Cannonball Read 15

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

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The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard

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Read as part of cbr14bingo: gaslight. This book took place in gaslight era New York state. There’s even a gaslight on the book cover!  Most of the time, I ditch the vaunted 5th star from an otherwise excellent book due to the ending. I’m usually disappointed by endings and even if I try to be graceful, I still can sometimes get disappointed by one. I can’t recall ever bumping a book from four stars to five due to the ending, yet here we are. I’m not […]

Arguably, America’s Greatest General

George Marshall: Defender of the Republic by David L. Roll

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I remember learning about the Marshall Plan in AP US History class and how critical it was to repairing the world after WWII. I did not realize until years later that General George C. Marshall was individual who lent his name to the plan. I’ve been in the Army for thirteen years, as of yesterday, and I’ve developed opinions on many famous generals from our history. Most of those opinions are demonstrably leery of anyone who receives unadulterated hero worship. I am not a fan […]

Professional Reading #1

It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership by Colin Powell & Tony Koltz

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It Worked for Me is a collection of about 30 vignettes and stories intended to offer leadership advice from one of America’s most famous military leaders of the last 35 years.  I think it does that and does it well.  Powell reflects on a life of service, both military and civilian, and recounts instances when he made decisions and describes the generalized thoughts and ideas that led to the choices he made. This book, let’s call it a memoir, feels quite genuine and honest but […]

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

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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 […]

If you like the title, you’ll like the book?

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*sits speechless for a while* *squints* I liked it?? I’m just going to describe what this novel is about. (Yes this is a book review that lacks words for my opinion about the book. I did a beautiful interpretive dance that conveyed my sentiments exactly, but, alas, it cannot be transcribed to the page.) The novel follows three childhood friends as they venture from the safe life of their village into the army. We meet Amishag, Yael and Lea at school when they are teenage […]

Ocean of Testosterone

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I bought this book for the title. What I got was an insightful look at the human condition as seen through the eyes of a fellow service member. I joined the Navy at a young age and it’s very different from the Army. Yet many of the experiences William’s describes are similar to those I’ve encountered in my career. Reading this book felt like I was both watching the early years of my career and learning about a whole new world that is the Army. […]



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