Joe Clark > Recent Status Updates

Secession began in 1860. In 1861 both sides were recruiting and organizing. Fort Sumter and Bull Run were minor clashes that foreshadowed what was to come.
The Irish immigrant population struggled to deal with and overcome deeply ingrained prejudice. Ethnic regiments and brigades - the (later) famed Irish Regiment got off to a rocky start. Performance at Bull Run gave a positive image.

The whole issue of what the Civil War was about is muddled. Modern liberals insist slavery was the single issue. But saving the Union was as important if not more so. The 13th Amendment abolishing slavery only matters because the North won the war
Preserving the Union was the key concern for Irish immigrants in the North (there were plenty of Irish soldiers in the Confederate army,)

To the Irish immigrant population, the Republican Party in 1860 was simply a reworking the NoNothing party - anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant. Stephen Douglas was going to protect the Constitution and the rights of poor, struggling Irish immigrants - not Lincoln.

Rereading this one. First impression is the Irish experience in the 19th Century was very much like the Hispanic experience in the 20th and 21st centuries.
The NoNothings were very much like the MAGA crowd today.
But attitudes toward religion in the military were complex and not a problem for Irish Catholics alone. Even lax protestants objected to forced attendance at religious services.

The Cauldron by Joe Clark
The Civil War effectively ended with the surrender of Robert E. Lee April 9, 1865. But 1864 was the decisive year.
Grant took charge in March and his total war campaign began on May 4.
By mid June, he was attacking Petersburg, the railroad hub vital to Richmond and Lee's forces. On June 18, he began the final siege
Sherman began his attack on Kennesaw Mountain the next day

Meagher goes down hill when the fruit of his preaching turns out to be his his beloved Irishmen dying by the thousands
He turns to drink and is forced out of the army
He decides to move west and gets a political appointment to Montana - where he immediately finds himself Acting Governor of a lawless territory ruled by a ruthless cabal

Meagher is forced into the Civil War by the attack on Fort Sumter. He raises a company of scruffy Irish immigrants. Their reckless valor makes them effective at the first Battle of Bull Run but Sherman, the commanding general has only contempt for the ragamuffins.
A brigade of Irishmen is raised and marches on Richmond with McClellan Their valor stands out but the losses are horrendous and heartbreaking.

The parallel lives of 2 impoverished but gifted children living under Nazi rule and bling but very intelligent French girl escaping Paris as the Germans take control
Well written but very slow moving
Reminds of the dictum - letting the details take over kills the story for the reader

Mawr meets Elizabeth Townsend and the two fall instantly in love but there are problems - he's a poor Irish immigrant and a Catholic at that. She's a rich WASP. But they it out - he becomes a highly successful barrister and she converts.
Tensions are rising throughout the 1850s. Mawr sides with those who oppose slavery but are unwilling to call for abolition in the South where it is legally established

Mahr marries and fathers a child while banished to the prison island of Tasmania His wife's love rekindles his spirit He escapes to America where he's hailed as a savior
He goes on speaking tours His wife reaches America but is unhappy with the hustle and bustle. She returns to England where he cannot step foot because of his so-called crimes. She dies giving birth to the second child
A depressed Mawh begins drinking

700 years of British conquest and exploitation failed to conquer the Irish spirit but wrested everything of material value from the natives. After blights beginning in 1845 wiped out the potato crop the native Irish starved by the thousands. Bountiful harvests belonged to absentee British landlords who exported because the Irish had no money.
Meagher & others protested & were banished to penal colonies.

The situation of Irish immigrants in 19th Century America. Distinction between Ulster (Protestant) Irish and Catholic Irish. Growing influence of Irish immigrants in Democratic party - more conservative political parties - basically the Know-Nothing outraged by the immigrant drain on public resources wanted to restrict immigration and naturalization (does that sound familiar).

