The Monk and the Philosopher – Jean-Francois Revel and Matthieu Ricard

The authors are father and son. The father, Revel, was an internationally known philosopher; the son, Ricard, is an internationally know Buddhist monk. The son was educated as a scientist and holds a PHD in molecular biology. But he gave up that life to become a student of Tibetan Buddhism. The book is organized as a dialog between the two of them as they discuss the meaning of life.

The book explores a range of Buddhist issues including Buddhism as a philosophy or a religion, reincarnation in the Buddhist tradition, reality, inner peace, nirvana, and a variety of other subjects at the center of Buddhist life. One of the most interesting elements for me was their comparison of Wester versus Eastern philosophical thought.

This book was recommended to me by an new friend from Sweden. It is not a new book and many of the topics I have considered before. But it is one of the few where I have reread several chapters. I recommend it for anyone who wants to open up his/her mind to explore humanity from different points of view.

The Saga of Pappy Gunn – Lieutenant General George C. Kenney

This is not a new book. It is mostly a fun read though it is a true story of one American hero of World War II. It details the life of Colonel Paul I Gunn who by most any account was a misfit in the rigid structure of the US military establishment, but nevertheless was highly successful. He fought in the Southwest Pacific as an imaginative pilot, scrounger, engineer, mechanic, and all around problem solver.

The author was Gunn’s commanding officer during the second half of the war. It is not a particularly well organized book in my opinion, but it reflects a reality that we don’t often see when generals write about people under their command.

Whiteshift: Populism, Immigration, and the Future of White Majorities – Eric Kaufmann

This book discusses the erosion of whiteness in Western countries in the face of migration and ethnic dilution patterns. The author makes the point that the rise of right wing populism is not generally about economic issues, but the real and/or perceived decline of the white ethnic majority. He talks a lot about how the left modernists, as he call them, have made it impossible for whites to openly discuss ethnic issues concerning them without being labeled racist or xenophobic.

The author uses mountains of statistical data to make the case that anti-immigration attitudes on the right are not just about foreigners taking jobs of whites or being a drain on social services as frequently suggested in the media and among politicians, but the fear of changing ethnicity. The white population fears becoming the minority.

I did not share some opinions the author offers. As an example I felt he demonstrated inadequate understanding of the uniqueness of the black/white historical relationship in the United States. That’s probably because he is Canadian. Regardless, his arguments throughout the book are well researched and he provides massive amounts of data to support his conclusions. If his research data does not overwhelm you I strongly encourage you to read the whole book. Just make sure you have plenty of time to think about the points he makes and examine his supporting graphs and charts.

Engineers of Victory – Paul Kenny

The author attempts to make the case that there was no specific turning point in World War II. He says a broad range of events, technological advances, and operational organization improvements that occurred between the beginning of 1943 and the middle of 1944 ultimately defined the outcome of the war.

The author identifies and develops the argument that five key strategic initiatives durning that period sealed the fate of the Axis Powers. He dedicates a chapter to each –  1) Getting convoys safely across the Atlantic; 2) Winning command of the air; 3) Stopping the Germain blitzkrieg strategy; 4)  Learning how to seize an enemy held shore; and 5) How to defeat the tyranny of distance in the Pacific. One of the key conclusions he draws is that the war was not won by the Generals and politicians or by the foot soldiers, but that middle level military officers, scientist, technicians, and managers led to the ultimate victory.

Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment by Francis Fukuyama

This is one of very few books I will choose to reread. It is hard to summarize because it covers so much territory. The author discusses the struggle for identity and associated dignity from antiquity through the Trump Administration. Most of the emphasis, however, is on the past three centuries as modern liberal democracies took root and developed.

In early chapters he talks about thymos, the ancient Greek word roughly translated as soul, or at least that part which encompasses feelings of pride, dignity, shame, etc. He develops that into people’s need to feel respected and treated equally both individually and collectively.

Later he explores how that need for respect and equality plays out in social, religious, and political environments. He relates how the need for collective sense of dignity shaped national and ethnic identity. Finally he discusses how real and/or perceived inequities and indignities among subgroups of people within the world’s liberal democracies are sparking the rise of nationalist, racist, and ethnic unrest.

Reconstruction: A Concise History by Allen C. Guelzo

This was a fascinating book. It is truly concise, exactly as the title says it is – massive amounts of information in a very short volume, about 130 pages. I learned a lot of detail about Reconstruction as well as the political and social mores of the era that I did not fully appreciate before. The book is well researched with a sizable bibliography for reference. It whetted my appetite for more study of specific aspects. Because of its abbreviated nature, however, I sometimes got lost in the chronology and had to go back and reread some portions.

The Prisoner in His Palace by Will Bardenwerper

This is the story of the 12 military police offices (the super twelve as they called themselves) who were responsible for guarding Saddam Hussein after his capture. It chronicles their experiences and interactions with him throughout his imprisonment, trial, and execution. The guards describe a different Hussein character when he is out of the spotlight. It paints an image virtually no one not privately engaged with him has ever seen. It also deal with the price these guards paid for their participation in their mission. Fascinating read.

Qur’an in Conversation by Michael Birkel

I met Mr. Birkel at an interfaith event a couple of months ago. In our conversation he told me about his book. So I read it. He is a Quaker by faith but interested in building bridges among Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths as I am. To that end he set out to interview Islamic scholars to gain their perspective on the Qur’an, its place in the modern world, and the relationship of Islam with Christianity and Judaism. Those interviews along with his own commentary is the content of the book.

This book was a hard read in some places for me. I had difficulty following the language and logic of some of the Islamic scholars. I found myself wanting to ask follow on questions or for additional clarification. Nevertheless, I am so pleased that I stuck with it. It was well worth the time, effort, and understanding I gained.

My Opposition” edited by Robert Scott Kellner, grandson of the author

The book is a published reprint of the diary Friedrich Kellner, an anti-Nazi living in the Third Reich, kept during the war. Mr. Kellner started his diary in 1939 at great risk to himself. He held an administrative position in the German court system where he could observe the Nazi bureaucrats and interact with solders on leave, as well as listen to friends’ and neighbors’ opinions and views as the war progressed through to the end. Thought he had to be ultra careful in hiding his writing from public exposure he continued throughout the war. He was unbelievably insightful from the very beginning in his views about how the war would ultimately end.

No Property in Man – Slavery and antislavery at the Nation’s Founding by Sean Wilentz

This book’s focus is on how the framers of the Constitution went to great lengths not to use the word slave or slavery in the textual language and avoid implying in any way that the Constitution endorsed the concept of humans as property. It then explores how the vagaries of that language spawned different interpretations of the Constitutional and how that played out over the next 70 plus years culminating in the civil war.