Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang is a family history and autobiography of three generations of a Chinese family, spanning most of the 20th century in China. Published in 1991, the 650-page tome hadn’t come to my attention until recently. I delved in and found it fascinating. Released just after the collapse …
Continue reading A penetrating personal account of the brutalities of 20th century Chinese communism
About a month ago I wrote a blog asserting that, unless some new major scandal erupted causing Graham Platner to leave the race, Maine voters would be faced in November with two bad US Senate choices—but for different reasons. Monday’s apparently credible rape allegation has proven the tipping point for his top Democratic supporters, who …
King of Kings: The Iranian Revolution: A Story of Hubris, Delusion and Catastrophic Miscalculation by Scott Anderson is a spellbinding journalistic revelation of the innermost thinking and maneuvering of key players in Iran and the United States leading up to the 1979 American Embassy seizure of hostages that would change the course of world events. …
Continue reading Iran: a tale of arrogance, self-delusion and unforced blunders
Four hundred thousand people attended the July Fourth Bicentennial Boston Pops Esplanade Concert in 1976. I was one of them. It was a gorgeous summer night, a peaceful crowd enjoying the music and spirit of post-Watergate comity. A shared sense of patriotism and pride. Fifty years later it’s hard to replicate that sense of optimism. …
The Director by Daniel Kehlmann is a challenging but intriguing work of fiction. Its surreal and expressionistic style focuses on its characters’ dreamlike experiences and emotional journeys. These stylistic elements mix with realism as the narrative develops, prompting this reader to appreciate the author’s stunning talent and creativity. This historical novel is based mostly on …
Unless some new major scandal leads the Democratic establishment to replace Graham Platner on the ballot in the next 30 days, the choice for U. S. Senate from Maine is between Democrat Graham Platner,44, and Republican Susan Collins, 77. Yet again, voters in November will be presented with two bad choices, but for quite different …
Continue reading Collins v. Platner: hold your nose and vote for him?
The Order of the Day by award-winning French novelist and film maker Eric Vuillard is a well-researched and creatively presented story of the Anschluss, Hitler’s move to take over Austria and incorporate it into Germany. It is a brief cautionary tale in narrative non-fiction form. Where direct quotes are available, Vuillard uses them. Where they …
Newton Center Green in Massachusetts was packed on Saturday, despite temperature in the 30's and a biting wind. A 10-piece local brass band energized the crowd with a rousing Saints Go Marching In. There were young and old, black and white, center and left, pets wearing "No Kings" doggie jackets, and speeches, lots of speeches. …
Continue reading No Kings Rallies: pictures worth a thousand words
King Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochschild was first published in 1998, but its 2020 relaunch, with a forward by noted author Barbara Kingsolver and the author’s own afterword, attests to its relevance today. A dogged historical researcher, Hochschild documents the shameful capture of Africa’s Congo river and territory by the rapacious megalomaniac King Leopold II …
For a populist President who campaigned against the foreign entanglements of his predecessors and raged against nation building, it’s stunning that he would launch a military action against Venezuela that the vast majority of Americans oppose, at least without authorization by his reflexively compliant Congress. Trump traditionally says his critics suffer from Trump derangement syndrome. …
Continue reading Trump says the U.S. will run Venezuela. What’s next?
