Summer for the Gods (Edward J. Larson, 2000 (with 2020 Afterword)

Book club selection courtesy Zach.  Session held June 7, 2026 at Zach's place, our first in-person meeting since February 2020. Useful book. 

Focus is on the 1925 Scopes "monkey" trial. Good rundown of the trial, lead-in, follow-up. Kind of odd - the town seeks out the trial for publicity/civic growth.  Celebrities on both sides who tend to make it about themselves or their pet beliefs.

William Jennings Bryan is old; I associate him moreso with 19th century presidential runs and the "cross of gold" speech.

I think author could have condensed this! Parts felt repetitious. 

Interesting, timely (evergreen, really) things to think about. 

Things that struck me:

* What about creation itself? Assume evolution is basically correct (as I do) - that doesn’t take us back to the very beginning. So how did it all start?? Who set off the Big Bang (or whatever)? Is this purely scientific? If not, then what? Seems relevant to a book devoted to creationism, but not mentioned.

* Fundamentalists picked on for as long as I can remember; an easy target and certainly some odd beliefs. But beliefs of other groups can feel the same way - taken on faith or tribal loyalty, not science. Harder to see when it's your own tribe.  

    * 2020 quote from CDC honcho showing up on sixth anniversary of Floyd fiasco - “In this moment the public health risks of not protesting to demand an end to systemic racism greatly exceed the harms of the virus.”  

    * NPR tweet: “Dozens of public health and disease experts have signed an open letter in support of the nationwide anti-racism protests. ‘White supremacy is a lethal public health issue that predates and contributes to COVID-19,’ they wrote.”

Other recent/current beliefs. IQ and SAT are racist and not predictive. No differences in traits among groups. Everyone would perform the same if given the same opportunity. A man can be a woman if he says he really wants to be. Etc. 

* Who decides what is taught? Big topic in the book. For the mainstream government school, majoritarianism seems the right approach. But what if you are a progressive in a fundamentalist district and this leads to your child being taught creationism? Anti-vax? What if you don’t subscribe to progressive beliefs and your school is teaching that there is >2 genders, that a man can turn into a woman? What if the school is teaching that 1619 Project is actual history?  Apologizing for white privilege? Climate doomerism? 

    * There never can be a great answer - somebody has to decide curriculum and some others will be unhappy. 

    * Plato and the guardians. 

    * Best available protection seems to be that nobody should be trapped - vouchers. Yes there will be fraud and ridiculousness - but it cannot be worse in aggregate than what the government schools are delivering. Let the parents decide.

* In government schools - the teacher's words are not a freedom of speech issue. Somebody decides curriculum, and the teacher teaches.

This book mostly written from perspective that fundamentalists are the problem.  How to explain the persistence if not growth of fundamentalism? 

Try abortion (mentioned late in the book), is science enough to explain commencement of a person's life? 

Afterword told me this book was written years ago. Would be very much off track if written now. 

The Song of the Lark (Willa Cather, 1915)

Cather remains a favorite author, though I'm noticing that I'm not quite as enthusiastic when re-reading some of her novels. But still excellent, highly recommended. 

Quick Gemini summary:  "The Song of the Lark is Willa Cather's 1915 novel about Thea Kronborg, a Swedish-American woman from a small Colorado town who rises to become a famous opera singer, inspired by the real-life soprano Olive Fremstad. The story traces her journey from childhood in the fictional town of Moonstone, through Chicago, to the Metropolitan Opera, focusing on her artistic development, ambition, and the sacrifices she makes, all set against the backdrop of the American West. It is considered the second book in Cather's "Prairie Trilogy," following O Pioneers! and preceding My Ántonia."

I like several of the characters - Dr. Archie; Ray Kennedy (his final scene is well done); Spanish Johnny; Wunsch; Fred Ottenberg comes along. 

Thea spends time in the southwest US recuperating (from some illness) during one summer, arriving by train in Flagstaff and hanging out in a not-too-distant canyonland that has Native American ruins. Cather clearly appreciates our part of the world; we had just visited Chinle a couple weeks prior so this resonated.

Discussions of musical performance and art, I think it works.  

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 Taste of Empire - How Britain's Quest for Food Shaped the Modern World (Lizzie Collingham, 2017)

(276 pages)

I had much enjoyed another one of the author's books - that earlier one focused moreso on Indian food and its evolution via British influence - so gave this one a shot.  I liked it quite a bit, though not quite sure of the takeaway. I think the main perspective was that globally-shipped, high-efficiency (in growing) food items were gaining sway a lot earlier than I would have realized.

A cool device was providing a recipe at the beginning of each chapter to anchor the development of key ingredients.

