I may be in Yunan Province, but thanks to the internet I can keep up with the news—and I notice that several sources are reporting that Bush’s Christmas reading includes Theodore Roosevelt: After the White House” by Patricia O’Toole, and Imperial Grunts: The American Military on the Ground, by Robert D. Kaplan.
Good to know.
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IJ added these pithy words on 28 Dec 05 at 12:46 pmLots of interesting ideas are surfacing these days. A recent discussion in this forum prompted the observation that bills will rise dramatically with the UN’s new ‘Peacebuilding Commission’, ‘Responsibility to Protect’ (R2P) and the Millennium goals. The global initiatives are worthy and in line with the Charter, but seem endless – it’s a blank cheque. The UN is becoming very costly for the taxpayers in developed nations.
And are there too many nation states? R2P represents the evolving view of UN members that national sovereignty is no longer inviolate.
Many national defence budgets can’t really be finalised until the uncertainty is removed.
Younghusband added these pithy words on 28 Dec 05 at 4:26 pmPrak thinks this is bad news. He links to a handy list of reviews at Metacritic.
Pavlov3 added these pithy words on 29 Dec 05 at 1:42 amToo bad the president didn’t feel he had enough time for a classic fiction novel “My Life”. I hear it really heats up around page 450.
Curzon added these pithy words on 29 Dec 05 at 3:15 amFrom the press conference:
MR. DUFFY: Good morning. Let me update you on the President’s schedule. Yesterday, after arriving, he went out and did some cutting and clearing brush, and then was at his home on the ranch. And this morning he had his normal intelligence briefings, and he was out this morning clearing some brush and is right now—or has just recently concluded a bicycle ride and he’ll be spending the rest of the day at home with his wife and mother-in-law.I’ve got a couple of books that the President brought with him to read over the holiday. One is, “When Trumpets Call, Theodore Roosevelt After The White House,” by Patricia O’Toole, recommended to him by Brian Williams. The other is, “Imperial Grunt, The American Military On The Ground,” written by Robert Kaplan.
And that’s what I have on his schedule.
Chirol added these pithy words on 29 Dec 05 at 4:52 amAnd Chirol is about halfway through the book himself and cherishing every second of reading.
NeonCat added these pithy words on 29 Dec 05 at 9:37 amWow, I didn’t know those were picture books.
“This is a soldier. He invades. Invade soldier, invade. Look, the people he is invading love him. Love him, invaded, love him. Look, they are giving the soldier all their oil. They smile at the soldier. The soldier smiles back.”
IJ added these pithy words on 29 Dec 05 at 1:26 pmThe United Nations have odd priorities, NeonCat. Preventing resource wars doesn’t seem to be one of them. However Russia takes over the chair of the G8 in a few days and President Putin said in a broadcast last week that he plans to lead the world in energy.
“This energy set-up should be equally fair for the producers and consumers of energy resources for the sustained economic growth in the world,”Â? he underscored.
CTDeLude added these pithy words on 29 Dec 05 at 10:14 pmReading this now due to the good words you gave regarding the author. Only 67 pages into it I have a hard time denying the truth to your statements regarding Kaplan. This is a hard hitting book and certainly gives you a good glimpse of what is going on in the dark places so to speak…
heirabbit added these pithy words on 30 Dec 05 at 12:56 amI’d guess this reading list is a positive signal to those rooting for a war with Iran.
Pavlov3 added these pithy words on 30 Dec 05 at 1:16 amThe only person rooting for a war with Iran seems to be their peaceloving President. I try to contrast “we are concerned with Iran” to “Isreal should be wiped off the map”, and “we have a right to develop nuclear…”. Maybe I am being too simple.
Pavlov3 added these pithy words on 30 Dec 05 at 1:19 amI know how to spell Israel, damn typos.
IJ added these pithy words on 30 Dec 05 at 10:42 amWill Israel attack Iran? The possibility reminds us that the United Nations remains powerless to dissuade such aggression, and is therefore compelled to rely on Team America.
CTDeLude added these pithy words on 30 Dec 05 at 7:04 pmI’m curious, are there any other books in the vein of Imperial Grunts that someone can recommend? Either for today or in the past? I would be extremely pleased to read something from the Victorian era, preferably from those who traveled the far reaches of the British Empire…
phil added these pithy words on 30 Dec 05 at 10:08 pmCTDeLude,
Check out Project Gutenburg they have a huge amount of public domain books online including many from explorers and travelers from the 19th and early 20th century. Definitely worth the time browsing through their catalogue.
