Well we can't all be reading the classics, Professor Highbrow

Jesse:
New new editions for the fray: What's The Matter With Kansas by Thomas Frank, Supreme Command: Soliders, Statesmen, and Leadership in Wartime by Eliot A. Cohen, and Churchill: A Life by Sir Martin Gilbert.

I started drafting this post some time ago (in which time I read all of the Churchill book) which means that some of my thoughts about Kansas and Supreme Command have likely slipped my mind. I shall do my best.

What's The Matter With Kansas was interesting, and has certainly influenced the way I'll be looking at the right going forward (I've already mentioned it at least once). I thought the thesis was interesting. I thought the book was probably a little long. And I was somewhat disappointed with what I perceived as a certain amount of selectiveness on the part of Mr. Frank. Using bizarre Kansans as examples may have helped him further his thesis (and may have been entertaining), but, in my opinion, lacked a certain fairness. I should have liked to have seen a look at the other side of the debate (presumably there are non-crazy Republicans who he could have engaged).

Supreme Command was spectacular. Mr. Cohen appears in The Gamble, which I read earlier, and this book was specifically referenced. Supreme Command also led to my reading of the next book. Cohen examines (through exposition and four case studies) the relationship between political and military leaders in wartime. Cohen sets up what may or may not be somewhat of a straw man to oppose; the "normal theory" of war. In this theory, Cohen argues that the military, and some historians and analysts, believe that the only role politicians should play is that of "goal setter". They should see the military as a gun, point it, pull the trigger, and then allow the bullet to do it's job. Cohen rejects this thesis, and studies (somewhat briskly) the wartime efforts of Lincoln, Clemenceau, Churchill, and Ben-Gurion. He draws the conclusion that each of these leaders, in their own way, exerted serious and important control over their militaries. Lincoln used a steady stream of firings of his generals as well as his inimitable ability to write to "box them in". Clemenceau led from the front. Churchill repeatedly and voraciously questioned his generals on the conduct of the war (as well as prodding them along). Ben-Gurion learnt everything there was to know about his military, then entirely restructured them. I highly recommend this book; I found it easy to read, a fascinating introduction to the wartime conduct of four extraordinary men, and an important thesis.

Finally, I have just completed Churchill: A Life. This was the best book I've read so far, hands down. I don't know that I have a lot to say. For 959 pages it reads like far less (not that it didn't take me a while). Churchill's life was incredible and inspirational, and Sir Martin is a fantastic historian and biographer; the story is very easy to read. The only oddity that kept jumping out at me (and now you, should you elect to read it, which you should) is that Gilbert painstakingly notes every time Churchill is almost in danger, both before and while PM (including several close calls where planes immediately before or after Churchill's crash). I'm not sure how the book would read without these, but I found the repeated emphasis of danger to be the only somewhat sour note. I also question whether or not Sir Martin is somewhat of an apologist for Churchill, as there are several points in the book where he goes into a subject to explain why Churchill was right for no apparent reason. Perhaps it would have been out of place in a biography of this nature (which was certainly already long enough), but I did find myself wondering what the current state of criticism is of Churchill's decisions in some of these areas. If anyone knows a good "summary" of the criticisms of his behaviour, let me know.

Coming up next? I've just purchased several books, and I'm not sure which I'll reach for... though I must say I'm sorely tempted by a book on Trudeau I just found for $5 at Indigo...

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2009 Reading Competition

Kyle

1. Outliers | Malcolm Gladwell (299 pages) | Grade: C+
2. Boys Will Be Boys | Jeff Pearlman (365 pages) | B
3. Acme Novelty Library #19 | Chris Ware (80 pages*) | A
4. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao | Junot Diaz (340 pages) | A
5. Rome 1960 | David Maraniss (460 pages) | B+
6. The Reckoning | David Halberstam (733 pages) | A
7. Generation Kill | Evan Wright (370 pages) | B
8. Friday Night Lights | Buzz Bissinger (400 pages) | B+
9. Pictures at a Revolution | Mark Harris (496 pages) | A+
10. The Withdrawal Method | Pasha Malla (321 pages) | B+
11. Long Lost | Harlan Coben (374 pages) | D
12. Liar's Poker | Michael Lewis (249 pages) | B

Total: 4487

Jesse

1. America America | Ethan Canin (450 pages) | C+
2. Outliers | Malcolm Gladwell (299 pages) | B-
3. Lester B. Pearson | Andrew Coyne (174 pages) | B
4. All The King's Men | Robert Warren (609 pages) | A
5. The Gamble | Thomas E. Ricks (325 pages) | A-
6. What's The Matter With Kansas | Thomas Frank (251 pages) | B
7. Supreme Command: Soldiers, Statesmen, and Leadership in Wartime | Eliot A. Cohen (248 pages) | A
8. Churchill: A Life | Sir Martin Gilbert (959 pages) | A+

Total: 3315

Rob

1. The Inner Game of Tennis | Timothy Gallwey (134 pages) | A
2. The Last Shot | Darcy Frey (240 pages) | A+
3. The Road | Cormac McCarthy (287 pages) | A+
4. Outliers | Malcolm Gladwell (299 pages) | C+
5. The Last Season | Phil Jackson (304 pages) | B-
6. The Sunset Limited | Cormac McCarthy (160 pages)| B-
7. The Education of a Coach | David Halberstam (288 pages)| B+
8. Downtown Owl | Chuck Klosterman (288 pages)| B
9. Can I Keep My Jersey?| Paul Shirley (336 pages)|C-
10. Then We Came to The End| Joshua Ferris (416 pages)|B+

Total: 2752