Originally written in 1947, this was the first comprehensive account to the trial of the major Nazi leaders after World War II.  The desire to create some type of trial (there was no international precedent) in a speedy manner (the beginning of the Cold War and the normal desire of the average citizen to get on with life) were two of the major challenges facing the judges and attorneys who had their own motives and goals.  Although the Nazi regime kept efficient records, the sheer volume of those records and the seemingly complex relationships between departments and organizations made errors unavoidable.  No one even within the Nazi regime could always explain the power differentials between the State and Party organizations, for example, responsible for the administration of any given area (the SD was a party organization while the Reich Foreign Ministry was a State organ but they each had administrative duties in some of the occupied territories).  Add in the duties of the Wehrmacht, the SS, the Todt labor organization, etc., and the judge’s confusion is understandable.

While historians believe that after the victory at Midway Island the course of the war in the Pacific was set, this excellent history of the naval battels around Guadalcanal shows that had the U.S. navy not prevailed, the marines on the island would have been defeated, displayed in captivity and a serious setback handed to the overall strategy.  That the U.S. naval forces were not defeated was not due to the brilliance of the naval leadership, but rather due to luck, a technological advantage that was nearly thrown away, sheer luck and the misunderstanding of the Japanese military which was focused on tactics instead of logistics.

This is one of those rare books which gives excellent descriptive detail of a battle that is little known, but which had a major impact on World War I.  There were actually two sieges of the fortress city of Przemysl; the first unsuccessful while the second did much to break both the physical and morale back of the Hapsburg army. Largely forgotten today, these sieges helped to bring to a head the nationalistic feelings of the mixed communities in the area and was a precursor to the killing fields by the Nazi and Soviet regimes.

Years ago, when China was beginning to come out of its Maoist straight jacket, and inviting in foreign capital and expertise, I was discussing the process with some Japanese engineers who had been to China as part of the investments by Japan.  I asked them how it was to deal with the Chinese, and they said with a very straight face, “they are very difficult to understand”.  I thought that if the Japanese could not understand the Chinese, woe to our business and government leaders who were making the pilgrimage to China. 

The 2005 biography of Mao by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday opened many Westerns eyes to the real Mao; the Mandarin who was carried on a litter during the Long March, the debauched lecher who surrounded himself with young girls and the man who drew inspiration from the worse Emperors who wasted the lives of millions. This book by the personal physician of Mao, adds more information to the man behind the posters; the master politician who could wait years for his revenge, the man who believed his own propaganda.

A treasure of a book!  If you are interested in interesting behind the scenes stories about Queen Victoria, King Edward VII and King George V, this gem will make your day.  Sir Ponsonby’s family had served in the inner Court for generations and had provided the Empire with diplomats and successful generals.  This Ponsonby served behind the scenes ending up as not only the private secretary to King George V, but also in charge of his personal finances.

In 1963 the Democrats faced a crisis as great as Watergate, but they were saved by the assignation of President Kennedy.  Bobby Baker, the “child of the Senate” was under investigation for bribery, fraud, and numerous other felonies.  The investigation ended when Lyndon Johnson became President as the nation was focused on the new President and his determination to make his mark on the Presidency.

How do you write the history of a political movement which killed between 100,000,000 and 150,000,000 men, women, and children? You gather some of the best historians in Europe under the direction of the Director of Research for the National Center of Scientific Research in Paris and have them examine the archives in the former Soviet Bloc to reveal the crimes committed by generations of those who felt they could change human nature.  Instead, they tortured, murdered, deported, starved, and exploited the hundreds of millions under their control.

Canada, the land of happiness, a land where its citizens are liked worldwide and a land where the government on the side of every citizen.  Except if you are an investor.

When the introduction of a book describes the author as “nearly as good a specimen as ever worshiped Mars”, you know you are in for a book which not only describes the day to day life in the trenches of World War I, but also a perspective from a warrior who went on to symbolize the ideal for the inter-war philosophy of the “heroic struggle” which so motivated many of the youth of Germany after the war and led to the rise of Nazism.