I must admit that prior to reading this book, I had mixed thoughts about Mr. Kushner.  Was he a case of nepotism, what was his background, did he have any thoughts of his own or was he merely a puppet of the President who was his father-in-law, did he marry into the Trump family in a bid for easy wealth, and so on.  By the end of the book, admitting that it may be at times self-serving (how unusual for a political memoir), my attitude toward him turned to admiration. 

Here was an individual from outside the belt way who took on tasks which were not easy, fought against individuals with their own agendas and who did not necessarily supporting the goals of the man they worked for, the President, entered into the very real dark and self-perpetuating deep state and came out with his love of country intact, his family intact and could realize that he helped to accomplish successes where “insiders” had failed for decades. 

How was he able to accomplish anything being an outsider in the Capital.  For one, he brought a level of expertise that was missing in the Capital and the hallways of power, for rather than trying to merge into the bureaucracy and traditional power games, he brought his business sense to the table.  This means that as every businessman knows, you cannot move ahead if you do not offer a good product and work at every level to provide that product to the market.  His approach was very often one of being willing to listen.  An example is the dogma given by John Kerry that “There will be no separate peach with the Arab world without the Palestinian process and Palestinian peace.  Everybody needs to understand that.  That is a hard reality.”  Kushner realized that the same old programs with ill-defined promises had been the bedrock of Middle East discussions for decades with the same result, failure.  Instead of doing the “same old, same old”, why not do something different. It was Henry Kissinger who advised him that the foreign policy of the nation had to be run by the White House as opposed to the State Department where ideas seem to go to die. 

While Trump may have been mocked by the Germans and others when he cautioned them about relying on cheap energy from Russia, in the Middle East he was respected for his openness and willingness to be bold and speak openly.  His image played well in the area as opposed to the apology tour concept and he was willing to listen to what Arab leaders had to say in very frank discussions, including when he told them that a deal could be made but that they had to handle the terrorists in their own countries who go out and murder Israelis. No action, no deals.  The Arab leaders also liked that Kushner was the President’s son-in-law which gave creditability to his voice.  Finally, he found by listening that a major stumbling block to Middle East movement was not necessarily the Palestinians who were getting to be a burden, but rather guaranteed and safe access to the al Aqsa Mosque which was under the control of Israel.  By finding the one thing that all the Arab leaders could agree on, it enabled him, by working hard and creating a strong team, to develop and close the Abraham Accords, an action that has led to greater trade and development in the area.

The book notes some of the personalities in the administration including Tillison, Kelly, Fauci, Bolton and others in a way that allows one to read between the lines and understand his opinion without being insulting.  In each encounter, Kusher seems to better realize the difference between the government game and that of business, but he absorbs each and uses the experience to better his results.

One of the finest sections is in the episode regarding the successful strike against Soleimani.  The Iranian general had been responsible for the deaths and wounding of thousands of U.S. military personnel and Trump felt that a message needed to be sent that there was no safe ground for those who attacked Americans. The killing of Soleimani sent a strong message to the Iranian leadership and despite the threats made by that leadership, their reaction was one that was feeble at best.

Other chapters cover Operation Warp Speed, the bi-partisan passage of the First Step Act, and of course, the wasted energy over the Russian collusion investigation. 

In the end, I believe most readers will put the book down and believe that Jared Kushner, a religious and strong family man, put his best efforts into projects during that four year period.  He is proud of his accomplishments and the service he provided to the country and at the same time, it is easy to understand why he has openly stated that he would not wish to go back to such service again.  Somehow, we need to create a system where good and honest individuals can enter government service, and not face the possibility of huge legal bills created by political gamesmanship, where new ideas can be put forth after decades of failed policies.  This is one of the best post-Administration memoirs I can remember and it does provide hope for the future.

A very fair, balanced biography of the great Queen of Spain who was responsible for driving the Muslims out of Granada and thus completing the Reconquest, of sponsoring Christopher Columbus, as well as starting the Inquisition and expelling (as an option to conversion) of the Jews and Muslims from Spain.

The author points out that Isabella’s husband, Ferdinand, is normally given first place in histories of the period, but that Isabella, the first ruling Queen in over one hundred years deferred many times to her husband’s ego in terms of allowing him to sign first and take credit for actions she began and completed. A bit of a feminist historian at times, but then Downey puts Isabella in the context of her times, especially regarding the threat and might of the Ottoman Empire which was still expanding.

Isabella was a ruler who looked beyond the days problems and thought strategically. She provided an excellent and well-rounded education for her daughters and was, while she had her health, expecting that the natives of the “New World” were to be treated kindly. As an aside, while the author points out that the natives suffered from the deadly diseases of Europe, the natives managed to get their own by spreading syphilis to the “Old World” with devastating effects. He also points out that expansion fueled the Inquisition as the newly united Spain could not be sure of its Muslim subjects who were often in rebellion against the crown and the loyalty of many of the converted Jews was suspect. Regarding Columbus, Downey does an excellent job of providing a balanced picture of him, including his pride, successes, and failures.

