Cannonball Read 10

Sticking it to Cancer One Book at a Time

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Come for a history of the AK-47, stay for a history of all machine guns

The Gun by C.J. Chivers

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C.J. Chivers is a former Marine officer and war correspondent.  He won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing in 2017 for his piece about a Marine’s journey home after combat, entitled ‘The Fighter.’  I saw this book a few years ago and wanted to read it but, like most books, it went to the back burner as newer and shiner books popped up.  Then Chivers won the Pulitzer and I put the book on hold at the library. The Gun is, mostly, a history of the AK-47, which is probably the most famous gun in the world.  In telling that […]

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5/30/2018 | 's CBR10 Review No:27 |

The United States v. Jackie Robinson

The United States v. Jackie Robinson by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen

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A non-fiction book about Jack Robinson. Or better known as Jackie Robinson. The United States v. Jackie Robinson is not a typical biography of a baseball player. They start out with him being a child growing up as the only black family on their street. His mother’s strength and finally Jackie’s strength in the military. Few probably know that Jackie would not give up his seat on a bus either and it lead to a historic ruling, too. Finally, it ends with some of his baseball career and the Jackie Robinson most people know. The timeline at the end of […]

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5/30/2018 | 's CBR10 Review No:182 |

Army Chief of Staff Reading List #13

The Guns at Last Light: The War in Western Europe, 1944-1945 (World War II Liberation Trilogy #3) by Rick Atkinson

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The Guns at Last Light is the finale of the Liberation Trilogy by Rick Atkinson, the first of which, An Army at Dawn, won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 2003.  The series encompasses the history of the United States activity in the European theater of World War II.  An Army at Dawn is about the U.S. Military during the North Africa campaign.  Book two, The Day of Battle, is about the the war in Italy and the Mediterranean; it is subtitled, The War in Sicily and Italy.  Finally. The Guns at Last Light begins at D-Day and continues through […]

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5/22/2018 | 's CBR10 Review No:24 |

More things should be full of win

Tigerman by Nick Harkaway

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I was expecting something more in the fantasy realm from Tigerman, given Nick Harkaway’s first two novels, and although there is the titular superhero, this book stays much more grounded, more of an existential thriller with military and cloak-and-dagger elements, and for that, it’s a lot of thought-provoking fun. The story takes place on a mythical island in the Arabian Sea, an island previously controlled by the British and French, among others, but which has become an environmental disaster due to chemical companies pumping toxic waste deep beneath the island. The international community has decided to incinerate everything to ward […]

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3/28/2018 | 's CBR10 Review No:17 |

Army Chief of Staff Reading List #7

Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq by Thomas E. Ricks

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I looked forward to reading this book for a while.  I really enjoyed another of the author’s books, The Generals, and its critical take on U.S. military leadership.  Fiasco did not disappoint. Fiasco is the story of the early part of the Iraq War.  There is a little background so that one understands the main players, namely Wolfowitz and Rumsfeld, and then it jumps headfirst into a chronological discussion of the decisions made and their repercussions.  Fiasco discusses how the war was basically preordained.  The decision to go to war was made before the evidence was evaluated, if it ever […]

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3/6/2018 | 's CBR10 Review No:13 |

Repeating history?

This Kind of War by T.R. Fehrenbach

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I have many thoughts about this book but as always, here’s the situation that led to me reading it.  This Kind of War is another book from the Army Chief of Staff’s reading list.  It has also been recommended by Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis as a must-read. Secretary Mattis is known, colloquially, as the Warrior Monk due to his dedication to his craft and his knowledge and understanding of making war.  He is known to be a voracious reader and believes that all leaders should be reading.  From Task and Purpose, Secretary Mattis said “You need to have that […]

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2/16/2018 | 's CBR10 Review No:9 |

Some Perspective…

What It Is Like to Go to War by Karl Marlantes

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I read this book because I loved the author’s novel, Matterhorn.  What It Is Like to Go to War is a non-fiction book that is, essentially, a behind the scenes look at Matterhorn.  It also reads as two different books and I have mixed feelings about the two parts. The first part, which represents nearly the first two-thirds of the book, is Marlantes discussing his decision to join the Marines during Vietnam and his experiences in combat.  I found this aspect of the book very familiar as I was not dissimilar in that I joined the Army after college and […]

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1/19/2018 | 's CBR10 Review No:5 |

Army Chief of Staff Reading List #3

The First World War by Hew Strachan

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I read The First World War by Hew Strachan mostly because it was recommended by the Army Chief of Staff.  I also realized that my knowledge of WWI is woefully inept considering I have a history degree.  I took a class on World War II and the US Civil War.  There are dozens of movies about WWII and the Civil War.  We joke about the days in which the History Channel showed only profiles of Hitler, as opposed to Ancient Aliens, as a sign of the times.  Outside of of the tales of Diana, Princess of Themiscyra, I know very […]

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1/12/2018 | 's CBR10 Review No:3 |


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