Thunder in the Mountains

Over the summer I read Thunder In the Mountains: The West Virginia Mine War, 1920-21.  It is about the largest armed insurrection in US history.  About ten thousand miners rode, drove and marched from Charleston, West Virginia to Blair Mountain.  There they had an armed stand-off, with occasional gunfire, with about five thousand men made up mostly of deputized citizens and some State Police along a 10 mile line.  This went on for 3 days until the Governor convinced the President to send the military.  The miners disarmed and surrendered without a fight, because their fight was not against the US Government, it was against the mine operators.  

I grew up 10 or 15 miles from where this happened and I did not hear anything about it until maybe 10 years ago.  The book is very readable.  A lot of it is in short snippets of news stories.  It was very interesting to read things I did not know about the town I lived in and about a couple of people I knew.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes history, and specifically West Virginia History.

Write it When I'm Gone

I just got finished reading the book about President Ford.  It is the result of interviews given between 1974 and 2006.  It was refreshing to read about a genuinely good politician.  Part of the book talked about how civility in politics turned into the hyperpartisanship we see today.  While there was nothing quite earthshaking about any of the revelations, it was interesting to read about the Ford/Clinton phone conversation just before Clinton's impeachment trial.  I always felt Ford was underrated as President, and this book, at least for me, proves it.

I recommend it.  Pick up a copy at Amazon today!

Spys, Terror, Organization

I just read this book and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Of course it helps that I have an avid interest in the CIA.  I really think this book was underrated when it came out (My wife found a hardback copy for sale at Dollar General for $1).

Mr Tenet and Mr. Harlow have a good writing style.  The book flows from Administration to Administration and from each area of concern to the next smoothly.  I don't want to give away much about this book, but it did confirm some suspicions and theories I had.  In conclusion, I would recommend At the Center of the Storm: My Years at the CIA.

Myths are Familiar

Just finished reading this book.

I read this book back in college as part of a Classical Mythology course. I wanted to read it again as I was curious to see how mythology fits in with modern day myths and storytelling. Unfortutately the only copies available from Amazon are from private sellers. I am pretty sure you would find a copy in a library if you are interested in reading it.

Baseball Book

Back in 1998, I received a book for Christmas. I did not get around to reading it until the last couple of days. I wish I had read it back then. Although it was a very enjoyable read today. The book:



Back then, I was heavily into baseball. I shared a mini-season plan to the Orioles and was at "The Yard" at least once a week. I wasn't an Orioles fan though, my allegiance was in the National League. I just wanted to see baseball live. The site, the smells, the game, and yes, the "Woo-Woo" Boys (ask me about them sometime). I loved the game.

Then life hit. I was in love, I moved away from a major league park, I had kids. All took me away from something I enjoyed immensely. This book brought it back for me. Maybe I will watch a game every now an then. Hopefully Jon Miller will be broadcasting.