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Class of 1957 Book Review Site. ©2007. To add a Book Review, or to comment on a book already in this listing, send your material or review to Sam Coulbourn at Persnav@shore.net. Photo at top of each page shows ENS Arleigh Burke beneath 14-inch gun aboard Battleship USS Arizona, 1923. Revised 27 March 2008. |
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SELF IMPROVEMENT What Einstein Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained
By Robert L. Wolke, 2003.
The author is both a chemistry professor and a Washington Post food columnist. He explains the chemical and other scientific processes that occur when we prepare our food. He tells us how to maximize the taste of food by having us understand the chemical mysteries of sweeteners, salt, fats and oils. The differences between surf and turf extend well beyond our common understanding. The chapter on fire and ice probe the depths of heating and cooling in the various aspects of cooking and freezing food. The chapters of microwaves and on tools and technology are filled with hints on how to improve everything we ought to be doing in the kitchen..
Reviewed by Paul Roush.
HUMOR
HUMOR Too Soon to Say Goodbye
By Art Buchwald, 2006.
Buchwald hasn't lost his touch even while in a hospice in DC waiting to die. His humor facing death is terrific. Raised as an orphan in a foster home in the Bronx he quit high school early and joined the Marines. He entered USC but was told that he could not graduated because he didn't finish high School only to be a awarded a Doctors degree at a commencement address about 14 years ago. Buchwald wants to control his funeral arrangements and so he prints his friends and daughters eulogies at the end of the book. Hilarious reading.
- HUMOR Jokes, By George
By George Bouvet, (Class of ‘57), 2006
A fantastic joke book. 121 pages of goodies arranges by category. Perfect reading when you are feeling low or as a gift to a sick friend. Available at no charge in a compressed file by e-mailing Big George at georgebouv@msn.com. (No real raunchy material.)
SPORTS SPORTS The Education of a Coach
By David Halberstam, 2005
Focuses on Bill Belichick’s football coaching career and development from his days when his father Steve was a coach at the Naval Academy. Many references to Bill’s growing up in Annapolis, his admiration for the Brigade and his earlier interest in analyzing football games films with his father.
RELIGION
RELIGION Holy Bible- The New Revised Standard Version
Imprimatur: Reverend Daniel Pilarczyk Old Testament, 1071 Pages New Testament, 245 Pages
Old Testament · Genesis · Exodus · Leviticus The Book of Leviticus in the Old Testament contains the moral, ceremonial, dietary and civil laws. The Moral law is the Ten Commandments, (contained in the Books of Exodus and Deuteronomy), the Ceremonial laws dealt with sacrifices for atonement, and the Civil law with their punishments was used for governance under a Theocracy, and later under a series of Kings. These civil codes were one of the things that set the Jews apart from other civilizations at that time; beside worshiping one God, and having the 10 commandments as a personal standard for life. These commandments are summarized by, Love the Lord with all your heart, mind and soul, and thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself. The word neighbor as used in the Bible is quite different from the meaning of neighbor in the Koran. Some of the Civil Laws dealing with "sins of the flesh" ( for example, adultery) carried with them punishments of stoning, that seem very harsh by today's standards. Others dealing with murder, accounted for 1st, 2nd and 3rd degree and corresponding punishments. A careful reading of these laws would lead one to acknowledge that they were for the most part very similar to our own laws, and quite different from the harsh punishments dealt out by other civilizations of that period of time in history. The often quoted eye for an eye etc, merely meant in that time let the punishment suit the crime, as defined by the civil laws and was never taken literally and is one of the differences that set apart Jewish society from others whose punishments were quite cruel. With that background, Jesus the Christ of the New Testament, according to the Bible came to fulfill, not abrogate, the ceremonial and Moral law for all mankind, through one sacrifice of a perfect life. (sinless against the Moral Law) Also according to New Testament scripture, Jesus made it clear, that there was no longer a Theocracy, that one is to render unto Caesar’s that which is Caesar’s, and unto God what is God. Let he has no sin, cast the first stone to those who would stone a prostitute, and to the prostitute go and sin no more.
