Black Earth: A Review

Timothy Snyder gives a fresh account of the Holocaust through the prism of Hitler's worldview. He starts out in the introduction explaining Hitler's reasoning for the extermination of Jews and subsequently creating what he called Lebensraum or "living space" for the Aryan race. Hitler's sick and twisted worldview hinged on science and politics, or rather them being combined into one whole. Hitler viewed science through the prism of politics, and viewed politics through the prism of science. It was precisely this combination of science and politics that fueled Hitler's genocidal quest to dominate the world. According to Snyder, when there is no distinction between science and politics, the state institutions become irrelevant, taking away order, and paving the way for monsters like Hitler to come to power and advance their sick agenda.

Through the prism of Snyder's thesis we can see the motivations of key players during that period. The author masterfully weaves the perspectives of different countries' leaders whether Allied or Axis, and their policies toward Jews. He then explains the reasoning behind their motivations for either collaboration or resistance. Towards the end of the book, Snyder argues that we must not take the lessons of the Holocaust lightly. While we might not see a second Holocaust, the fact that science is dependent on politics is a recipe for disaster whether it is climate change or overpopulation.

Although this book is not dry with historical facts, reading it is hard. It really makes you think about Snyder's point. 

Masterful Account of Brave American in the French Resistance

Alex Kershaw's new book Avenue of Spies tells a little known story about an American named Sumner Jackson who was in Paris when the Nazi army occupied France. To make things even worse, he, his wife, and son lived next door to the Gestapo headquarters. Nevertheless, when Americans were evacuated, he chose to stay in France and help the resistance fight the Nazis as well as save Jews from their ultimate demise.

As it can be inferred from the title, Kershaw's book is a story of espionage. Granted, it has classic elements of a good spy novel, namely loyalty, trust, and betrayal. We see a man devoted to the free world who absolutely would not stand for what Hitler and the Nazis stood for, and who would actually do something about it instead of being an armchair warrior. Sumner Jackson is a true hero worthy of praise.

Avenue of Spies is not a particularly lengthy book. At 230 pages of text, Kershaw definitely gets the job done without boring the reader with unnecessary details.

Patriot by Ted Bell

Ted Bell has written yet another thriller masterpiece, this time more closely resembling current events. In Patriot, we follow the story's protagonist, a MI6 agent Alex Hawke as he investigates the deaths of CIA agents in different parts of the world. Being a smart operative, he links these deaths to a rogue CIA operative who fell out with the Agency and is now on a path of blood. Not only that, but Putin's Russia has set its sights on world domination.

Ted Bell is a master storyteller. Reading this book, I could not help but imagine myself being a part of the story. I could feel the bullets whizzing by, I could feel the wind in my hair during chase scenes, and I could sense the villain's knife slicing into my flesh. Bell's Patriot is what you would expect from a spy thriller novel with loyalty, betrayal, and love all being key elements of the book. I don't think I can compare Alex Hawke to any one hero from other novels, indeed, Patriot has elements of James Bond, Jason Bourne, Jack Ryan, Bob Swagger, and Gabriel Allon combined to form one superspy that we see in Alex Hawke.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

End of Discussion

End of Discussion is a timely book written by conservative bloggers Mary Katharine Ham and Guy Benson. It describes how America has become less free due to the policies of the left. There is a common misconception that conservatives are most commonly found among older people, but as Ham and Benson demonstrate, conservative ideals can appeal to the younger population.

Ham and Benson do a brilliant job of describing how the liberal policies have undermined American freedoms and ideals. For example, we cannot make a certain comment without the left coming at us full force because it deems that comment offensive. Indeed, in the age of social media, speaking the truth can get your life ruined because of the ridiculous non-sequitur beliefs and convictions held by liberals.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Ham and Benson tell the story with bits of humor, while not losing the seriousness of the topic. I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is tired of the left's manipulation of American freedoms to suit their agenda, and who truly believes in the America like our Founding Fathers had envisioned.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book through Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Objectively Researched

Objective Troy by Scott Shane is the story of the philosophy and morality of current war on terror told through the prism of Anwar al-Awlaki. The author chose al-Awlaki as his subject because to the terrorists, he was extremely influential. He had an uncanny ability to connect through social media with the modern Muslim youth who found the twisted idea of jihad appealing. This is not only a biography of al-Awlaki (who was killed by an American drone strike), but a story of morality and war ethics as well. Should the US conduct a targeted strike against its own citizen, even though he betrayed all what America stands for and joined the dark side?

Shane leaves no stone unturned. The book is meticulously researched, yet very straightforward and easy to read. I highly recommend it for anybody who is interested in war ethics and how they apply to the war on terror.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the book through Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.