Whatcha Reading Good?

[TallOne]

iGen by Jean Twenge.

"Why today's super connected kids are growing up less rebellious, more tolerant, less happy-and completely unprepared for adulthood."

A real eye-opener, especially for parents.

https://www.amazon.com/iGen-Super-Co.../dp/1501151983

[quazz]

Reading this one. I knew about him but just the stories that stuck, that he was a drunk and not a great general but won due to numbers and material. This is a very detailed and incredibly well researched account of his life. It relies on letters, diaries of others, newspaper reports and memoirs of people he dealt with. He certainly was an alcoholic but knew it so would go a very long time without touching a drop but when he did he would go on a bender. He never did this in or anytime around a battle. He was also a great general and had a string of victories in the west before being promoted. Unlike the other Union generals his strategy was to dictate the war, he did not wait but continually attacked to keep the other side off balance and always reacting. He hated war and the great loss of life and felt it his duty to shorten it knowing the massive sacrifice paid in the slaughter of so many. He was not callous. There is never any glory in war but this one was unspeakably awful and after battles and after the war itself he harboured no grudges and at great political cost was gracious in victory, not vindictive but the vindictives won out in the end especially after Lincoln(they became close friends) was assassinated.

He was a good honest man of principle who trusted everyone but was naive and could not see the scheming of others. This led to one disaster after another in his business life before and after the war.
He was probably too honest and principled for politics but was basically drafted into it. It was a rough brutal business back then too.
Grant was a fascinating man and much deeper than the flawed historical sound bites and the caricature.

[rdcusmc]

Grant was far better than he is given credit for - near genius on the battlefield. His ability to adapt in real time is elite. At Vicksburg for example, after initial difficulties, he scrapped traditional supply lines and formed waterborne logistics and supply bases allowing him to bring much more firepower to the battlefield while enhancing both strategic and tactic flexibility to exploit opportunities in real time. Few military leaders have ever cut loose from their supply lines and lived to tell about it, much less find victory. Grant did it twice.

Best,
Ron

[quazz]

Originally Posted by rdcusmc

Grant was far better than he is given credit for - near genius on the battlefield. His ability to adapt in real time is elite. At Vicksburg for example, after initial difficulties, he scrapped traditional supply lines and formed waterborne logistics and supply bases allowing him to bring much more firepower to the battlefield while enhancing both strategic and tactic flexibility to exploit opportunities in real time. Few military leaders have ever cut loose from their supply lines and lived to tell about it, much less find victory. Grant did it twice.

Best,
Ron

Yeah Vicksburg took him a while and there were several failed attempts but he was a terrier and yes a military genius. I didn't realize before that most of the generals on both sides had been friends or classmates at West point and many fought together in Mexico.
According to some experts quoted in the book he certainly made mistakes but not many and if he had a flaw it was to sometimes, due to always pushing forward, be blind to an opposition counter. This seems to be be the case at Shilo but both sides took credit for a costly victory.

I forgot to post the book earlier. Here it is

[Dean Dinnetz]

Yes, an excellent book. Over 900 pages, small print. Took me awhile to read through it.

Did not know he had been posted to Eureka, California and Vancouver, Washington, before the Civil War.

My good friend Jewel Hendricks, lives about a block away from where Grant was posted, in Eureka.

Dean

[Dean Dinnetz]

Just started last night, "The Road to Unfreedom", by Timothy Snyder.

Goes back the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, to the current situation in Russia, Europe, and here in America. Very good insights on the politics of change in the world.

Dean

P.S. I don't have a television, so i read every night. You do learn things by reading.

[quazz]

Originally Posted by Dean Dinnetz

Yes, an excellent book. Over 900 pages, small print. Took me awhile to read through it.

Did not know he had been posted to Eureka, California and Vancouver, Washington, before the Civil War.

My good friend Jewel Hendricks, lives about a block away from where Grant was posted, in Eureka.

Dean

Yeah it is excellent and yes very long. I am not quite finished but well into Grant's second term as president. I didn't realize he and members of his cabinet wanted reparations from England for helping the south. The price they wanted? Canada!!!! I love the US but am really happy we are our own country up here.