 It is interesting to note that Queen Victoria is often seen or remembered as the grandmother of European royalty, but Isabella’s offspring at one time controlled not only all the “New World” but also contributed to the ruling families of the U.K., Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Monaco.

The book is easy to read; beautifully written, documented and gives a Queen the honor she deserves.

Written between October 1946 and April 1947 while awaiting trial and hanging in Poland, Hoss once again validates the proposition that the greatest mass murders were not crazy or fanatical, but rather believers in the ideology du jour. They often present very logical arguments for their actions, all the stronger because so many of them are noted Doctor of Medicine or Law. They represent the highest intellectual standards and yet are responsible for the deaths of untold millions. Knowing that we was going to die, there is nothing in his writing that would indicate his willingness or ability to commit genocide. Additionally, there is no indication of any personal dislike or distain for the Jewish people of whom were the majority of his victims. The closes he comes to any form of antisemitism not in deed but rather in a statement he makes twice just before he is hung: “Please ask the Polish people to forgive me.”  Not the Jews, the Poles. How telling; it was as if the millions murdered under his regime did not and never existed.

Hoss was a believer, a National Socialist to the end; not necessarily in every bit of that pseudo-political philosophy, but enough so that he found a moral home in which he could face the world. Each time Himmler gave him a new task, he set to it with a determination and will to do the best he could. According to Paskuly, this is due to the strict upbringing of his father who wanted Hoss to enter the priesthood. This dream of his father was shattered when Hoss believed a priest had broken the sanctity of the Confessional.

 Yet the basic values of hard work and determination to complete any job in the best manner possible remained with him. Directed by Himmler to build Auschwitz and to manage it as it grew into the largest concentration camp of the Nazi regime, followed a machine that operated according to a set of Rules and regulations for Concentration Camps which were developed by Theodore Eicke, who developed the camp system and demanded that each SS guard develop a sense of hardness that went far beyond the societal boundaries. Eicke viewed each prisoner as an ENEMY OF THE STATE and demanded that the title never be forgotten. His fanaticism was the exact opposite of the technocratic approach taken by Hoss.

The book also contains Hoss’ profiles of various high level SS leaders involved in the camps, a profile of the organization of the camps, a section on Lebensborn, minutes from the infamous Wannsee conference and other details which help to create a better understanding of the camp system.

In the end, we face banality. We find what could be a middle-aged bureaucrat who goes to work each day and comes home to his loving wife and three beautiful daughters. The is no extremely angry, no ranting, no self-image as a man on a holy image. Just the dull, non-descript man found by Hannah Arndt, Dr. Douglas Kelley, and others. That is the lesson in and of itself, for it shows how thin the veneer of civilization may be and that it can be so easy to pierce.

This is the second half of Muir’s biography of Wellington and despite its size (664 pages including notes), and obscure (to most) references to the politicians and policies of England at the time, it is if anything better than his first volume which was excellent.

We think of Wellington as the haughty imperious general who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo, but this volume shows that he was much more; a skilled diplomat who played a major part at the peace settlement after Waterloo, who successfully balanced the foibles of French politics and then went onto become Premier of the U.K..  Even when he was not directly in the spotlight, his work at the Horse Guards (which controlled the Army) and behind the scenes reflected a mind that was able to adjust and understand several sides of any political problem.

By nature and breeding, he sided with the landed gentry and was loyal to the King (even though a couple of the Kings at that time were weak and often foolish), yet he saw himself as a liberal conservative, willing to break out of traditional structures (such as the Catholic question, etc.) in an effort to create a more equitable and mobile society.  He disliked the radicals of the time and did his best to channel government policies into directions that would profit the nation while maintaining the standards which had created the Empire.

Criticized historically as being ultra conservative regarding the military (only Gentlemen should be officers), he none the less did open the officer ranks to members of the rising middle class, sought to upgrade and modernize tactics and weapons and sought to create an army that would be able to deal with the responsibilities of policing an Empire while facing traditional threats (it must be remembered that even after Napoleon there was a real threat of an invasion and war with France).

A complex man, given to a temper, he none the less was well respected by all sides and was often perceived as a voice of reason to the point that he could raise questions about his loyalty even from his own political allies.

An excellent book which brings many politicians and issues of the day to life in an interesting and colorful way.  I highly recommend both volumes.

At the end of the Second World War, German Field-Marshal Albert Kesselring whose troops fought both British and American troops in Italy and Western Europe, was asked “What was the best American division faced by troops under your command on either the Italian or Western Fronts?”. Without hesitation he said, “The Marne men.”

