Tag: WWII

An Interesting Review

I’m always on the lookout for an interesting book to read. The only problem is that the supply of equally interesting book reviews are in short supply. So, it was with great interest that I read a review entitled simply, Summer Reading, about an interesting sounding book with a really long title, “Agent Garbo: The Brilliant, Eccentric Secret Agent Who Tricked Hitler and Saved D-Day.” The book is written by Stephan Talty and sounds like a real winner-one that I must have for my collection. The book has everything I would want: history, mystery, secret agents, and probably more; all of which is presented by an author who really sounds as if he knows his topic.

The author of the review, William Bridges, is a favorite blogger of mine. He has an easy to read writing style and doesn’t tend to embellish his experiences. I find that I can trust what he has to say, which is more than I can say for the majority of what I read online. Of course, the topic of this post is the review, which I hope you’ll read critically for the style it provides.

Any review that you read is an opinion-never confuse a review with fact. What you need are reviews that match your world perspective. When an author presents ideas, concepts, and remarks that fall in line with your own-you’ve found a reviewer who can help you make an intelligent buying decision. If you want to find out more about this then take a look at this buying decision article that goes into more detail. But ultimately, that’s the purpose of a review; to help you understand the product in question well enough to make a good buying decision. Of course, the review has to be well-written. Ask yourself questions such as, “Can the reviewer actually gain insights into the hurdles faced by the book’s author?” A good reviewer presents an informed opinion, one that considers a number of perspectives.

I’ve always felt that good reviews are critical, but also constructive. A review must examine the topic in enough detail so that the reader can understand the reason the author took time to review the book (or any other product for that matter) in the first place. However, the review must also explore both the pros and the cons of the book. Bill always provides these sorts of elements in his reviews, which is the reason I’ll continue to read them as long as he sees fit to write them.

My current book list is a tad tall. People have been kind and sent a few items of reading material my way. However, once I wade through the current pile I’ll read this book and provide my own review of it. I hope that you enjoy my review as much as I enjoyed Bill’s. What do you look for in a review? Let me know at [email protected].

 

Remembering Pearl Harbor

Today is a special day—it’s the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor that caused the United States to enter World War II (WWII). The attack began at just before 8:00 am Hawaiian time. The Japanese aircraft did everything they could to destroy our fleet. They almost succeeded. I say almost because the most important ships, the aircraft carriers, happened to be somewhere else that day. The Japanese also somehow managed to miss the dry docks that would be used to repair many of the ships they damaged, along with oil depots, repair shops, and submarine pens.  We lost 2,341 Navy, Marine, and Army personnel that day, along with 49 civilians. The destruction of ships, aircraft, buildings, and other war materials was equally impressive. As terrible as this day was though, the loss would be just the tip of a much larger mountain of people who would be killed during WWII. You’ve probably heard all of this before. If not, you’ll likely hear it today.

One of the more interesting facts about the start of WWII is that Japan was actually an American ally during WWI. I’ve always found this interesting because the start of the tragedy that was WWII was sown during the completion of WWI. You can’t really understand how WWII started without first studying WWI. For example, most people don’t realize that there was outright discrimination against the Japanese in the League of Nations. America was one of the countries that voted against the Japanese proposed “racial equality clause” that would have reduced discrimination against Japan on the world stage. Of course, none of this excuses the Japanese attack and I’m not trying to defend them in any way—I’m simply interested in trying to figure out what series of events eventually caused the outbreak of WWII. The causes are not nearly so one sided as many would have you believe and the results, terrible as they were, were not simply the delusional efforts of madmen that came to power in these countries. We all have a seat at the table of conspirators for that war—one that could have been avoided.

Causes aside, reading the stories of the veterans of Pearl Harbor tells a fuller story. These men had no political ambitions and most of them weren’t even aware of the Japanese grievances. Remember, America was xenophobic at the time—we didn’t concern ourselves in the affairs of other countries. They were there to do a job—a really hard job. Having been in the Navy myself for ten years, I can attest to the difficult conditions, long work hours, and excessively low pay anyone in the service has to live with. The world is an imperfect place and it’ll always be imperfect because it’s staffed by equally imperfect humans. If Japan truly had a gripe against America, it should have resolved these grievances in the right way. Instead, Japan killed thousands of service personnel who weren’t even able to arm themselves in time. The attack was a complete surprise.

I’ve stood at the Arizona Memorial several times when my ship visited Hawaii and tried to imagine the terrible conflagration that broke out on that day. It would have been incomprehensible. I’ve read the first hand reports of burn victims whose skin simply peeled off when touched. Yet, our service personnel distinguished themselves by trying to defend our country against the Japanese attack. It boggles the mind. I’d like to think I would have had the inner strength to join in and do my duty during such an event. Thankfully, I was never tested in quite that way.

A recent article in The American Legion magazine talks of that day and the ways in which we have remembered it. Unfortunately, most Americans won’t have an opportunity to see the Arizona Memorial or fully understand the horrifying nature of that event. Still, as the actors in that war continue to pass on and fade from memory, we must never forget that day or we’ll be doomed to relive it. Americans owe part of their freedom today to the blood shed on that day. If we’re to honor those combatants and their ultimate sacrifice, we must consider today the ramifications of the events surrounding that war. Remembering the causes, the effects, and the loss of innocent lives is the best way to honor our war dead.