Bob's Books

Why this book: Selected by my literature reading group. Also I’d read three others of Hampton Sides’ historical narratives, and all were great (Blood and Thunder, Kingdom of Ice, and Ghost Soldiers.).  

Summary in 3 Sentences: The book begins with a background on James Cook and his previous 2 voyages to the Pacific and then how he was selected to captain this final most ambitious effort by the British Admiralty to explore the Pacific and find the Northwest Passage.  It covers the entire 3rd vosyage, of Cooks two ships, the  Resolution and the Discovery, around Cape Horn, Austraila and New Zealand, the encounters Cooks team had with the Polynesians of Tahite and what is now French Polynesia, and then their exploration of the north western coast of North America and Alaska and into the Arctic in search of the NW passage, and then finally returning to Hawaii where events took an unexpected turn for the worse.

My Impressions: Another fascinating historical narrative by Hampton Sides – revealing an important piece of history about which I was only vaguely aware.  I listened to rather than read this book, knowing from my previous experiences with the author that it would be captivating and easy to follow. The narrator had a British accent which was appropriate given that Cook not only was English, but his voyage was on behalf of the imperialist aims of 18th century England  The problem with listening is that I’m sure that the hard copy had maps which would have helped a lot – as it was, I had to remind myself when I got back to my computer to find maps which laid out his voyage. 

The main subject of the book, Cook’s 3rd and final voyage, begins with the long transit to the South Pacific around Africa, Cape Horn below Australia to Tasmania and then New Zealand before getting to the Tahitian Islands – and beyond.

But the book begins with a brief summary of Cook’s 1st and 2nd voyages which also serve as an introduction of Cook himself.  We learn of his background, how he came to be a highly regarded explorer before the 3rd voyage, as well as an introduction into how the Royal Navy functioned, how captains were selected and the preparation required for ambitious voyages of discovery and empire.

One of the key characters of the early part of the book was Omai who had been brought back to England from the Tahitian islands on Cook’s second voyage.  Sides goes into some length describing how he was received and feted in England, how he adapted and became a celebrity, wanting only to return to his home Islands to avenge his tribe after a war with another tribe. 

King George III directed that Omai be returned to his home islands on Cook’s 3rd voyage and the King also insisted that Cook bring a wide variety of animals and plants to help spread “civilization” to the Pacific Islands. Omai was indeed returned by Cook to his native Tahitian Islands, but that didn’t work out as well as had been hoped. Omai expected, in fact demanded that he be treated as a returning hero with privilges and power, which those in power in his native community resented. He alienated the people he returned to by “putting on airs,”  and his return was not as fortuitous as he’d desired. 

One of the key objectives and most interesting aspects of this book were the anthropological aspects of Cook’s contact – often first European contact – with islanders in many parts of the Pacific.  He was more respectful and sensitive than most to native cultures and endeavored to always build positive relations – which was often difficult, given that his crews did not share his same sensibilities.  This is perhaps understandable given the age of his crew, and the hardships of their voyage. When Cook and his crew  finally arrived in the islands, their primary goal was to somehow get something pleasurable from the natives – and that usually meant sex.  And in this, the natives were usually happy to comply, as the sailors were new and different, and the natives had no experience with Christian prejudices against recreational or transactional sex.  The native girls were often only too happy to trade sex for some of what the sailors had to offer that were valuable to them, such as nails, mirrors, cloth, etc. And the native men profited from these transactions as well, offering up their sisters, wives, daughters. 

Captain Cook only sought to inhibit these transactions when he realized that his sailors were spreading venereal disease (primarily gonorrhea) where it had been previously unknown. He tried, often unsuccessfully, to keep sailors on board who his surgeon knew had “the clap.”  

Cook was the first European to have recorded a visit to the Hawaiian Islands, though there is some scant evidence that perhaps a Spanish vessel may have visited, or been shipwrecked.  Cook’s expedition stumbled on the Hawaiian Islands on their way to the Northwest Coast of America in search of the Northwest Passage. They stopped to get supplies and fresh water and rest, then headed for what is now the coast of Washington State and Vancouver, and they continued sailing northwest, exploring every inlet they found in an unsuccessful effort to find a through passage.  They went north to Alaska, proceeded along the southern coast of Alaska through the Bering Sea and into the Arctic Sea before turning around, after hitting an impenetrable wall of ice.  Along the way they met with Inuit and other native tribes, many of whom had had contact with Russian traders, or knew of Russian ships which had been in the region.  

