The Fate of the Day: The War for America, Fort Ticonderoga to Charleston, 1777-1780 (Rick Atkinson, 2025)

Just the kind of book I like - well-written history.

This covers the difficult middle years of the war.

Dense with details, the sentences pile on and give you the sensation of being taken right into the scenes - all his books are like this, a real gift.

1777 a rough year - hadn't realized the British took Philadelphia while Continental Congress fled to York, lots of stuff was stored at Lancaster. Big success for Americans up north against Burgoyne (big win at Saratoga) - partly because the main British force had relocated from NYC to Philadelphia. Not much success for Washington in general this year, and Valley Forge winter quarters are tough. 

Brits just abandon Philadelphia by orders from England after wintering there. Thought to be untenable to hold it given manpower constraints etc and Burgoyne's loss (need to defend NYC). 

Burgoyne news motivated French to get off the fence and become allies (early 1778). 

I like how Atkinson presents perspectives from both England and France.  French role probably more important than I thought. 

In some ways not much happened.  Main armies were struggling to find manpower and maintain supplies, were reluctant to get into major engagements. France and Spain with huge fleets, but mostly inept - though very important in terms of stretching Brit resources - needed to keep lots of ships home to protect the Channel.

Getting the French involved was super important. Franklin influential.

Looking forward to volume 3 of this trilogy.  

The World of Yesterday (Stefan Zweig, early 1940s)

(389 pages) (passed along by Paul Jr)

Finish wasn't expected. Ended his days in South America in February 1942 (with his wife) - difficult to find a landing spot (as so many Jews experienced), cumulative burden of many difficult years and experiences during the world wars and interwar period, more factors than I can grasp.

The loss of his passport in the 1930s hit Zweig hard - like the Wandering Jews - a deep (and correct) feeling of no place to call home. Hard to imagine.

I didn't know much about him, just had very much enjoyed his novel Beware of Pity. He authored all sorts of interesting things - plays, articles - not so many novels (which I'm normally on the hunt for). Collaborated with big names for his plays. 

In the large group of Jews fully assimilated into Viennese society in early 20th century. Successes early as a writer got his name out there and he met an incredible number of famous names.  There was a lot going on in Vienna prior to World War I! He spent a lot of time abroad and particularly loved hanging out in Paris.

His works were completely banned in Germany by the Nazis. Including a libretto written for erstwhile Nazi favorite Richard Strauss.

His discussion echoed other books I've read about the momentous eras he lived through, just on a more personal level.  The golden years leading up to WWI (and disbelief that it happened). The WWI years.  The interwar years; the rise of Hitler; the seeming inevitability of WWII; incredible and increasing difficulties for Jews. That's a lot to live through. 

He was exposed to, and hung out with, an incredible concentration of high-end talent across many disciplines. Fascinating.

Ghosts of Hiroshima (Charles Pellegrino, 2025)

Book club selection per POC, session held Feb 1, 2026.

Some interesting items about the two A-bombs dropped on Japan but I could never quite figure out what the author's point was.  Coincidences of a few folks who experienced the bombings in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, OK.

Couldn't keep the names straight but that worked out.

Lots of details or suggestions about physics or nuclear stuff happening immediately at the bomb drop and then in the aftermath.  Sounded cool but I didn't really understand much here. 

I was interested in the discussion of coming up with a flight plan that enabled the plane to escape the bomb. Hadn't thought about how bombs normally proceed in the direction of the dropping bomber.

Japan anything but a victim.  What was up with Japan (going back to Mejii Restoration)? The "cherry blossom" weapon - more suicide bombing. Ask China.

The POWs becoming captors, instantly - compliance/obedience.

Talking about how terrible it all was but couldn't really pick up a POV as to who was doing the wrong thing here. Sure everyone agrees that having these weapons around is a bad thing but probably also agrees better for US than Russia, Germany, Japan.  Today: Iran, etc.

Japanese internment in the US - mostly taking the second-guessing approach "oh how awful". 

Hadn't known or thought about the discrimination in Japan against folks with exposure - either had or could get "disease X" - affected jobs, marriages, schooling.

Same with Japanese who had emigrated to US and then sought to return to Japan.

Lots of cranes by a dying little girl - OK. 

Working hard to weave in Trump.

Couldn't see how it added much to John Hersey's 1946 classic ("Hiroshima") - which followed six survivors - very immediate - lacked backward-looking perspective but that probably was a plus.