The Killer Angels

Book number 10 this year.

Rating: Good Read.

Thanks to Amazon.com's ListMania! I've been finding great books to read. ListMania! allows Amazon.com users the ability to create lists of books they recommend categorized around a theme or topic. For each book on the list, you also have access to all of the Amazon users' reviews too. Once you find someone who likes the kind of books you like, you have a good chance of finding books you haven't read that you would enjoy. For example, I have enjoyed every book I have read on this user's list.


The Killer Angels tells the story of the battle of Gettysburg from the perspective of a number of prominent characters on both sides. It is a interesting story to read, and it reads quite easily. It is strange to think that this event took place only 150 years ago. A number of Civil War generals actually lived into the early 1900s. At times it seems that the Civil War was a long, long time ago--it really wasn't.

The Western Way of War

Book number 9 this year.

Rating: Good Read

After listening to a thought-provoking interview with Victor Davis Hansen, I was determined to read one of his books.


In The Western Way of War, Hansen describes, in detail, what infantry battle was like in classical Greece (~500-323 BC). Fighting was a brutal affair and the Greeks' chose the direct approach of pitched battle to settle any grievances. The phalanx was the Greeks' preferred fighting formation, and men in a phalanx faced the enemy surrounded by their male family members (it was common for men up to the age of 70 to fight as a part of the phalanx) and neighbors. They fought as one, interlocking their shields and presenting their spears as a unit. As a testament to the phalanx's effectiveness, Alexander the Great used this battle strategy to conquer the known world in the 4th century BC.


As I thought through this book, I realized that so much of battle is just controlling human emotion--controlling fear. Even men 5 rows back in a phalanx couldn't see the enemy. You simply read the mood and attitude of the men surrounding you. Fear spreads very quickly. Your side could have completely flanked the enemy and be handily winning, but if your phalanx is taking heavy losses and begins routing, this mood could quickly spread to the other phalanxes and create mass hysteria.The greatest benefit of veteran troops is not that they know how to use a weapon more effectively, but that they know how to manage fear a little better. Veterans have been in this place before, fighting the enemy face to face and completely scared out of their minds. Being able to create contagious fear in your enemies is the greatest battle advantage. The antithesis works as well, if a phalanx feels that it is invincible this feeling is contagious. Both sides of this equation explain the primary reason why, throughout history, smaller armies have been able to beat much larger ones (sure, there are other factors--e.g. leadership, tactics, quality of weapons, etc.).


Another concept resonated with me as I read this book, the simple function of battlefield communication is unfathomable in that age. How do you communicate to a large army spread out over a battle field and coordinate an effective attack on the enemy? The sound of 10,000 men each wearing 70 pounds of armor combined with a 1000 horses' hooves is deafening, and all of this spread out over a battle line a half-mile long. Now try to yell an order. It is no small task to provide timely communication in the battle field, even with all of the advance technology we have today armies still struggle with communication.


There is much more to this book, and I hope to read more of Hansen's work in the future.

You can read it online too.

Clam Digging

Another great, quintessential northwest tradition was shared among friends yesterday. We donned coats, hats, boots, shovels, and buckets to go razor clam digging. The weather has been miserable the last several days, and not too many folks were interested in going out to the beach to dig, but when the time arrived 10 of us drove west in search of adventure.


Gearing up at the car.

More gearing up.

Philip going "commando." Err...That is without shoes. He may not be wearing anything under the jeans either--I didn't ask.

A friend of Melina's, Rochelle, was visiting from the Netherlands and was able to partake.

Paige sported the Ivar's chowder man look. She hates this picture.

We all had our limits (15 per digger) within an hour, and it only rained for about 2 minutes. Great day to dig.

Philip and Shawn rinsing the clams.

The clams.

Paige's and my limits yielded ~3.5 pounds of dressed clam steaks.

Hardcore History

History is exciting and we have so much to learn from it. I certainly fall in the school of thought that human nature has not changed much in the last 20 thousand years, and reading or listening about the fall of Carthage or the Black Plague has a poignant relevance to the world we live in today.


My friend, Ken Dean, pointed me towards a podcast series created by Dan Carlin entitled, Hardcore History. Frankly, I would venture to say it could be described as excellent. Dan's energy and excitement for history shines in every noun, verb, and dangling participle. The podcast is free (as in beer), but a suggested donation of a "buck a show" is mentioned. Listen now and contribute when ever it is convenient or your remember. He also has some great interviews with several different historians. I have listened to all of his content (some of it twice) and I am eagerly anticipating new content.

King Leopold's Ghost

Book number 8 this year.

Rating: Good Read.


Up until this point, I had never heard of the atrocities committed by King Leopold II of Belgium in the 1880s in the Congo, and chances are that you haven't either. In a nutshell, Leopold exploited, enslaved, mutilated, and tormented the people and the natural resources of the Congo Basin to the tune of somewhere between 2-15 million Congolese. Hochschild does a good job of telling the story, but does come across as rather biased at times. I prefer just the facts. You will also hear some interesting, although saddening, truths about the explorer H.M. Stanley. Overall quite informative and pleasant to read.