Mary Brodd
I read some of this online a few years ago, and had a hankering to read it again. Could not, for the life of me, remember title/author! scifi.stackexchange.com to the rescue, some nice person ID'd it there almost before I'd finished typing the details I remembered!
It falls into the “ripping yarn” category. Definitely will look up the sequels over the summer.
This is the quicker version of Taubes' “Good Calories, Bad Calories.” It's hard to say that I “enjoyed” it, given how depressing the subject matter is, but it was certainly very enlightening. We eat food that encourages insulin production, insulin promotes fat storage, and voila, you have a worldwide obesity epidemic. This book, and its predecessor, have completely altered the way I look at what I eat, not to mention how I look at most dietary guidelines from the government and various other health-related organizations.
This is the definition of a “ripping yarn.” I adore alternate history, and “Kim” is one of my favorite books, and somehow this book combines both of those things so very marvelously. This is a fun read, but with enough interesting alternate-history details stuck here and there that I found I had to buy a copy for myself after reading the library's copy. Highly recommended!
Highlights: He started the 7 Years War!
What I Took Away:
Poor; terrible weird relationship to mother
Hung out with his social superiors, learned from them - manners, self-control - schmoozed quite a bit as a young man
all his life felt he had missed out on getting a proper education (unlike Jefferson/Hamilton/Madison/Adams etc)
QUITE the ladies' man (very flirtatious)
Not adaptable - if a battle plan went awry, he didn't quite know what to do. Not good at off-the-cuff speeches.
Extremely good at hearing what everybody had to say, didn't surround himself with “yes-men” - listened to all the point of view and then came to a conclusion. But once conclusion was reached, was very difficult to change his mind.
His value as a general was not as a tactician, but as a figurehead - everybody looked up to him, he held the army together for 8 years.
Was greatly concerned with his reputation, with his contemporaries and with “posterity” (e.g. great care he took in preserving his letters)
Was very conscious that what he did as President was precedent-setting - formation of cabinet, State of the Union address, down to little details of how he was to be addressed in conversation. As a consequence, was very careful and methodical about those precedent-setting actions.
Selection of future capital on Potomac (in Chernow's view) opened Washington to criticism for the first time - broke the dam.
Support of Hamiltonian national bank was a great step in keeping the new country going - possibly the single most important?
When did idea of being “an American” take shape? GW's disgust at war profiteers and others who sold food/goods to British instead of to Continental Army was very great - why did people do that? At what point did a Virginian or a Pennsylvanian begin to consider himself an American? (did it take until after the Civil War?)
(must look up history of money/credit/finances - how did people function being in debt their whole lives?)
(must also read Federalist Papers)
These are some of the most stunningly well-imagined dystopian stories I have ever read. I made the mistake of reading all of them straight through, and spent weeks afterwards digging myself out of the consequent depression. The story, “Pump Six” itself should be required reading for any proponent of “No Child Left Behind” or for anybody who thinks the US educational system has any merit.
Very interesting look at early 20th century medical practices (scaaaaary...). Fascinating to consider that this flu outbreak caused the rise of Nazism - Wilson very likely was suffering from the flu while negotiating the Versailles Treaty. Hm.
Do not read this book and “The Stand” at the same time. Just don't.
(more notes found on Google Drive)
Highlights: Holy Toledo Woodrow Wilson was a nutjob * This is a very good book.
What I Took Away:
Wilson out-McCarthied McCarthy
Total focus of gov't on war war war
Bizarre non-education required for doctors in this country at turn of century. Johns Hopkins Univ set up modeled on German universities where medical students actually saw live patients, studied chemistry and biology, worked with cadavers. Most of the people who worked on figuring out what the flu was came through the Johns Hopkins system.
H#N# refer to design of virus - hemagglutinin and neuraminidase. The “H” binds tightly to the cells in the respiratory tract, and worms its way into the cell itself, allowing it to hide from the immune system. The “N” acts like little knives, cutting off any sialic acid that could grab onto the virus as it explodes away to infect other cells. 15 basic shapes of “H” and 9 of “N”
This version of the flu was so deadly for the young (20-40 yo) because it overstimulated the immune system. “cytokine storm”
Death toll in this country wasn't as high as in other places (e.g. India) but it was still pretty awful. Philadelphia was the worst hit. Mass graves, bodies still in houses for days after death. Civilization teetering on the brink. (do NOT read this book and “The Stand” at the same time!)
Gov't inaction, denial made people more fearful and paranoid. People wouldn't help because they didn't understand the way the infection worked (who did?) didn't want to catch it. Families starved because no one would bring them food.
Wilson probably had flu in Europe, affected the way he negotiated the settlement at the end of the war. Flu responsible for Nazis/WWII?
[Dave Garner pointed out that this is a major part of US history that NO ONE TALKS ABOUT]
Written before the great crash of 2008-many institutions mentioned in this book no longer exist.
One of the first books I read in my quest for financial literacy. Good overview. Possibly first mention I came across of Vanguard.
Money Market accounts for emergency funds instead of savings accounts?
Save, save, save, even if it's not much at first.
AUTOMATE your savings.
We are so screwed.
Arctic Ocean will be ice-free in the summer by 2080.
Permafrost not “perma” any more.
Ice-albedo - positive feedback loop - the faster the ice melts, the faster the ice melts.
Final paragraph:
“Ice core records also show that we are steadily drawing closer to the temperature peaks of the last interglacial, when sea levels were some fifteen feet higher than they are today. Just a few degrees more and the earth will be hotter than it has been at any time since our species evolved. The feedbacks that have been identified in the climate system - the ice-albedo feedback, the water vapor feedback, the feedback between temperatures and carbon storage in the permafrost - take small changes to the system and amplify them into much larger forces. Perhaps the most unpredictable feedback of all is the human one. With six billion people on the planet, the risks are everywhere apparent. A disruption in monsoon patterns, a shift in ocean currents, a major drought - any one of these could easily produce streams of refugees numbering in the millions. As the effects of global warming become more and more difficult to ignore, will we react by finally fashioning a global response? Or will we retreat into ever narrower and more destructive forms of self-interest? It may seem impossible to imagine that a technologically advanced society could choose, in essence, to destroy itself, but that is what we are now in the process of doing.”
American battle doctrine - win by defeating armed forces, not by occupying territory.
Direct attack favored by US, vs. “nibbling at the edges” favored by Churchill.
UK, US commanders despised each other.
even US commanders despised each other! (e.g. Bradley, Clark)
DE and GM got along so well professionally because both understood Fox Connor - “never fight unless you have to, never fight for long, and never fight alone.” The politics of the Alliance were as important during the war as after - Marshall Plan and NATO a continuation of the same strategy.
Couldn't have won WWII without both men in place.
role of American has changed from “citizen” to “consumer”“What's left of the counterculture is the counter.” (p. 198 - think of Northern Sun)
no commitment to the public good“Good wine is a necessity to me” Thomas Jefferson (?)
“Citizenship means changing the whole picture. It means demanding policies...and working for an economy and a culture that reject environmental destruction, the exploitation of working people, the privatization of the commons, and the commodification of every desire and satisfaction.” (p. 256)
Development (making things better =/= Growth (making more things) AMEN