Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time
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Soldier For Fortune

Gangsters of Capitalism: Smedley Butler and the Making and Breaking of the American Empire by Jonathan M. Katz

April 26, 2022 by Jake Leave a Comment

An excellent read and an infuriating read. Worth all five stars. And like Du Bois’ Black Reconstruction and Ackerman’s Reign of Terror, you’re guaranteed to be peeved on every page. I knew the United States had a colonizing history dating back, well really to its foundation through the US-Mexican War of the 1840s, but more specifically from the end of the 19th century onwards. I knew that we captured many islands in the Caribbean and Pacific respectively, even if I didn’t know the hows-and-whys. Jonathan M. Katz does […]

Filed Under: History Tagged With: China, Colombia, colonization, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Gangsters of Capitalism, Haiti, Jonathan M. Katz, Marines, mexico, Panama, Panama Canal, Philippines, Smedley Butler, United States, war

Jake's CBR14 Review No:57 · Genres: History · Tags: China, Colombia, colonization, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Gangsters of Capitalism, Haiti, Jonathan M. Katz, Marines, mexico, Panama, Panama Canal, Philippines, Smedley Butler, United States, war ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Army Chief of Staff Reading List #2

January 5, 2018 by thewheelbarrow Leave a Comment

Matterhorn reminds me a little of The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead in I had to look up to see if the books were fiction or non-fiction.  I found Marlantes’ depiction of war that believable and visceral.  While not an expert in any way, I have deployed twice so I understand some of what that means.  Unlike the characters from Bravo Company in this novel, I never spent time “in the bush” and if I am being completely honest, they would look down on me […]

Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: Army Chief of Staff, Bronson Pinchot, Karl Marlantes, Leadership, Marines, military, Vietnam war

thewheelbarrow's CBR10 Review No:2 · Genres: Fiction · Tags: Army Chief of Staff, Bronson Pinchot, Karl Marlantes, Leadership, Marines, military, Vietnam war ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments

Mary Jane-ing the Pacific Theatre, one atoll at a time

August 29, 2016 by Gord Reid Leave a Comment

There are good war novels, and there are bad war novels. And occasionally, a well-intentioned reader like myself gets saddled with an excruciating mess like Never Too Old to Cry. This is a fictionalized memoir of D. G. McWilliams, a veteran of the 1st Marine Division, which fought in the Pacific Theater of the Second World War. McWilliams’ endeavor was to try to document the war from a very intimate perspective, primarily through the eyes of a small cadre of Marine recruits. Paramount among them […]

Filed Under: Fiction, History Tagged With: DG McWilliams, Marines, Pacific Theatre, USMC, World War II

Gord Reid's CBR8 Review No:2 · Genres: Fiction, History · Tags: DG McWilliams, Marines, Pacific Theatre, USMC, World War II ·
Rating:
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Disposable tin soldiers

August 11, 2016 by ingres77 Leave a Comment

A child of the 80s, I grew up on a distorted view of Vietnam. Free love was a whispered aphorism that seemed almost impossible in the age of Ronald Reagan, televangelism, and HIV. Peace on earth, a barely remembered dream amidst the bluster of Cold War bravado and the cinematic blood lust of Sylvester Stallone, Chuck Norris, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. The 60s were dead. But in its place, like some perverse cosmic satirist with a zeitgeist-altering pen, was a hyper-visualized mirror image that exaggerated its […]

Filed Under: History, Non-Fiction Tagged With: #memoir, Chris Kyle, Marcus Luttrell, Marines, military, Vietnam, war

ingres77's CBR8 Review No:68 · Genres: History, Non-Fiction · Tags: #memoir, Chris Kyle, Marcus Luttrell, Marines, military, Vietnam, war ·
Rating:
· 0 Comments


Recent Comments

  • Emmalita on A Sheep Detective Story!This sounds delightful.
  • finnyfinfinn on The Blanks by Grady HendrixI try to keep that whole book locked in a closet in the back of my mind.
  • esmemoria on “There are so many ways to tell it, and all of them are important. But each way paints a very different picture and leads down a different road.”I just read a forensic anthropologist’s book and it was slim on details and not very reflective. This sounds like...
  • Classic on The Blanks by Grady HendrixI maybe lost my entire mind while reading that book. I think he was tripping on acid while writing that...
  • finnyfinfinn on The Blanks by Grady HendrixThere can be no forgiveness for Pupkin.
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