Cook then turned his expedition around and returned to the Hawaiian Islands to refit, recover, and spend the winter.  Cook planned to return to the Arctic the following summer in hopes of finding a passage before the ice closed in. But his arrival in Hawaii inauspiciously coincided with a major religious ceremony, and the native Hawaiians believed Cook to be a god returning to help and serve the people. This led to a series of misunderstandings and a series of bad decisions and bad judgement calls that Cook made,  culminating in a fight that led to Cook’s death and that of several of his crew.  The expedition’s second in command took over and reluctantly decided to carry out Cook’s plan, and returned to the Arctic the following summer, again hit the ice wall and then headed  the thousands of miles back to England. 

One of the sub-themes that Sides returned to frequently was that on this voyage, something didn’t seem right with Cook.  He seemed to have become angrier, less tolerant, and impetuous in ways that he had not been on previous expeditions. He had previously been known as a calm, steady, and dispassionate man of good judgment and a rational demeanor. On this expedition,  those who knew him were surprised when he regularly behaved or made decisions inconsistent with his previous character.  Anger, and bad judgment were instrumental in leading to the confrontation at which he lost his life. 

The Wide, Wide Sea was not only very engaging to read, but was informative and insightful, as have been the other historical narratives I’ve read by Hampton Sides.  I just read another book that I would recommend before reading this one – The Wager – about an incident in the Royal Navy that happened 40+ years before Cook’s 3rd voyage.  This book sheds light on some of the practices of the Royal Navy that would add to the appreciation of Cook’s voyage, and Sides’ account of it.  

Why this book: Proposed by my friend Ernie in my literature reading group, but not selected by the group.  It looked interesting to me and as a short read, I decided to read it.  

Summary in  4 Sentences:  A Russian conscript in modern times (everyone has a cell phone)  is on a train with other conscripts to do their initial duty assignment in Siberia, but he truly dreads the experience and decides to desert along the way.  On the train he has a casual encounter with a French woman a bit older who is running away from her lover.  Events lead to the French woman reluctantly choosing to help the young Russian hide from his Sergeant and ultimately desert.  They reach Vladivostok, and though they have no common language, they feel connected – they have both escaped into an unknown and uncertain future.  

My Impressions More a novella than a novel – a very short read  (127 pp of large print on small pages), but very engaging.  The Russian conscript – a confused young man of 20  – is on a train to Siberia with  other conscripts to begin their obligated time in service,  and he decides he REALLY doesn’t want to do this, is afraid, and decides to desert – somehow.     On the train, he has a chance and fortuitous encounter with a somewhat older (35ish?)  French woman running from what she fears – a committed relationship and all that entails with a Russian man she loves. She has no plan – she is just running away.

This is not a love story – the conscript and the French woman don’t even have a common language  to communicate with each other – but come to a non-verbal understanding. Reluctantly, the French woman chooses to help the young conscript desert by evading the Russian sergeant.

The story is about their visceral connection on the train, his ham-fisted attempts to escape, how she is drawn into his dilemma, how she is also struggling with her own escape – emotionally from her lover.  It was clear to me that both of them had made rash decisions to run from their fears, without thinking through the consequences.  The books concludes with uncertain futures for both of them.  

The young man had been from a broken home and poor family, but was blessed with good looks and physical strength, but damn little self-confidence  The French woman is a sympathetic character who wanted and needed love but was afraid of it.  We don’t get to know her past – only that she’d met her Russian lover in Paris and had agreed to return with him to Russia, and then, as he began what clearly would be a good career that would keep him there, she panicked.  She was cowardly in how she left him, but she showed courage in  choosing to help the young conscript, which entailed risk to her.  Both she and the conscript were taking big chances – we are left to wonder whether and how those courageous decision might transform their lives. 

The book is very well written and sparse.  The protagonists are sympathetic characters but found themselves in a dilemma as a result of their own weakness-of-will and inability/unwillingness to take responsibility for their own decisions.  Then, their rash decisions and circumstances forced them to deal with the consequences – which were yet to be determined.  

The book offers other perspectives.  We get to see how the other passengers on the train react to Siberia, passing by the spectacular Lake Baikal and then we see their resonse to some of the drama on the train and at the stops.  Some of the key take-aways for me were to remind me of the basic humanity of the Russian people and Russian soldiers, as well as the broad and long expanses of Siberia – recall the train scenes in the movie Doctor Zhivago – I’d love to make that train ride when/if  US-Russian relations thaw.   And how young people the world over, so often make decisions they don’t think through based on fear and lack of self confidence,  and then are left facing new and perhaps scarier challenges as a result.   