Who were the “Marne men?”  They were the men of the U.S. Army’s 3^rd Division. They won more medals than any other infantry division in Europe and within its ranks were at least one of every U.S. medal, including the Medal of Honor; some medals were won by those two men as many as three times. Their names were Audie Murphy Maurice Britt. Both men received major wounds, and Murphy would have the more public but also more troubled private lives. Here is a list of medals won by Murphy: * Medal of Honor *2- Silver Stars * 3-Bronze Stars * Distinguished Service Cross *3-Purple Hearts. In total, the “Marne” division won more than one-fourth of all Medals of Honor won by the ground forces, an amazing accomplishment. The winning of medals helped determine when the serviceman was able to go home and at the end of the war, who could be discharged and in what order.

The book follows a number of individuals from the divisions landing in French North Africa, through the battles in Sicily and Italy, including Anzio plus the landing in the south of France through the final battles in the Colmar pocket. While Army psychologists thought that the “breaking point” of an infantryman was two-hundred days of continual combat, many of the men of the division were in continuous battles for over four-hundred days, and the survival rates was about seven percent.

Kershaw continues his excellent writing in that while he describes the overall strategic scope of the battles, focuses on the lives of the men at the most basic level. He has obviously taken great care in doing his research, in his interviews and writing to bring the men, both high and low to life. Their stories and exploits put modern day movies and stories to shame, for these were real individuals taking huge risks in order to lead their men and insure that as many of them would return home at wars end. It is a shame that young boys of today watch silly comic book heroes in movies instead of learning about real bravery as exhibited by men of their great grandfathers and grandfathers’ generations. It is hard to say anything positive about war, but to see the bravery and selflessness of the men in this book makes one realize the amazing ability of ordinary men to do extraordinary deeds.

After 9/11, a handful of specially trained U.S. servicemen went into action in a land that was little known, filled with tribal and family hatreds and rivalries, a religion that looked down on non-believers and could switch sides if bribed with enough money. Those Americans who went into action in Afghanistan, had to quickly earn the trust and respect of the native population, and operated far beyond the normal boundaries of their individual services.

Key to the success of those brave individuals was a small group of highly trained men who had the ability to call down upon the battlefield unbelievable firepower while they were not in a distant office looking at a monitor, but while they were in the very front lines of the deadliness battles.  This elite group of individuals is known as the Combat Control Teams (CCT). Their motto is “First There” and together, they have collected “in aggregate, more combat action than their special operations counterparts in the Navy and Army-making some of them the most experienced veterans in all of America’s previous wars.”  Trained to the standards of the Seals, Delta, or Special forces, they were instrumental in breaking the back of the Taliban and Al Qaeda forces equipped with modern weaponry in battles which echoed World War II.  It was through their experience, expertise, and bravery that the power of the Taliban and Al Qaeda was broken not in months, but rather in weeks. Each member of the CCT controls more destructive power than any other individual combatant in the history of the world.

The book covers the battle of Operation Anaconda as well as the background of John Chapman, the first airman to win the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War and the first member of CCT to win the Medal of Honor. His career and actions reflect the highest standards and professionalism of the little-known group of men who serve in the CCT. While the book may at times be overly technical for the novice military reader, it also reflects the skill set that is demanded in that service. Such a skill set is necessary given the huge destructive power that is placed in the hands of CCT members. Those skills are coupled with dedication and willingness to sacrifice oneself in the service of the nation and one’s fellow warriors.

Prior to World War II, the established bureaucracy within the U.S. navy felt that battleships would decide victory or defeat in any ocean-based war. During the war, it was realized that it was not battleships which were the deciding factor, but the aircraft carriers and hence, a new bureaucracy displaced the old.  There was another weapon which created its own set of followers and that was the submarine.  It was the submarine in the Pacific that accomplished what the U-boats could not achieve in the Atlantic; the destruction of the Japanese to transport the basic materials they needed to conduct a war.  The U.S. submarine fleet destroyed the Japanese merchant fleet which carried the oil, wood, coal, foodstuffs and all the other ingredients upon which Japan depended.

The submarine officers were a different breed apart from the officers on carriers and other surface vessels.  They were so different in fact, that officers who served in submarines knew they did not have a chance to access the highest ranks in the navy.  They were considered mavericks, risk takers and prone to striking out on their own.  They readily admitted these characteristics but then their service was entirely different from the rest of the navy.  A surface vessel can have engine problems and get towed, but if a submarine has major engine problems, it sinks.

