Monday, May 25, 2015

The Great Red God

"War is hell."
— William Tecumseh Sherman

As much as I enjoy reading military histories, I never had a desire to join the military.  And yet in some ways I envy the camaraderie soldiers must feel, particularly during wartime, and there's something interesting in knowing what war is like.  But as a quiet and rather bookish-person, my interest is purely intellectual – I don't really want to see any death and destruction!  But while military histories are all about death and destruction, most give you a mere taste of the unpleasantness of war but are still fairly sanitized.

Men of War: The American Soldier in Combat at Bunker Hill, Gettysburg, and Iwo Jima by Alexander Rose, however, is a bit different.  Rose takes three iconic American battles – Bunker Hill (American Revolution), Gettysburg (Civil War), and Iwo Jima (WWII) – and discusses them from a standpoint of the soldiers who fought in them.  He talks about the attitudes they would have brought to the battlefields, the terrain they faced, the weapons used, the enemy they fought, the wounds received and inflicted, and the results.  His focus for each battle is methodical but slightly different: "... for Bunker Hill, we [can] deduce a militiaman's experience of combat depending on his location (redoubt, beach, rail fence) and for Gettysburg we [can] do the same by deconstructing the era's formal templates (artillery bombardment, attack, defense), [and] for Iwo Jima [we] mostly examine combat method -- that is, how Marines first confronted obstacles and then surmounted them by watching, doing, adapting, and learning." (from pg 217 of the advance copy)

It's true, there's plenty of blood and guts in the writing, but it's told with a professional detachment that satisfies my weird curiosity but still leaves room for a healthy appreciation for the personal sacrifices. Yes, I squirmed while reading about the effects of cannonballs and bullets on the human body or the frightening descriptions of grenades and flame throwers in battle, but it's not all gore. Rose neither romanticizes warfare nor paints it simply as too horrific to even think about.  It's interesting to read how the battles happened from a soldier's perspective and how each differed, as well as why modern-day combat would be different still. It's also loaded with many of the individual observations from people involved in the fighting, the kind of quotes that don't always make it into the regular histories. One interesting note is how progressively "work-like" war had become by WWII, and how PTSD was almost unheard-of in earlier battles such as Bunker Hill. Another was the psychological effects of things like bombardments and bayonets – neither of which he says in the Bunker Hill section were as lethal as we might think in terms of physical damage inflicted.

It might not be the ideal book for someone with a weak stomach, but I found it so engrossing and well-written that it never really bothered me (and I read much of it while eating lunch). It's scholarly-like in its thoroughness and approach, but not difficult to read by any measure. I know a man who fought at Iwo Jima and he's criticized most books on the battle, but I suspect he might be more approving of this one. It certainly gave me a greater appreciation for his experience.  (I received an advance copy from Amazon Vine.)

Friday, May 8, 2015

Ordinary magic that fits in your pocket

"I often think in music.  I live my daydreams in music.  I see my life in terms of music... I get most joy in life out of music."
— Albert Einstein

If there's one thing I regret it's that I never learned to play a musical instrument.  As a kid I wanted to learn how to play the piano, but there wasn't money for lessons let alone a piano at home.  Maybe that's why Jamie and I made sure our kids took lessons – and didn't let them quit even when we got tired of trying to get them to practice.  (And, of course, one of my favorite episodes of The Wonder Years dealt with this issue.)  And although I've frequently watched with envy as my kids sat down and played a beautiful piece of music, the problem now is time – I just don't have enough time to squeeze one more responsibility into my life, no matter how much I'd love to.

Three (actually four) stories meld into one in Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan, a charming tribute to the value of music.  When young Otto becomes lost in the woods he encounters three princess sisters and their story of being held captive by an evil witch.  They give him a magic harmonica which shows him the way out.  The harmonica then makes its way to three others with the power to change and save lives.  First is Friedrich, a young boy with a disfiguring birthmark that puts him in danger of the Nazis as they seek for a pure, unblemished race.  Second is Mike in Pennsylvania, who with his brother Frankie live in an orphanage but wish for a real family.  And third is Ivy, a young Mexican-American girl in California, whose brother has recently joined the army to serve during WWII. 