It was a short book that made an impression on me.  It was worth my time. 

Why this book. Selected by my Sci Fi book club and it is the sequel to 2034,which I’d previously read (my review of it here.)

Summary in 5 Sentences: The setting is the United States 20 years after the nuclear exchange between the US and China described in their novel  2034.  The US government is strongly divided between the left and the right, and a constitutional crisis is erupting, exacerbated when the President suddenly dies.  The government lies about it and the opposition party assumes he was assassinated by a secret bio-tech capability under development to do “remote gene editing.”  The remainder of the book bounces between the effort to track down the bio-technicians developing remote gene-editing, and the explosive crisis developing in our government – reminiscent of 6 January 2022.  Current longevity guru Ray Kurzweil plays a role as the genius working to achieve “the Singularity” – the merging of biological and technological evolution to create the next generation of humans. 

Impressions;   A quick and fascinating read – though it starts out a bit confusing early on, as each section introduces new characters in new settings – I initially had trouble keeping track.  But soldiering on, I knew (from having read 2034) that eventually they would all somehow be connected and I’d be able to follow the multiple converging stories.  And indeed, that did happen. 

The political dimension is an important part of the story – something of a cautionary tale about the direction the US is heading.  In 2054, the increasingly extreme measures that the left and right ends of the political spectrum resort to in order to retain power are painfully reminiscent of the news today.  2054 takes them to an ugly extreme – certainly driven by the authors’ perception of events of Jan 2022. I thought it was a shortcoming that the book failed to explain changes in our political process – for example, multiple (more than 2) terms of a charismatic, populist President who would not give up power, and the President simply naming his VP. 

In parallel with and connected to that drama, is the effort to find out who and how someone on the cutting edge of bio technology was able to remotely edit the President’s genes to engender a fatal heart attack.  As that international crime conspiracy develops, we find players in China, Japan, Brazil, India and  Nigeria and ultimately learn that the assassination of the President thru remote gene editing is not the most important issue at stake.  As those who’ve followed the development of AI  have certainly read, the country that first is able to develop Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) often called “the Singularity”  will essentially rule the world.  “The Singularity” is when “computer programs become so advanced that AI transcends human intelligence, potentially erasing the boundary between humanity and computers.” (from Google definition of “the Singularity”) 

Ray Kurzweil  – a real human being and bio tech scientist in Silicon Valley (look him up) has been on a quest to find the cure for aging and thus extend human life indefinitely.   In 2054, that quest has led Kurzweil to eventually finding (or approaching) ‘the singularity,’ but he is also fully aware of the power it holds – and he goes into hiding.  Finding Kurzweil becomes a sub-theme of the story. 

2054 was a page turner, once I got through the initial chapters during which I was a bit disoriented,  and I very much enjoyed reading the book. 

That said, in addition to the constitutional shortcomings I previously mentioned, there were a couple of other times I had to suspend disbelief.   Ackerman and Stavridis had two legitimate and very compelling warnings to convey in this book, but I thought their effort to combine them into one novel was a bit strained.  Those two messages/themes were:  the dangers US faces as the vitriol between our political extremes increases;   and the very political and international implications and threats that accompany the accelerated development of AI toward AGI and “the Singularity.”  

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 Why this book: Selected by the SEAL reading group I help lead. I listened to rather than read this book.

Summary in 4 Sentences: The author Susan Eisenhower is Dwight Eisenhower’s grand daughter and is an accomplished woman in her own right, and and her book includes personal memories and interviews with close connections she’s had to the people who were important in Dwight Eisenhower’s life and career.  The book is indeed part biographical, touching on aspects of his personal life that shaped his leadership and character, and how he led as a Five Star Army General, as the president of Colombia University, and finally, as President of the United States. She gives chapters to some of the key events and controversies and decisions of his life and leadership – to include Operation Overlord as the Supreme Allied Commander, his decision to run for President, and as President of the United States, which included the final years of the Korean War, the Suez crisis, the nuclear detente with the Soviet Union, the Joe McCarthy hearings, the Berlin Crisis, the U2 incident, the Civil Rights movement, and more.

My Impresssions:  I really enjoyed and learned a lot from this book – much more than I expected. Susan Eisenhower writes very well and provided the right touch of personal perspective to the history she recounted of events of over 70 years ago have shaped the world we live in today. In addition to her personal experiences with Ike, and her extensive research and interviews with those who knew and worked with him, she had access to his diary and letters he had sent to family members.