Review by Ted Almstedt, April, 2007
· Numbers; Deuteronomy; Joshua; Judges; Ruth; 1 Samuel; 2 Samuel; 1 Kings; 2 Kings; 1 Chronicles; 2 Chronicles; Ezra; Nehemiah; Tobit; Judith; Esther; 1 Maccabees; 2 Maccabees; Job; Psalms; Proverbs; Ecclesiastes; Song of Songs; Wisdom; Sirach; Isaiah; Jeremiah; Lamentations; Baruch; Ezekiel; Daniel; Hosea; Joel; Amos; Obadiah; Jonah; Micah; Nahum; Habakkuk; Zephaniah; Haggai; Zechariah; Malachi. New Testament · Matthew; Mark; Luke; John; Acts; Romans; 1 Corinthians; 2 Corinthians; Galatians; Ephesians; Philippians; Colossians; 1 Thessalonians; 2 Thessalonians; 1 Timothy; 2 Timothy; Titus; Philemon; Hebrews; James; 1 Peter; 2 Peter; 1 John; 2 John; 3 John; Jude; Acts of the Apostles; Revelation.
RELIGION Atlas of the Bible
By Rogerson, John, 1985
A great companion book to the Bible with much needed maps and explanation of historical locations and travels in both the Old and New Testament.
Part one- The Bible and its Literature
Part Two- The Bible and History
Part Three- The Bible and Geography
RELIGION Walking The Bible: A Journey by Land through the Five Books of Moses
By Bruce Feiler, 2005.
The intent of the author was to validate the bible – fact, fiction or no way to tell – by physically going to places/sites described in the bible. Very interesting read without any hocus pocus.
BIOGRAPHY BIOGRAPHY Alexander Hamilton
By Ron Chernow, 2004.
Reading this book was, for me, the equivalent of scales falling from one’s eyes. I had not the slightest understanding of the tremendous debt our nation owes to Hamilton’s efforts in our nation’s birth pangs. Born in what was then called bastardy in the Caribbean, he came to America as a young man, excelled in the university, served with distinction in the military as a close confidant of Washington during the Revolutionary War, and eventually went on to put in place the essence of the financial system that sustains us to this day. Chernow also demonstrates how Hamilton’s foolish, long-term illicit affair with a woman with no redeeming character traits severely impeded his opportunity to have an even more enduring impact upon our nation’s future.
BIOGRAPHY Father of All Things, The: A Marine, His Son, and the Legacy of Viet Nam
By Tom Bissell, 2007,406 pp.
This unusual combined memoir, history, biography and travel book should be of interest to all Academy graduates. It cuts deeply to emotional issues involving fathers, sons, marriage, war, Viet Nam military history, American political history and the Marine Corps. The author brings an unusual perspective, both critical of the mistakes and downright lying that characterized the American involvement in Viet Nam with a loving respect for the men who tried to make the best of a difficult and perhaps impossible situation. The author’s father finished his service in Viet Nam after being severely wounded and was then posted to Beaufort, South Carolina where at age twenty-five, he fell in love with a gorgeous nineteen year old colonel’s daughter. She promised his mother, who had been suffering from cancer, that if his mother died, the young woman would raise his brother and sister, then aged sixteen and twelve. He promised her father, then chief of staff of a Marine air wing, that he would never quit the Marines and that he would never take his new bride, who had been raised in Southern officer’s clubs, back to Michigan, where he was from. His mother died a month after their wedding and he immediately broke both promises to the colonel, taking his teenage bride back to Escanaba in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where she became, in effect, the stepmother for two teenagers only a few years younger than herself. The colonel then died and his widow, a glamorous former actress who almost married the actor Jackie Cooper joined the household. She refused to accept the role of a grandmother, everyone drank, the author and other babies appeared, divorce came around and this saga could make an entire television series by itself. There are heroes like General Creighton Abrams, who was said to have deserved a better war, after he replaced the shameless Westmoreland, and George Ball, who tried to warn LBJ that the forthcoming escalation would be costly and unsuccessful. There are villains like Walt Rostow, who bragged how the Johnson administration had exploded a non-existent torpedo boat attack into a cause of war, and Kissinger from whose dealings only Asian Communists seemed to have emerged with new advantages. The book brings all these strands together with a father and son trip to Vietnam. They revive old memories in Danang, the Chu Lai and My Lai areas, and Nha Trang. They plunge into the amazing contrasts of the new Saigon. It becomes a love letter to a father, a family, the Marines and the brave people of two countries united by the wounds of a tragic war. Highly recommended.
