. It's not really meant to show that one station or newspaper lies while another doesn't. 

You will have noticed by now that this book is for the analytic mind, especially quantitative analysis. This book is perfect for you if you like statistics, political science, or economics. However, he does write the book, and everything else for publication, in an accessible way and even the layman can find something useful and informative about in it. 


http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/sep/12/can-math-prove-media-bias/?page=all