From David Roll’s review of this book in the WSJ:

“How Ike Led is not a biography, history or memoir. Instead, it is a unique story, based upon personal experience, family letters and interviews with Dwight Eisenhower’s close friends and advisers, which describes Ike’s strategic leadership throughout World War II and his eight years as president from 1953 to 1961.”

One of the things that struck me, and I believe will strike any reader of this book today, is how the issues and environment Ike dealt with are not dissimilar from what we are experiencing in America today. For example: the two political parties being drive by their extremes, tensions with Russia and China, Civil Rights, Israel and the Middle East, US credibility in the developing world, the national debt and deficit spending, the press which feeds the flames of popular prejudices and attitudes.

In this book, we get to know Ike personally through the eyes of his grand daughter who grew up in his shadow, and also through the eyes of many of his friends, colleagues, subordinates and others who worked with and were influenced by Dwight Eisenhower.   Susan Eisenhower did her research and in addition to Ike’s diaries and letters, she had read the memoirs of many of the people Eisenhower worked with as well as some of the biographies of him, and brought those perspectives into her book.  One can’t help but wonder if the issues that Ike dealt with which we are dealing with today aren’t a chronic part of the American experience.   It is instructive to read how Ike dealt with them – successfully over two terms, keeping us at peace and initiating many projects that continue to positively impact America.  But it is also instructive to read how Ike was attacked and vilified by his opponents, especially during his second term.

He was not seen as a successful President by many, because he didn’t have the showmanship or charisma to cater to public whims that FDR and Kennedy had.  But over time historians and political scientists have reevaluated him as one of our nation’s most effective Presidents. He wasn’t a showman and publicity seeker – and that was one of his great strengths – he was explicitly focused on dong good, much more so than looking good.  His Stoic values of discipline, integrity and  selflessly serving the greater good of the American People were his primary guide posts.  He and George Washington are probably the two Presidents who most adhered to the principles of life and leadership articulated by Marcus Aurelius in his Meditations.  I am surprised Susan Eisenhower never mentions Marcus Aurelius in her book about her grandfather. 

The main theme of the book was Eisenhower the man and his character, and how that was expressed in how he made decisions of great, and even national existential import.  As we learn about the background behind some of the key events of the 1950s, we see these events through Eisenhower’s eyes as understood by Susan, based on her personal experience and her research.  And we see how these events have shaped our history since then.

Ike decided to enter politics and run for President only after seeing that the other candidates representing the leadership of the Democratic and Republican parties of the day represented the extremes of their parties, and left the “middle way” un-represented.  He used his popularity from WW2 to give credibility to a middle way, and he was able to successfully articulate and advocate for political positions that took some from those on the left who sought to expand social welfare programs, and some from the right who sought to enhance individual freedom and responsibility,  and pull back from international commitments.    Would that we had someone like that today.

Key qualities of Eisenhower’s character that are worth considering and emulating.

• He was not a grandstander – did not seek public recognition or glory.

• He devoted himself to the best outcome for all – service to the mission and the whole above personal considerations.

• He listened and actively sought to understand other peoples’ perspectives

• He smiled and sought to put people at ease – he liked people.

• He scrupulously would not take any financial short cuts for personal advantage due to his position.

• Honesty, integrity and discipline were his guiding principles.

A few of his Leadership Principles or Guidelines that we saw in Susan Eisenhower’s description of how he made decisions.

DO….

• ….always give others credit

• ….listen to and understand counter perspectives

• ….show respect and toward people at all levels of one’s organization

• ….show a positive and optimistic attitude toward the future, no matter how dire the situation may look

• ….demonstrate integrity and be the example in following the values you want in your subordinates.

DON’T…

• ….make a decision until you’ve heard various perspectives on the issue

• ….make a decision during the discussion – withdraw, consider, then decide

• ….actively alienate people whose support you may need -especially your opponents.

• ….get angry in public

IN THE EPILOGUE Susan Eisenhower’s reflects on how she believes that today, there is a hunger for someone of Ike’s character and style of  leadership to bring the country back together and bridge the gap between the extremes on the right and left that are tearing our country apart.  She recognizes that the 24 hour news cycle has amplified the effects of angry diatribes from each side, but that most of America would welcome the approach and values that Ike represented. The audiobook effectively concluded with a recording of Ike’s farewell address to the country at the end of his Presidency.