Against this backdrop of two entrenched bureaucracies, each attempting to snare more dollars in the military budget, comes Hyman Rickover, a man of Jewish background, born in Russian occupied Poland in 1900 who has chosen to make engineering as his course in the Navy.  Talk about handicapping! As with sub officers, an engineering officer realized that getting a shot at Admiral status was small.  Not only those black marks, but he also becomes the driving force behind creating a force of nuclear submarines while disdaining the sub captains who came out of WWII with honors and medals.  Yet somehow, despite all odds, he manages to defeat much of the naval bureaucracy, convince powerful Congressional leaders and several President’s to create a nuclear submarine force that although smaller than the Soviet fleet, was technologically far ahead of the Soviets.

A massive biography which covers the first half of Wellington’s life. Not being the first son, he was relegated to joining the military (under British custom, the first son inherited the title, the second went to the military and the third son entered the Church of England).

As was common at the time, Wellington had an unhappy childhood and like many men of that time, he made his mark and fortune in India. His military victories and diplomatic skill in India allowed him to assume command in the Peninsula during the Napoleonic wars where he reorganized the army of Portugal and created the famous defensive lines which the French under a number of Napoleon’s generals refused to attack. In a series of brilliant maneuvers, he out generaled every force sent against him as he slowly pushed the French out of the entire peninsula. That does not mean that he had an easy time as Napoleon poured men and material into the fight, but his real struggle was with various politicians and powers in London who were jealous of his successes and who kept Wellington’s forces on a strict leash.

Unlike other Wellington biographies, Muir provides excellent insight into Wellington’s excellent political skills not only in India, but also in Europe where he moved with ease. He was recognized as skillful, even tempered, and able to bring various factions together after the defeat of Napoleon.

He was a man of his age but also a man of a different age. Unlike most commanders of that time, he took great care for his men, ensuring that they had adequate food and logistical support. He may have been arrogant and superior in his manner to his men, but unlike Napoleon, he was careful with their lives and tried to avoid the typical frontal attacks which so wasted his opponent’s armies.

This is a long read, incredibly detailed, but for a serious scholar, an excellent biography on a complex individual.

Who were the financiers who provided the manufacturing and technical expertise which allowing Hitler and the Nazis to overrun so much of Europe and commit the Holocaust?  And, after the war, what actions if any were taken against them not only for their material support of Hitler, but also for the use of slave labor on a scale not seen since the Roman Empire?

Mr. De Jong spent four years researching this book focusing on four major German families; the Quandts, the Flicks, the von Fincks and the Porsche-Piechs.  How is it that the Krupps are so well known and yet these families contributed in so many ways to the Nazi war machine, producing tanks, guns of every caliber, ammunition, drugs, medicines and almost every other item that a nation needs for war.

Some of the named above were successful industrialists before Hitler’s rise to power, such as the Quandts while other took advantage of the “Aryanization” of Jewish businesses.  “Aryanization” was the concept that with the introduction of the Nuremberg Laws, Jews were forbidden to own factories and businesses.  In order to comply with the law, Jewish businesses were “bought out” by Germans for pennies on the dollar and then those few pennies were determined to be the cost of an exit visa from Germany as many of the Jews fled to other countries. Such theft was in itself a crime that these and other families committed but add to the list the inhuman treatment of the slave laborers and the wheels of justice should have centered on these families.  Why weren’t these families the targets of justice?

In January 1901. Queen Victoria died at the age of 81 after being Queen for 64 years.  Her reign experienced the revolutions of 1848, the formation of the Second French Empire, Crimea War, and the unification of Germany.  A small woman, she hid herself from the public and to a certain extent, politics for decades after the death of her husband, Prince Albert.  The unintended result was a diminution of power of the Crown as strong Prime Ministers stepped into the role she abdicated. 

When she died, most citizens knew no other monarch and although her health had been slipping, many of her closest advisors were unaware of the seriousness of her illness.  This meant that her death came as a shock to the nation and the private secretaries, etc. scrambled to find the proper procedure for her internment. Fortunately, Captain (later Sir) Frederick Ponsonby took charge, often stepping on bureaucratic toes to make the arrangements.  Fate seemed to work against a smooth ceremony as the funeral cortege was too long for the route march, the casket almost fell off the caisson, the casket (there were several, each within the others), was so heavy that the troops carrying it had to be relieved after taking it off the caisson, and finally the traces broke and the caisson with the casket had to be pulled by the troops (in fact it was considered a great honor and a rival troop demanded the honor of pulling everything during the next stage).

The United States suffered shocks to its system by the death of FDR and the assassination of JFK but imagine if either of them had governed for over 60 years.  And, given the level of communications at the time, her death must have come like a bolt from the blue.  It seemed to be taken for granted that her reign would never end.  Her children ruled or were married to rulers of most of the European states which was thought to assure stability for the future but in the end, her death signaled the beginning days of the end for the old world which would be smashed in World War I.

If you are not familiar with this area, this book gives a glimpse into a simpler time, one filled with hope and dreams for a future.  A time when Europe still believed in itself and looked positively to scientific and economic advances which would benefit humanity.