Category Archives: History

Winston's War: Churchill, 1940-1945

Winston's War: Churchill 1940 - 1945So many books have been written about Churchill, in particular about the wartime years, that another biography might be needless. However, Max Hastings presents a wonderfully balanced portrait of the man, the politician and the statesman. While in no way a revisionist history, Hastings has used distance and time to place Churchill’s immense contribution in historical perspective. It is fascinating to compare the Churchill revealed in the “War Diaries of Field Marshall Lord Alanbrooke” (from which Mr. Hastings quotes) with Hastings’ own work. Two brilliant accounts, one immediate with short term judgments and Mr.

Hastings’s more measured and from a distance.

Churchill’s rhetoric and prose shaped the common view of the conduct of WWII. Brave little Britain fighting alone. “The Few, we will fight them on the beaches and never surrender.” How Churchill’s phrases captured and continue to color the imagination. Much less widely recognized are Britain’s problems during wartime. In a sense disguised by Churchill’s masterful language the strikes, the attitudes and the actions of the many Communist sympathizers and the often poor performance of Britain’s own Army (especially in the war’s early years) have tended to fade from popular viewpoint. Mr. Hastings deals with the good, the bad and the downright ugly without flinching and without using criticism to deflect from what was an overall immense achievement.

Whatever Churchill’s failings(and he was human), Max Hastings points out without Winston Churchill at the head of government, Britain would have probably capitulated in 1940-41. Churchill did not simply capture the British spirit, he to some extend, created it as this book makes clear. Had Churchill not done so, the outcome could have been entirely different or, at least, more protracted and bloody

without Britain as a base to launch the killer blow upon Nazi Germany.

Initially, having read many Churchill biographies I was afraid this might be a revisionist history that so

many authors are prone to write simply to sell their work. Max Hastings’ book about this great man who occupied this pivotal moment is well balanced and researched.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in this period of history. I have read many books by Max Hastings and this is one of his best. I also recommend the “War Diaries of Field Marshall Lord Alanbrooke” to gain even further perspective on the effect an individual can have on history.

Enjoy the read!

I am 70 yrs and was taking this product. I find it is great! ? There are a lot of legitimate mail-order pharmacies in this country.

Living Memories

Living Memories - Al KagsThe author tells the stories of people over 65 years of age who lived during the pre-independence times.

Told in first person, he reveals small aspects of their lives, those he thought today’s readers would find interesting. He manages to bring out the unique tones of the people who talked to him.

Each of the stories make for interesting-easy reading but embedded at the back of my memory are the stories of Hussein Warutere (the last story in the collection). This is a ‘loo’ story that is as shocking as it is hilarious. He woke up after a siesta with the need to go

to the loo. Because of desperation, he ends up using the white

mans toilet. A white corporal sees him leaving. He is arrested days later, accused of assisting the Mau Mau by trying to plant a bomb in the loo. He ends up spending 13 years in hard labour; six in Mwea and seven in Manyani.

Al Kags says that these stories are meant for our generation. He hopes that as

you read them, you will understand and see yourself because these are our grandparents. He also urges us to ‘write the memoirs of the elderly people near you, or record them in some fashion.”

This one of the best products in the market with the added value that refrigeration is not necessary. Where to buy viagra! Since online pharmacies have appeared a lot of opportunities appeared which have to be implemented.

The Evolution of God

The evolution of GodRobert Wright is an intellectually curious journalist and a fine writer whose previous books (The Moral Animal & Nonzero) I enjoyed. Wright’s new book explores the character of religion through history, and, marshalling scholarly research, shows how religious ideas developed in response to changing social and political circumstances. The explanations make no appeal to the supernatural. But Wright sees progress (however haphazard and intermittent) in

the moral dimension of religion through time, which leads him to speculate that this phenomenon actually points to the existence of something worthy of being named divine.

The bulk of the book is an interesting run new canadian meds through research findings from anthropology, archaeology and textual analysis on the topic of historical religious ideas and practices. The tour begins with a look at hunter-gatherer style animism and the role of gods and religion in tribal cultures, continues with an examination of the development of the various pantheons of gods in ancient civilizations, and

then tackles the Abrahamic traditions. In all cases there seems to be a plausible explanation of prevailing religious ideas and the character of God or gods changing in concert with the “facts on the ground”. As nations make war, their gods intone contempt for non-believers. As empires digest conquests, they co-opt the gods of their new subjects. More positively, as societies enter into non-zero sum relationships with a wider circle of neighbors, their gods become more universal and more supportive of a broader moral vision.