Review by Tony Crowell
BIOGRAPHY Grant: Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant By Ulysses S. Grant, DeCapo Paperback, 1982
Poverty-stricken and dying of throat cancer, Ulysses S. Grant devoted his last days to the completion of his memoirs. He did not write to clear his sullied name, but to prevent the financial ruin of his family. Grant’s endeavor far surpassed this modest goal; it revealed him as one of the most intelligent and thoughtful men ever to hold high command. In two volumes of straightforward prose, Grant recounts the course of his military career without pretension or embellishment. Honestly assessing his performance, he does not shy from harsh criticism when the situation demands. Ever modest, Grant makes no claim to greatness, stressing instead the situational factors that occasioned his rise to power. Poignant and insightful, Grant’s memoirs stand as one of the finest contributions to American letters. Grant’s candid autobiography contrasts sharply with the self-serving memoirs of his contemporaries. There is no hint of exaggeration or self-aggrandizement. Quick to praise peers and subordinates, Grant gives credit where credit is due. Moreover, he is exceptionally gracious in his treatment of his opponents. Even as Grant repudiates the Confederate cause, he never demonstrates ill will towards the men he fought. Eschewing the flowery and verbose fashion of the period, Grant adopts a clear and concise narrative style. The apparent simplicity of the composition belies his skill as an author. Grant’s succinct interpretation of events flows smoothly, allowing readers to overlook his nuanced analysis and profound understanding of the human condition. The earnestness and sincerity with which Grant recounts his memories is deeply moving. He masterfully conveys the uncertainty and trepidation that accompanies the commander in the midst of a campaign. This brings the Civil War to life in a way unmatched by dry official histories. Grant’s memoirs are filled with subtle, yet meaningful, leadership lessons that are still applicable. Careful examination of his writing rewards the reader with an enhanced appreciation for the burden of command and the complexities of warfare. Devoid of pretension or fabrication, Grant’s memoirs demonstrate the author’s uncommon sensitivity and intelligence. Representing the pinnacle of American literature, they demand attention from any serious student of history.
Reviewed February, 2007 by Midshipman 1/c Jorge Jamail, Student in the Class of Professor Wick Murray, Chair in Naval Heritage sponsored by the Class of 1957.
BIOGRAPHY
Never Again: Securing America and Restoring Justice By John Ashcroft, hardcover, 2006
This book by former Attorney General John Ashcroft provides an enlightening peek into his Senate Judiciary Committee proceedings during his confirmation as AG, the state of the Justice Department inherited from the previous administration and its condition immediately preceding 9/11. Of special note is the relationship between the law enforcement and intelligence collection agencies of Government and the peculiar impediments which prevented detection and obstruction of the highjackers before that fateful day. He includes an overview of the prosecution of several high profile terrorists, and cites several serious failings of the 9/11 Commission. In addressing terrorism and the civil rights of citizens he talks to a few of the controversial aspects of the Patriot Act. And you'll come away knowing (unless you do already) that the USA Patriot Act is an acronym for: Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism .
Review by Ron Goldstone, December 2007.
BIOGRAPHY Stephen Decatur
By Robert J. Allison, 2005.
Biography of Decatur, the youngest man ever to serve as a Captain in the US Navy. Great descriptions of his feats in Tripoli, The War of 1812 and the Algerian War of 1815. Events are described in context of formative history of our country. |