MY CONCLUSION.  There is perhaps a bit of hero worship in Susan Eisenhower’s reflections on her grandfather, but i bought into her version of her grandfather and his place in history.  Though Susan addresses many of Ike’s critics and those who strongly disagreed with his policies, she essentially defends him, and from my perspective, does so quite well.  As a retired military officer myself, I have been brought up with most if not all of the same values of service as Ike:  Take care of the mission; Take care of the troops.     At the  Naval Academy we taught what we called the “Constitutional Paradigm” developed by Colonel (USMC) Paul Rousch which calls for the following hierarchy of  values: 

1. follow the US constitution,
2. fulfill the mission;  
3. do what’s good for one’s service/organization;
4. do what’s good for the ship/command/team;
5. take care of your shipmate/partners;  and then finally
6. take care of oneself .

That however may be too simple a formula to always work in a free society when leaders are struggling to protect the good of the many from extremely clever and self-serving adversaries who are able to manipulate the public and the system to achieve their personal aims.   Ike did very well at following his sense of honor and integrity in a system which put those values to the test regularly, by people and institutions more focussed on power, personal goals, expediency and fulfilling ephemeral public demands. rather than on the principles of democracy and the greatest good for the whole, over the long term.  

Why this Book I’ve been wanting to read this again for quite a while. Read it in Jr HS and didn’t care for it. Also all the fuss about the new book James about this adventure from Jim’s perspective reanimated my interest. 

Summary in 4 Sentences. In order to escape his abusive father, Huck fakes his death and takes a raft down the Mississippi river, and in the process runs into a runaway slave Jim, who Huck knew pretty well as he had been the slave of Ms Watson his fomer guardian.  Jim ran away after hearing that Ms Watson had planned to sell him in New Orleans which would take him away from his family for good.  As they go down the river they have a number of adventures, most notably after linking up with a couple of fraudsters who are preying on isolated communities along the river. One thing leads to another and eventually Tom Sawyer shows back up after Jim is captured and being prepared to to be sold,  and Huck and Tom scheme to help him escape. 

My Impressions: I enjoyed this book immensely – and am glad I chose to listen to it – and would recommend the Elijah Woods performance on Audible as part of  Audible’s Signature Classics (pictured)   Wood reads it in a what seemed to me to be a convincing rendition of the accents of the time, both for Huck, Jim and the many characters they come across in their adventures.  His reading and accents bring the characters and the story to life, and made for a compelling re-experience of this story.  I finished it in about a wee, just commuting and a bit on my bicycle.  

It was  uncomfortable hearing the N word used so regularly and comfortably in the book – apparently 200+ times.  That was the one word used in that time and place to refer to black people.  Racism was simply an accepted part of the culture those people were born into in that part of the South.  Huck was morally confused about what he’d been taught was the wrongness – illegality – of helping a fugitive slave.  He felt guilty about breaking the law, and that guilt was at odds with his sense that Jim was a good man who deserved his freedom.  Helping runaway slaves was an egregious offense at the time and he had to hide or make other excuses for being with a black man on his journey down the Mississippi.

Twain used this book to satirize a number of common practices in the book including slavery and the dehumanization of blacks.  He used Huck’s basic goodness, common sense and practical approach to problem solving to poke fun at people and practices that don’t hold up under scrutiny.  Twain’s wit is particularly vicous against arrogant and pretentious people – and especially against the “Duke” and the King of France that Huck and Jim encounter on their trip down the river. Twain is also unsparing in his satire of the gullibility of the hard working simple folk in the small towns along the river, but he gives them their dignity back when they respond viciously, when the realized they’d been had.

Late in the book, when Tom Sawyer  rejoins Huck and Jim, Tom’s romantic idealism provides more fodder for Twain’s humor, as Tom constantly comes up with absurd plans to fulfill his romantic fantasies about ‘the right way’ plan and conduct an escape, or an adventure or what have you.  His proposals make no sense to the reader, nor to Huck, nor to Jim, but Tom is so persuasive and claims to have a much more sophisticated view of life, that Huck and Jim acceded to most of his crazy plans. 

This is the announcement of this version of Huck Finn on Audible, and I strongly recommend it as an enjoyable way to re–experience this classic. “Audible is pleased to announce the premiere of an exciting new series, Audible Signature Classics, featuring literature’s greatest stories, performed by accomplished stars handpicked for their ability to interpret each work in a new and refreshing way. The first book in the series is Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, performed by Elijah Wood.”