The stories and characters are compelling, and in spite of its length (nearly 600 pages) it reads quickly.  It was a little annoying, however, when Friedrich's story comes to an abrupt halt just as the danger is at its highest, and Mike's story takes over.  You have to read through all three to find out the final solution for each of them.  But they're nice stories and the central theme of how music can touch people's lives in different ways is nice if a bit heavy-handed.  It might encourage some kids to try learning an instrument – the harmonica, perhaps? – although the sheer bulk of the book may turn a few off.  Still, an enjoyable read that I think 4th to 7th graders will like whether or not they already play an instrument.  As for me, I know they say you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but maybe someday I'll have some free time and see about those piano lessons.  (I received an advance copy of this book from Amazon Vine.)

Monday, May 4, 2015

Free audiobooks

In Brazil, they call someone who is really cheap "mao de vaca" which means literally "cow's hand."  If you look at a cow's hand (also known as a hoof) you'll see that it's closed; and in English we'd call that person "tight-fisted," which is the same meaning but much less colorful.  I am "mao de vaca," and if you're like me and would like some audiobooks for free you'll want to bookmark the audiobook sync site and visit it each week starting May 7 through August 14.

You'll need the OverDrive software on your computer to download the books, but I find the phone app a little wonky so I don't use it to listen.  I just transfer the mp3 files over and listen with the music app.  It's not as convenient, but at least it works.  (Maybe they've fixed the app by now – I guess I should give it another try at some point.  Or I could just burn it to a cd if I wasn't so lazy.)  The books – two each week – are only available for ONE WEEK, so don't forget to keep checking back.  And you don't have to listen to them right away – you just have to download them the week they're available.  (I've still got books from last year I haven't gotten around to.)  Here's the listing of books that will be offered this summer:
  • BEAUTIFUL CREATURES by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl (Hachette Audio)
  • A CORNER OF WHITE by Jaclyn Moriarty (Scholastic Audiobooks)
  • COURAGE HAS NO COLOR: THE TRUE STORY OF THE TRIPLE NICKLES by Tanya Lee Stone (Brilliance Audio)
  • CROWS & CARDS by Joseph Helgerson (Brilliance Audio)
  • DODGER by Terry Pratchett (HarperAudio)
  • ECHOES OF AN ANGEL by Aquanetta Gordon (christianaudio)
  • THE EXPLORERS CLUB by Nell Benjamin (L.A. Theatre Works)
  • THE LIVING by Matt de la Pena (Brilliance Audio)
  • MARCH by Geraldine Brooks (Penguin Audio)
  • MONSTER by Walter Dean Myers (Listening Library)
  • THE RING AND THE CROWN by Melissa de la Cruz (Recorded Books, Inc.)
  • ROSE UNDER FIRE by Elizabeth Wein (Bolinda Publishing)
  • UNDER A WAR-TORN SKY by L.M. Elliott (Tantor Audio)
  • X: A NOVEL by Ilyasah Shabazz & Kekla Magoon (Brilliance Audio)
  • THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN by Mark Twain (Mission Audio)
  • ANNE FRANK REMEMBERED by Miep Gies & Alison Leslie Gold (Oasis Audio)
  • AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS by Jules Verne (Tantor Audio)
  • BUDDHA BOY by Kathe Koja (Full Cast Audio)
  • DRACULA by Bram Stoker (Naxos AudioBooks)
  • GREAT EXPECTATIONS by Charles Dickens (Naxos AudioBooks)
  • HERE IN HARLEM by Walter Dean Myers (Live Oak Media)
  • JOHN BALL’S IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT Adapted by Matt Pelfrey (L.A. Theatre Works)
  • LITTLE WOMEN by Louisa May Alcott (Listening Library)
  • LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding (Listening Library)
  • THE OLD BROWN SUITCASE by Lillian Boraks-Nemetz (Post Hypnotic Press)
  • THE PERFECT STORM: A TRUE STORY OF MEN AGAINST THE SEA by Sebastian Junger (Recorded Books, Inc.)
  • REBECCA by Daphne du Maurier (Hachette Audio)
  • SEA HEARTS by Margo Lanagan (Bolinda Publishing)