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Michael
Michael is on page 197 of 320 of Ira Hayes: The Akimel O'odham Warrior, World War II, and the Price of Heroism
It won't let you go!
This goes well beyond anything a few movies could throw at you. The author dug deep because it goes way past a sad story about the untimely death of a young ex-WWII Marine. He wasn't simply killed by too much drinking. It was much more. There were social, racial, and economic factors also linked to his demise.
Apr 22, 2025 12:46AM Add a comment
Ira Hayes: The Akimel O'odham Warrior, World War II, and the Price of Heroism

Michael
Michael is on page 151 of 320 of Ira Hayes: The Akimel O'odham Warrior, World War II, and the Price of Heroism
Author Tom Holt is a Native American Marine veteran of Vietnam, which further enhanced the depth here in Ira Hayes. The background around Hayes also educates people on the old, and modern, Native American situation.
Apr 18, 2025 11:13PM Add a comment
Ira Hayes: The Akimel O'odham Warrior, World War II, and the Price of Heroism

Michael
Michael is on page 111 of 325 of Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends
“Many elected officials see public office as a business enterprise,” hits the reader right between the eyes on the very top of p, 95. That encapsulates a lot of it, but the juicy details get hotter right away. Author Peter Schweizer doesn’t just play his investigations with the big name politicians, he addresses local government, and lobbying, too.
Aug 03, 2024 09:40PM Add a comment
Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends

Michael
Michael is on page 38 of 325 of Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends
Fast-moving and exciting. This is top level journalism, and it’s something we don’t see everyday, anymore. Author Peter Schweizer seems to be showing some serious guts here. We need more like him.
Aug 01, 2024 10:30PM Add a comment
Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends

Michael
Michael is on page 345 of 384 of Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America
It has a continuous flow, and I checked out the large print version, and that’s a great help to my reading speed. There is a lot of death brought on by these opioids such as OxyContin, a term repeated many times. It is loaded with intriguing side bars, which all add up in the big picture here.
Jul 27, 2024 08:01PM Add a comment
Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America

Michael
Michael is on page 233 of 384 of Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America
It was beginning to read a bit like “We Were Soldiers Once, and Young,” with the death toll rising from the explosive use of corporate drugs. Then I read into some serious war-like content agreeing with the war similarity on p. 225.
Jul 26, 2024 10:10PM Add a comment
Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America

Michael
Michael is on page 137 of 384 of Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America
Hard to put down. I have/had a copy at home, but did not get a chance to start reading until a week ago in the local library here in Metter. Today, I picked it up again, and had to face reality and check it out. Great continuity, and very interesting.
Jul 25, 2024 05:56PM Add a comment
Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America

Michael
Michael is on page 380 of 480 of We Were Soldiers Once... and Young: Ia Drang - The Battle that Changed the War in Vietnam
The U.S. Army won the main Battle of the Ia Drang Valley, but there was some more fighting afterward, and the results weren’t as good. And, both were at a heavy price for both sides.
Jul 19, 2024 09:40PM Add a comment
We Were Soldiers Once... and Young: Ia Drang - The Battle that Changed the War in Vietnam

Michael
Michael is on page 332 of 480 of We Were Soldiers Once... and Young: Ia Drang - The Battle that Changed the War in Vietnam
Getting lost in a battle zone is not a good thing, but it happens, anyway. And some survive. A soldier from South Carolina got lost for a few days and nights keyed on every sound and movement around him. He also battled all those creepy crawly things that bite in the night when you can’t see them.
Jul 17, 2024 07:19PM Add a comment
We Were Soldiers Once... and Young: Ia Drang - The Battle that Changed the War in Vietnam

Michael
Michael is on page 331 of 432 of Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England's Greatest Warrior King
Author Dan Jones intrigues the hell out of me, and I’d really like to do, or hear, a Q&A with him. His research, writing, and empathy with the reader are on my mind. Today I had the pleasant surprise of stumbling upon a relative in Chapter 25: Lord Edward Charlton of Powys led a group that captured fugitive John Oldcastle.
Jul 12, 2024 06:52PM Add a comment
Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England's Greatest Warrior King

Michael
Michael is on page 272 of 432 of Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England's Greatest Warrior King
It just reads continuously, and interestingly so well that I hate to put it down for any reason. Some of the names are thought-provoking, too. Names like Tiptoft, Broadmore, Beauchamp, and a few others make me want to keep my copy close by for reference in future fiction writing. It’s a really enjoyable book.
Jul 11, 2024 10:10PM Add a comment
Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England's Greatest Warrior King

Michael
Michael is on page 200 of 432 of Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England's Greatest Warrior King
In this format it reads very easily and a lot like modern U.S. politics with its personality, event, and political weight coverage. I’m learning a lot fast, and encountering new aspects of office holding, as well as historical basics in England.
Jul 10, 2024 09:30PM Add a comment
Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England's Greatest Warrior King

Michael
Michael is on page 140 of 432 of Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England's Greatest Warrior King
This strategy to write in present tense could push the book Henry V to enormous success. I’ve always enjoyed history, anyway, but this content is a lot more likeable.
Henry V’s later teen years were filled with very intense preparation for his eventual kingship, which quickens as his father’s health see-saws prior to his death.
Jul 09, 2024 06:51PM Add a comment
Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England's Greatest Warrior King

Michael
Michael is on page 100 of 432 of Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England's Greatest Warrior King
Henry V picks up fast as it moves into the secession of one king to another, and we can clearly see the young Henry edging ever closer to the thrown himself. There’s some serious drama when he stops an arrow with his face in the Battle of Shrewsbury.
Jul 07, 2024 08:06PM Add a comment
Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England's Greatest Warrior King

