In the summer of 2005, in the Korangal Valley of Afghanistan, a US Navy SEAL reconnaissance team was ambushed by local militia. Three of the four men were killed in the fight, and a quick reaction force helicopter sent in to rescue the team was destroyed by an RPG, killing all 8 SEALs on board. Only one man came out of the battle alive. This is his story. It’s a well-written book, both informative and entertaining. Luttrell sprinkles the book with humorous anecdotes about the […]
Alexander Hamilton had a torrid affair, and he wrote it down RIGHT THERE
You guys. This book had everything: Historical facts and stories spanning hundreds of years Weird facts about well-known (and not-so-much) historical figures Humor (for serious, some serious laughs) Unbiased commentary on what shitty people certain historical figures were (coughcoughNORMALMAILERcough) Some real feels, for reals (Oscar Wilde SAD FACE) I also enjoyed that it was basically a history lesson wrapped in gossip, which was AWESOME. It Ended Badly is a quick, interesting read, full of bizarre stories about some historical figures you may know, and some […]
To stare into the abyss and see a vacant soul
Objective Troy (2015) Not previously reviewed for CBR. On September 30, 2011, the US assassinated Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Kahn in Al Jawf, Yemen. Both men were American citizens, though only Awlaki had been targeted by the US government. Two weeks later, Awlaki’s 16-year old son, Abdulraman al-Awlaki, was also killed in a drone strike in Yemen, though he wasn’t specifically targeted. He, Awlaki, came to national prominence as a “moderate voice” of Islam following the devastation of 9/11, giving numerous interviews to the media; […]
Segregation, hate, and love
When we learned about the Civil Rights movement in grade school, we watched videos of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s speeches and some of the protests. I remember being horrified at the racist, white people screaming with all the righteous indignation their stupidity could muster. I figured they must be so ashamed of themselves now–having been caught on the wrong side of history with their violent ignorance. As much as those videos affected me, I still did not understand the reality of living in the South […]
“It was not the sea that was cruel, but the people…”
Both JB and Boss read The Lifeboat and I think that they both liked it more than I did, although I just asked Boss and he said after having been away from it for awhile, he felt it was fine but kind of flat. JB said it was a fascinating look at human behavior, and I suppose he’s right, but it just didn’t set me on fire the way I think it did him. I think that this is one of those books that you […]
Our Past is a Warning for Our Future
I’ve been looking for a text to accompany some nonfiction pieces for my Sophomore English class. The non-ficiton pieces are about the Japanese-American internment camps during WWII and I’ve been looking for a novel to give the students a better idea of what happened during this program. I really liked The Invisible Thread , but sadly that’s out of print. Then I came across Dust of Eden. It was recommended to me by a colleague (God bless fellow English teachers). It’s interesting because it’s a […]
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