1/10/25

THE DEMON OF UNREST:
A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War
by Eric Larson 2024
read by Scott Brick 9h 50m
Rating – 9.5 – US History/ literary/military history /

Although I was a history major in college and. buff all my life, I’ve been terribly behindr re the Civil War. There are just too many people and places and the various ideas seem endless. But sometimes one person or battle or idea is featured and it’s far better for me. That’s the case with The Demon of Unrest. The American Civil War as a whole, 1861- 1865l almost 4 years to the day, is a real challenge to “know,” but fwiw, actual military action started on April 12, 1861 when the Confederates attacked the Union soldiers who had taken over Fort Sumpter – in the bay right outside Charleston.

Larson has written the story of how that war came to be after decades of rising tension and animosity about slavery. But the Civil War was about slavery and after it ended there was no more legal slavery in the US (because it was illegal).

AND –  a question from the publisher’s Reader’s Guide:
“If the South had such a hold on the Federal government, how did the North gain control of Federal troops so quickly?”

The answer? Let’s say the US government is full of Southern supporters. Okay, these folks do the day-to-day governing filling the desks of bureaucracy from President Buchanan down to Soddy Daisy (TN) Then Lincoln wins the presidency and new Republicans fill the old desks. Oops – ?!? the South just seceded from the Union so their Congressmen stood up and walked out, too? And they took all their gov’t employees with them? Who is left, might I ask, to have such a hold on the Feds? – Nope – The exact opposite happened and the North now took hold of the government and passed the Homestead Act so that whenever the war was over Manifest Destiny could proceed.

1/5/2025

 
THE GRANDMOTHER
by Jane E. James
Read by a cast; 8h 39m
Rating:  B / caperish- Who done what? 

The real thing is I’ve been getting sick and now sicker and no I also get so tired. My main ailments are COPD (Stage 2?), rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, and psoriasis. I had household help and I feel pretty good until about noon. I eat my “Meals on Wheels” lunch and after that I can do very little else the rest of the day except I do sometimes make myself do stuff.

So this blog is now on a guilt-free, one-day, or one-book, at a time basis. I think that’s the best I can do and keep my health a priority. 

1/3 / 2025

An Unfinished Love Story: A Personal History of the 1960s

By Doris Kearns-Goodwin
Narrated by authorRating: rating – 8.

 One of America’s most beloved historians, artfully weaves together biography, memoir, and history. She takes you along on the emotional journey she and her husband embarked upon in the last years of his life.

Nice memoir of the US political scene of the era with JFK, Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy, and Lyndon Jonson. This is not about the Beatles, mini skirts, or hippies.

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