Considered to be the definitive book on the Vietnam War. I had read this book many years ago, but I’m glad that taking the Vietnam War course at LSU forced me to reread it. Despite my professor’s hawkish pronouncements, after rereading this book I don’t see any way we could have won in Vietnam, short of invading North Vietnam, which surely would have provoked the Chinese to intervene, or blasting North Vietnam to bits with nuclear weapons, which would have been inhumane and would have caused an international uproar. The enemy we were facing was simply too determined to prevail at all costs. An enemy that can maintain morale despite sustaining such huge losses cannot help but provoke admiration. Vietnam, IMHO, remains a tragic but cautionary tale about the limits of U.S. power that is just as relevant today as it was then.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2010/12/22/vietnam-a-history-by-stanley-karnow/
Nov 11 2010
Four Hours in My Lai by Michael Bilton
My instructor assigned this book, but he mostly glossed over it in class. This is not a book to gloss over. The professor sees My Lai as an aberration, an exceptional case, but I think the lesson to take home from it is that under the right circumstances even decent and honorable people can become monsters. The My Lai incident is not widely remembered by the American public, but that is unfortunate, because it has been thoroughly investigated and meticulously documented, and it deserves to be remembered even though the military and the Nixon administration did their best to sweep it under the rug. Winston Churchill is cited in this book as saying that a nation without a conscience cannot survive, which is why I think ordinary Americans need to take a good hard look at My Lai and stop sleepwalking through history. I believe in American exceptionalism, but I don’t buy into the whatever-we-do-is-right theory of American history, and this book illustrates what is wrong with that theory.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2010/11/11/four-hours-in-my-lai-by-michael-bilton/
Nov 04 2010
The Soul of China by Amaury De Riencourt
My exposure to Chinese history has mostly been disappointing thus far–but this book was FASCINATING. The author writes in the colorful and subjective style that today’s politically correct historians are afraid to write in. He is not afraid of making judgments, which is refreshing given that modern academicians are steeped in relativism. The core theme in this book is how at a very early point in its history China created a stable civilization that changed very little for thousands of years, and how this cultural petrification led to a crisis when China came into contact with the energetic and innovative West. In the end China embraced Marxism-Leninism as a way of rejecting elements of Western civilization that did not fit with Chinese culture, such as individualism, Christianity, and democracy, while embracing those aspects which were undeniably positive, such as science and industry. I have to say that this book saved me from a hopeless ennui regarding Chinese history.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2010/11/04/the-soul-of-china-by-amaury-de-riencourt/
Oct 22 2010
Coriolanus by William Shakespeare
The title character is that rare example of a man who is honorable to the point where his honor is insufferable. He distinguishes himeself in war–no small thing among the naturally warlike Romans–but cannot abide lowering himself to curry favor with the public. The story features some memorable passages from both the popular and the aristocratic cause, but Shakespeare as an Englishman of good breeding naturally sides with the aristocrats. But the story of a man who is too noble for his own good is a fitting subject for a tragedy, and this one is a fine example of the Bard at his best.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2010/10/22/coriolanus-by-william-shakespeare/
Oct 12 2010
The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
There has been a movement in recent times among historians and political scientists to rehabilitate Machiavelli’s reputation. After reading this book, I cannot agree with these scholars. Machiavelli’s recipe for statesmanship is inhuman and diabolical. He clearly sees power as an end in itself and not as something to be used to serve the public good. His treatise is entirely concerned with the interests of the the ruler and not with the interests of the ruled. This, in my opinion, is the wrong place to start in developing a political philosophy. Yet I have to say that this was a fascinating book, and it merely codifies what was probably already known and accepted among the rulers of Machiavelli’s time. The book is dedicated to Lorenzo di Medici, but Machiavelli’s hero was not Lorenzo but Cesare Borgia, who successfully used the methods prescribed by Machiavelli to rise to power and then came to a bad end when other rulers successfully used the same methods against him.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2010/10/12/the-prince/