[Dean Dinnetz]

Originally Posted by quazz

Yeah it is excellent and yes very long. I am not quite finished but well into Grant's second term as president. I didn't realize he and members of his cabinet wanted reparations from England for helping the south. The price they wanted? Canada!!!! I love the US but am really happy we are our own country up here.

They settled on a sum of money, if i remember correctly.

When Grant visited the U.K., he was warmly received.

Dean

P.S. As a side note, Russia offered Alaska to the Crown first before the U.S., but as they already had Canada, they saw no need, for obtaining Alaska. And they were fighting against Spain also at the time, if i remember correctly. A rather large blunder, not obtaining Alaska.

[quazz]

Yeah I think the price was $3million. Not a bad price for Alaska but not as good a deal as the US got in the Louisiana purchase. The world would be much different if the French held on to that.

[Dean Dinnetz]

Originally Posted by quazz

Yeah I think the price was $3million. Not a bad price for Alaska but not as good a deal as the US got in the Louisiana purchase. The world would be much different if the French held on to that.

The U.S. Paid $7.2 million for Alaska. Huge amount of money in that era.

A large number of people at the time, thought it was a complete waste of money, to spend on the "Frozen North".

Dean

[bradd]

Pete, if you ever get down this way I'm about an hour away from Grant's house. I've toured it before it's interesting.

Found myself back on the Stephen King kick again. I read his Bill Hodges trilogy this summer, and also his newest the outsider which kind of piggybacks on those.

[quazz]

I would love that Brad.

[organ donor]

I finished the grant book a few months ago, very good read. He lived in Galesburg Illinois for a while and trained in mattoon Illinois, both places I live close too and have been. However never knew his connection to Illinois until reading the book. It's a shame Lincoln was assassinated and not given a chance to complete his second term and a chance to try and heal a nation. I also found the idea of annexing the Dominican Republic as a place for exslaves to colonize fascinating.

[quazz]

Originally Posted by organ donor

It's a shame Lincoln was assassinated and not given a chance to complete his second term and a chance to try and heal a nation. I also found the idea of annexing the Dominican Republic as a place for exslaves to colonize fascinating.

Yeah I never knew about the Dominican annexation. Unlike Canada they wanted it. Lincoln's assassination may not have happened if Grant had accepted his invitation tho the theatre. What a loss for the world!

[organ donor]

Originally Posted by quazz

Yeah I never knew about the Dominican annexation. Unlike Canada they wanted it. Lincoln's assassination may not have happened if Grant had accepted his invitation tho the theatre. What a loss for the world!

Which he didn't accept because he didn't want to be around Mrs. Lincoln.

[organ donor]

I'm currently a little bit past half way on Sapiens "A brief history of humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari. Great read. I've disagreed with some of his assumptions and with recent discoveries changing the timeline of some things it's a well done book. I'd definitely recommend it for anyone even if they aren't interested in the subject. I think if more people took a step back and looked at what we know of human evolution and the big picture of how those events shape our current world there might be less toxic tribalism dividing us. Although to do that you have to set aside some pretty ingrained ideologies which a lot of people cling to like a security blanket.

[quazz]

Originally Posted by organ donor

I'm currently a little bit past half way on Sapiens "A brief history of humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari. Great read. I've disagreed with some of his assumptions and with recent discoveries changing the timeline of some things it's a well done book. I'd definitely recommend it for anyone even if they aren't interested in the subject. I think if more people took a step back and looked at what we know of human evolution and the big picture of how those events shape our current world there might be less toxic tribalism dividing us. Although to do that you have to set aside some pretty ingrained ideologies which a lot of people cling to like a security blanket.

That sounds interesting. Paradigm shifts are great.

[WileECoyote]

Toxic tribalism that divides us............
Explains an immense amount of why some bind and most do not. I happen to walk a different path and have learned to read people. Maybe its instincts or a natural ability, I will know if I want to continue any relationship or plug you in the head. I am 51 now and have never been wrong. My time in the military was enriching as I had to do things most would not. My instincts took over and I have made it here from some really bad situations. That said, I have always wanted to know why some see others in a threatening way or bowed down to an obviously inferior foe.
I guess what I am trying to express here is to believe in yourself and your abilities. You are and always will be STRONGER than you can imagine. 'Nuff said, looking for that book right now.