Wright also presents his own thoughts on what it all means. First off (repeating the theme from Nonzero), Wright argues that with the passage of time, humans have expanded their circle of moral consideration, and that this constitutes an arrow of moral progress through history. However, it seems hard to point to the evolution of our ideas regarding gods or God (more loving, less vengeful), and say that this adds anything to the story of moral progress. His analysis doesn’t provide evidence that religion drives moral progress – it seems to mainly reflect it.

Nevertheless, in the final section, Wright proposes that the existence of an historical arrow of moral progress might be evidence for an objective moral order which transcends nature. He argues that even if the traditional idea of a personal God seems highly implausible given naturalism, it might nonetheless point (however imperfectly) towards truth. His arguments for this position aren’t strong, however, consisting as they do of analogies and a repeated appeal that something special must be going; I don’t think many traditional materialist-atheists will be convinced.

This is unfortunate because I think his intuition is sound. I think that any naturalist worldview needs to be expansive enough

to account for first person experience and the meaning and values which arise from our engagement with the world. In any case, I admire Wright’s contribution in these books. And in particular I find his vision of moral progress to be inspiring. We can all hope that the forces of globalization in today’s world might promote peace, as we expand our circle of moral concern to finally cover the planet.

I use this for my health after doctor told me to do it. I am very surprised with the result. . All the medications one can see in our product lists are generic.

Strength in What Remains

Strength in What RemainsTracy Kidder’s book, briefly, is the non-fiction tale of Deogratias. Raised in Burundi, Deo lives a nearly idyllic life until the outbreak of ethnic violence in his country replaces Wordsworth’s “of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower” with a living hell that makes Dante’s Inferno look like a pleasant winter destination resort. Deo, a Tutsi third year

medical student, flees Burundi, arriving at age 24 in New York City with $200 in his pocket, the clothes on his back, and his will to survive. Kidder artfully alternates between Deo’s fight for survival in the United States and scenes of the genocidal massacres

that Deo witnesses in Burundi. Deogratias emerges as a complex

and rich personality, more a testament to human resilience than a hero (though certainly not lacking in heroic qualities).

With serious books, and this is one, sometimes I get the sensation that I’ve put myself in harness, and in the effort to get the fruits of my labor I will be forced to trudge forward until the job is done. Strength in What Remains Behind is the opposite: once attached to the book by the first few pages, it will draw you wide-eyed and enthralled rapidly towards its conclusion.

I am very pleased with this company and these products they saved my life for UTI Buy xenical cheap! We’re a company that is dedicated to providing you the high-quality prescription medication you need.

I Laugh So I Won't Cry: Kenya's Women Tell The Story Of Their Lives

I Laugh So I Won't Cry- Kenya's Women Tell The Story Of Their Lives by Helena Halperin

tle=”I Laugh So I Won't Cry- Kenya's Women Tell The Story Of Their Lives by Helena Halperin” width=”300″ height=”300″ class=”alignleft size-full wp-image-69″ />From Robert Ruark’s “Something of Value” of 50 years ago to John le Carre’s cheap cialis 20mg “Constant Gardner,” popular literature about Kenya has been visualized through the point of view of white people making their way there.

Halperin’s non-fiction book is a first. It’s a story of the land, compiled from the viewpoint of very many actual Kenyans, mostly female: It is about what’s really been happening there over the past half century. How the society has changed, sometimes for better, often for worse, in the past generation, as more and more people have to live on fewer acres of farm-able land or depart for the impoverished cities.

It’s about living with AIDS, the effects of money on a barter society, how education affects relationships and what it means to be a born again Christian (or Muslim) in a society where animistic beliefs

often prevail. In short, its about what it is like being a Kenyan. It is a book of anthropological thoroughness that reads like the deep-felt personal narrative that it is.

This is an interesting and informative book. It has a bit of an academic format but because the author includes so many firsthand accounts of real women in all stations, ages and

social strata, it

has a great story telling aspect as well.

Helena’s recounting of lives and situations is really indicative of what’s going on there.