Jul 15 2010
Psychology and Alchemy by C.G. Jung
The word “alchemy” in the title is suggestive of the scientific merit of this book. Jung seems to believe that psychological wisdom can be found in the writings of the alchemists, and in this work he pores over their texts in search of his own Philosopher’s Stone. The texts are far out to begin with, but Jung’s interpretations of them are even more far out. To say I “read” this book is perhaps an exaggeration; most of it was beyond the realm of readability. Freud takes a lot of heat these days for being unscientific, but compared to Jung’s bottomless penchant for mumbo-jumbo he seems positively rigorous. If you’re looking for insights in this book, it seems to me you can find just about anything you’re looking for; Jung can turn a cake recipe into font of hidden knowledge. Alchemy has been discredited in favor of chemistry; I leave it to other readers to judge how closely Jung’s theories approach scientific psychology.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2010/07/15/psychology-and-alchemy-by-c-g-jung/
Jun 03 2010
Alexander the Great by Robin Lane Fox
All historians have heroes, and Alexander is clearly the author’s hero. He offers contrived explanations for what might be perceived as Alexander’s misdeeds, and he conveniently dismisses as fictitious any source that might cast his hero in a negative light. This was not the most objective biography, but to a great extent I share Fox’s admiration for Alexander and his unparalleled achievements. All the sources agree that Alexander was an extraordinary individual, and even those who dismiss him as a bloodthirsty tyrant must give him his due. Clearly the man is worthy of his cognomen, and this book does justice to his greatness.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2010/06/03/alexander-the-great-by-robin-lane-fox/
May 02 2010
Madame de Stael by Francine du Plessix Gray
The subject of this book is an extraordinary individual, yet I find myself disliking her. Mme de Stael was brilliantly eloquent, audaciously spirited, and a gifted writer, yet there is an overwhelmingly histrionic side to her personality that makes it impossible for me to take her seriously. There is much in her that seems to exemplify the French national character: wittiness, charm, and an endless capacity for love affairs. But she did not lack courage: she was an outspoken critic of Napoleon when it was dangerous to be one. This book also reveals a boorish, anti-intellectual side to Napoleon that is remarkably ugly. A good profile of an outstanding personality.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2010/05/02/madame-de-stael-by-francine-du-plessix-gray/
Apr 12 2010
A History of Europe by J.M. Roberts
This is a big book, but not quite big enough to adequately cover 3000 years of history. Ancient Greece is covered in twenty pages, the Roman Empire in forty. However, the later chapters on the hegemonic years of Europe, when Europe was the center of power, culture, and civilization in the world, are quite interesting. 1914 was the end of this hegemony, not just in the eyes of the world but in the eyes of Europeans themselves, and 1945 relegated Europe to second class status in the competition between superpowers. This book was written before 2001; with a remarkable lack of foresight and acumen, the author acknowledges that in the aftermath of the Cold War some on the West are coming to see radical Islam as the new emerging threat, then he proceeds to dismiss the radical Islamic threat as nothing but an irrational bogey. History frequently proves historians wrong. But this was a good single-volume European history, although not quite as good as the Norman Davies book.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2010/04/12/a-history-of-europe-by-j-m-roberts/
Mar 28 2010
Mugabe: Teacher, Revolutionary, and Tyrant by Andrew Norman
This book reminds me that biographies are often the best source of history. I recently read a book on the history of Zimbabwe, but it wasn’t nearly as informative as this book. The arc of Mugabe’s life reads almost like a Greek tragedy. He had very promising beginnings indeed. A brilliant scholar, a dedicated teacher, a courageous political activist who remained unbowed and unbroken after years of incarceration–in the early phase of his career there was little indication of the cruel and bloodthirsty tyrant he would eventually become. But the greater tragedy is for the people of Zimbabwe who have suffered and continue to suffer at the hands of his despotic regime. Even the white colonial rulers were not as much of disaster for the people of this country as Mugabe has been. Is Africa truly better off for having gained its independence? As much as I have studied Africa, I am not sure that I can answer this affirmatively.
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2010/03/28/mugabe-teacher-revolutionary-and-tyrant-by-andrew-norman/
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