Excellent telling of a maligned 6 months in the War Between the Brothers
Following Gettysburg. things happened but not what many wanted. Lee's invincibility was punctured and his vaunted army wounded. The usual version is Lincoln endured the stodgy Meade until the end of the year and put Grant in charge of crushing the rebellion as the campaigns resumed in the Spring of 1864
This is a different take on that period

Through the Battle of Rapphannock Station - interesting details & slightly different take from other authors

Fascinating history - very different the standard narrative which omits these events because they were inconsequential or because General Meade has been dismissed for his failure to defeat the Army of Northern Virginia.

So far I'm giving this one a star or maybe two. The characters are compelling. Poor little rich girl Emily is in a jam mostly of her own making and her parents are winning professionally while flunking as human beings
Andrea is uninspiring

The story has some riveting points - a child, a pre-teen abandoned in a crumbling shack with no running water and no electricity grows up at the edge of a swamp. Of course, friends help but she has to find her own way.
When a dead body is discovered she becomes a suspect.
The story telling falls apart for me because obvious questions go unasked and as far as I'm concerned the prosecutor has no case.

Adan drives to Jill's house for hot sex in a stolen car. He ends the evening by strangling her.
In the morning, he finally discovers Beau's fate and sets out on a new plan to deal with Greg and his minions before escaping to China.
The cops are watching but haven't figured out what is going on. Shane manages to eavesdrop on a meeting between Adan and Greg but only gets part of the story

Lizbet's mother dies
Blumquest tracks down Harriet and convinces her to come back to Sweden
A moral struggle concludes that revealing Martin's life of crime would do more harm than good

Adan goes to a shooting range to meet with Beau and work out a scheme to get rid of Greg and his thugs. When Beau fails to show, Adan decides it's time to disappear. He plans to fly to China where he can use his business connections to avoid extradition.
Jack meets with Troy after he learns that Beau, who died in a crash, had weapons and had visited Troy earlier in the day.
Adan has gone missing

Blumquist and Lisbet independently stumble onto the psychopaths in the Vanger family.
Blumquist stumbles into a deadly trap. Lisbet arrives just in time to save him. But not before the killer reveals that he didn't kill Harriet.
This reveal and other new evidence hold the key to Harriet's disappearance.

Vangar is hospitalized after a stroke
Blumquist learns of the background check and obtains a copy
He visits Lizbet about taking her on as a partner in his investigation. The two of them hit it off
The investigation into Harriet's disappearance picks up steam

Lisbet turns the tables on the sick, predatory court appointed guardian and threatens to ruin him if he fails to do as she instructs
Blumquist stumbles on the hidden meaning of clues that others have overlooked and begins to unravel the mystery of Harriet Vanger's death

Lundquist finds his assignment fascinating but he feels he has explored every aspect of the niece's disappearance and concluded he could add nothing to the detective work already done
Lisbet's guardian and friend becomes disabled and she is assigned a new guardian. He is a monster but even Lisbet can't find the evidence.

Interesting insights on the Battle for Laurel Hill (Spottsylvania)

This book is primarily intended for staff level military (infantry) officers. It provides many interesting details not found in other accounts but it is geared to stimulating thoughts about dealing with adverse real world situations.

Lunquist has been found guilty of libel - a death knell for his career as an investigative reporter. Lisbet has emerged as an anti-heroine -- a brilliant detective who goes her own way.
Lundquist has been pushed into investigating a crime he doesn't believe he can solve by the offer of a deal he can't refuse

"George W comes to Jesus and gives up alcohol and recreational drugs. He develops self-control that enables his to keep his volcanic temper and natural nastiness under control in his campaign against Ann Richards for governor of Texas. White male voters power his victory. Jeb loses in Florida but Poppa Bush seems to prefer Jeb over George.
When W runs for president he casts himself as the ant-Clinton."

George W comes to Jesus and gives up alcohol and recreational drugs. He develops self-control that enables his to keep his volcanic temper and natural nastiness under control in his campaign against Ann Richards for governor of Texas. White male voters power his victory. Jeb loses in Florida but Poppa Bush seems to prefer Jeb over George.
When W runs for president he casts himself as the ant-Clinton.