Michael
Michael is on page 42 of 432 of Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England's Greatest Warrior King
The continuity is nice, smooth, and one of the first things you notice.
Jul 06, 2024 11:13PM Add a comment
Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England's Greatest Warrior King

Michael
Michael is on page 15 of 432 of Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England's Greatest Warrior King
Magnificent. Author Dan Jones takes the reader into an empathetic path by breaking the supposed rules and writes in present tense whenever possible. I have problems setting my review copy down.
Jul 05, 2024 05:52PM Add a comment
Henry V: The Astonishing Triumph of England's Greatest Warrior King

Michael
Michael is on page 317 of 480 of We Were Soldiers Once... and Young: Ia Drang - The Battle that Changed the War in Vietnam
Very intense. One can easily understand that no one not trained cannot stomach such grizzly combat, and even those with the training are likely to have nightmares for years to come.
Jul 05, 2024 02:24PM Add a comment
We Were Soldiers Once... and Young: Ia Drang - The Battle that Changed the War in Vietnam

Michael
Michael is on page 199 of 480 of We Were Soldiers Once... and Young: Ia Drang - The Battle that Changed the War in Vietnam
Quite active in content, and descriptions from the battle of the Ia Drang Valley in 1965. Too many casualties, but credit is due to the soldiers and their efforts in this very hard-fought battle.
Apr 13, 2024 04:55PM Add a comment
We Were Soldiers Once... and Young: Ia Drang - The Battle that Changed the War in Vietnam

Michael
Michael is on page 107 of 480 of We Were Soldiers Once... and Young: Ia Drang - The Battle that Changed the War in Vietnam
The battle begins. Action, and page turning picks up dramatically.
I wasn't in Vietnam, but going back to that time isn't easy. I still vividly remember a young man's face shortly before he shipped out for the war on the other side of the then nearby Pacific. He later drowned in the Mekong Delta. There were others I knew much less, but this one was a friend of the family. Years later I found his name on the wall.
Feb 10, 2024 08:42PM Add a comment
We Were Soldiers Once... and Young: Ia Drang - The Battle that Changed the War in Vietnam

Michael
Michael is on page 71 of 480 of We Were Soldiers Once... and Young: Ia Drang - The Battle that Changed the War in Vietnam
Both sides of the battle are presented here, and that’s something not always seen in this genre.
Feb 06, 2024 02:52PM Add a comment
We Were Soldiers Once... and Young: Ia Drang - The Battle that Changed the War in Vietnam

Michael
Michael is on page 48 of 480 of We Were Soldiers Once... and Young: Ia Drang - The Battle that Changed the War in Vietnam
It reads differently from most other books, written in first-person. Co-Author Joe Galloway explains how he wound up with a gun in his hand. Abnormal for a journalist, and still controversial in many journalism schools still. I was asked in grad school in London if I would. I had to think about my answer first. I would certainly rather not, but I haven’t been in combat.
Feb 04, 2024 07:35AM Add a comment
We Were Soldiers Once... and Young: Ia Drang - The Battle that Changed the War in Vietnam

Michael
Michael is on page 22 of 480 of We Were Soldiers Once... and Young: Ia Drang - The Battle that Changed the War in Vietnam
I like the battlefield graphics found at the front of the book. Right away, you get a sense of the scale for most of the central story.
Feb 01, 2024 02:08PM Add a comment
We Were Soldiers Once... and Young: Ia Drang - The Battle that Changed the War in Vietnam

Michael
Michael is on page 393 of 706 of The Pirates Laffite: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf
It gets better toward the end. It seemed to be on autopilot briefly with the ongoing games between the brothers Lafitte, and those trying to be in authority in the new state of Louisiana. The Lafitte enterprises extended to helping found civilization onto Galveston in 1818, replacing a temporary camp that had been there for a short while. A brief non-government French settlement on the Texas side of the Sabine.
Jan 28, 2024 07:01PM Add a comment
The Pirates Laffite: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf

Michael
Michael is on page 367 of 706 of The Pirates Laffite: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf
This definitely illustrates that older brother Pierre was very often the brains, or the chief facilitator in the numerous dealings of the Lafittes -- and there were plenty of them.
However, Jean was the boss of early Galveston while both were spies for Spain, fighting against Latin American insurgents. That didn't last but a few years until Spanish authorities tired of Lafitte-style gamesmanship. Intrigue was thick.
Jan 27, 2024 07:46PM Add a comment
The Pirates Laffite: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf

Michael
Michael is on page 305 of 706 of The Pirates Laffite: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf
Some of the chapters are too long, and more maps would help. It can be hard to imagine, unless you’ve been down in the bayou country. Terrific research, however.
Jan 27, 2024 05:32AM Add a comment
The Pirates Laffite: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf

Michael
Michael is on page 257 of 706 of The Pirates Laffite: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf
Lots of detail, but focused on the subject of the brothers, and their adventures. Details of the Battle of New Orleans are probably best read elsewhere, but the locals made good use of the waterways, and the British lacked adequate bayou knowledge.
Jan 26, 2024 04:42AM Add a comment
The Pirates Laffite: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf

Michael
Michael is on page 192 of 706 of The Pirates Laffite: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf
I took shore leave from The Pirates Lafitte to read The Wife You Know by Chad Zunker, and finished it. That was a good one, too.
The Pirates Lafitte is evolving past "discussions" with the British and Americans about picking sides, and terms, for allying with either one, and maintaining business. It wouldn't be as usual, either way. Pirating can be so messy.
Jan 20, 2024 09:04AM Add a comment
The Pirates Laffite: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf

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