Cannonball Read 9

Sticking it to Cancer One Book at a Time

It was “Untold”, don’t let it be unheard.

The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor by Jake Tapper

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The recommendation of a friend spurred the timing of my reading of The Outpost but I intended to read it for some time.  It’s written by CNN anchor Jake Tapper and made me a fan of his for life.  This is why it was originally a part of my to-read list: In 2009, I was deployed to Iraq.  I’d been in the Army almost three years and I spent the majority of my deployment on a staff in Baghdad.  I worked the night shift that year from the bowels of Al-Faw Palace, one of Saddam’s more extravagant palaces, for the […]

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9/14/2017 | 's CBR9 Review No:2 |

“He was just ruthless.”

Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw by Mark Bowden

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Most of what I know about Pablo Escobar I learned from the ESPN documentary series 30 for 30. The documentary, called The Two Escobars, is about the murder of Colombian soccer player Andrés Escobar after scoring an own goal that led to the elimination of Colombia during the 1994 World Cup. Pablo Escobar was killed a few months prior and the directors of the documentary believed that due to Pablo’s fanaticism towards soccer, his influence may have prevented Andrés death. It made Pablo seem bizarrely human to me so I read this book for two primary reasons: 1) I’ve always […]

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1/5/2017 | 's CBR9 Review No:1 |

Bradbury was the Best!

Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury

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I’m not entirely sure why I chose to read Dandelion Wine but I am very glad that I did.  The book is a collection of short stories and yet much more at the same time.  It is more like a series of vignettes that occur within one loosely organized plot and it is utterly delightful. Dandelion Wine, according to the author’s forward (and my memory), began as a writing exercise that Bradbury would do to persevere through stints of tough writing.  He created the mythical Greentown, Illinois which is based on his own hometown of Waukegan, IL.  Greentown is the […]

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2/3/2016 | 's CBR8 Review No:3 |

Tell the truth

Lying by Sam Harris

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First and foremost, this book is, at best, a booklet but since I bought it, it counts.  My rules are arbitrary and my decisions, final. Sam Harris is a neuroscientist who is most famous for his secular writing and criticisms of religion.  I chose to read Lying because I’d read articles by Harris and I’d seen his name discussed.  I knew he was a young(er) and stood for science over spirituality.  I suppose that based upon the name of the essay, I knew it would be a philosophical take on the topic but I found it to be far more […]

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1/20/2016 | 's CBR8 Review No:2 |

A spoiler free story about my journey to the Dark Tower

The Dark Tower by Stephen King

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Wow!!!  But before I get into the real review, I must discuss my 2015.  Feel free to skip ahead but you’ll miss out on the ride. I decided to read the Dark Tower series last year.  I set my ambitions high and planned to read the entire DT universe and all books that tied in to the series.  I counted 27 of those books and I thought that I would have a very Stephen King year.  I was not a fan of Stephen King before, not in the pejorative sense, but I was unfamiliar with his work as a whole.  […]

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1/8/2016 | 's CBR8 Review No:1 |

The Cost of Unintended Consequences

Blowback: The Costs and Consequences of American Empire by Chalmers Johnson

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The premise of Blowback is very interesting. It aims to examine the role of shortsighted policy decisions made by the U.S. and the long-term, unintended consequences they created. This is another book I chose to read, rather listen to, after discovering it on the Army Chief of Staff’s recommended reading list for 2013.  The book was listed of the CoS’ list under the section for broadening leaders.  The list is intended to “complement materials currently used in the Army educational system and can help bridge the intervals between periods of formal instruction at Army schools. It is imperative for members […]

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12/16/2014 | 's CBR6 Review No:24 |

And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!

The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier's Education by Craig M. Mullaney

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I picked up The Unforgiving Minute as it was on the 2014 U.S. Army Chief of Staff’s Professional Reading List. As I’ve mentioned before, I love to read fiction for fun but I was commuting an hour to work each way so I decided to listen to audiobooks to pass the time. I thought it would benefit me professionally to read the books recommended by the leader of my branch of service. This book became available in April and I listened to it over the course of a week. The Unforgiving Minute is the memoir of Craig Mullaney. Mullaney is […]

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12/15/2014 | 's CBR6 Review No:23 |

More like Unreadable

The Age of the Unthinkable: Why the New World Disorder Constantly Surprises Us And What We Can Do About It by Joshua Cooper Ramo

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The Age of the Unthinkable is the most underwhelming book I’ve read this year. It was written by Joshua Cooper Ramo who is a former foreign editor for Time magazine. I assumed that meant the book would be insightful and interesting but it was not. The Age of the Unthinkable reads like a really long magazine article but not even a Time article. It is way more sensationalist and bold without any facts to support the assertions. Ramo originally earned renown as the creator of the term “The Beijing Consensus,” a term that refers to the massive growth in China’s […]

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12/4/2014 | 's CBR6 Review No:22 |

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