Gemini's summary:

In The Taste of Empire, Lizzie Collingham provides a comprehensive historical analysis of how the British Empire was shaped by the fundamental human need for food. Moving away from traditional political or military narratives, Collingham argues that the empire was essentially a vast global food system, driven by the necessity of feeding a growing domestic population and the commercial desire for new commodities.

The book explores the intricate "web of trade" that connected distant corners of the globe:

Commercial Expansion: It details how the pursuit of stable food sources, such as North Atlantic cod and Caribbean sugar, laid the groundwork for early colonial infrastructure.

Logistical Innovation: Collingham highlights the incredible organizational feats required to transport perishable goods across oceans, which spurred advancements in shipping, preservation, and global finance.

Cultural Exchange: The narrative shows how the British palate became "internationalized," adopting products like tea from China and spices from India, while simultaneously introducing European farming techniques and crops to the Americas and Australia.

While the book acknowledges the disruptions caused by these shifts—such as the transition from local subsistence to export-based economies—its primary focus is on the interconnectivity of the imperial era. Collingham illustrates how the modern globalized food market, characterized by the year-round availability of diverse ingredients, is the direct descendant of this historical British mercantile network.

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (Parts I-II)

Another famous book included in the "Harvard Classics" so I gave it a try.

Franklin's early years - a unique look at life in the colonies in the decades prior to the Revolutionary War.

All of this was fascinating but for whatever reason I just didn't get into the writing. I don't plan to finish this.

Early days.  Franklin learns the printing business and makes a success of it.  Poor Richard's Almanac. The Franklin stove.  Lending libraries.  He was an effective businessman and entrepreneur even in the early portions that I was reading.  Perhaps I would have enjoyed the Revolutionary War days and his time as an ambassador in Paris more?

Winter's Tale (Mark Helprin, 1983)

(748 pages)

My third Helprin book. I was caught up in it and looked forward to picking it up, but didn't love it.

Here is a Google Gemini 100-word summary:

"Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale is a sprawling work of magical realism primarily set in a mythical, snowbound New York City spanning the turn of the 20th century into the millennium.

The narrative centers on Peter Lake, an Irish orphan and master-mechanic turned thief, who is pursued by the sinister gang leader Pearly Soames. Peter is aided by a mysterious, flying white horse named Athansor. Breaking into a mansion, he encounters and falls instantly in love with Beverly Penn, a wealthy, visionary young woman dying of consumption.

After Beverly's tragic death, Peter escapes his pursuers by vanishing into a timeless cloud wall. He re-emerges decades later with amnesia, his ultimate quest to shatter time, bring back the dead, and achieve a perfectly just city, guided by the enduring power of his impossible love."

It's pretty accurate for just 100 words. The limit doesn't allow mentioning other key characters, such as Virginia Gamely - resident in Lake of the Coheeries. This small upstate town, often snowbound, is where the Penn family (Isaac, father of Beverly and also of Harry - he ran a newspaper that was central to the story (The Sun) summered. There was a bridge builder named Jackson Mead, who isn't bound by time.

A problem is that the themes (mentioned above as "quests") just don't really go anywhere. But it's interesting to think about.

Those Days: An American Album (Richard Critchfield, 1986)

(419 pages)

I think I learned more about the day-to-day lives of my great grandparents and grandparents in this book than anywhere else. The author is a novelist who had the idea of writing up something of a family history - only he had the idea early enough to capture wonderful source materials from his grandparents and parents while they were still around, and his professional skill allowed him to put it together in book format that stayed interesting (one exception, below).

His parents' families were centered in Iowa and North Dakota, and most of the book's action ends up in North Dakota. But it mirrors (and greatly expands upon) so much of what I've heard about those generations in NW Iowa - details of farming; details of the way the households operated; activities in towns as those towns matured; all set against some pretty empty land that was filling up pretty quickly. Town baseball team. First car; first tractor. Threshing crews. Blizzards. Horses.

The author's father farmed for some years and the descriptions are great; then he was able to go to med school and he became the country doc.  Lots of descriptions here of making house calls, etc. The family moved into town so descriptions of that type of life.

The author's father developed a drinking problem and also was unfaithful to his marriage; for my taste, the author took too much time explaining all this, I didn't really care.  But it was an important factor in the family history, I suppose. 

This was a lucky find, much enjoyed.   

The Oceans and the Stars (Mark Helprin, 2023)

(493 pages) 

Respected career naval officer runs afoul of POTUS in a meeting because the officer can't do anything except speak with complete honesty. Assigned as punishment to be captain of a small ship - he had championed the prototype though it's decided no more will be built. So it's a one-of-a-kind vessel.  Things get hot in the Middle East and the protagonist takes the ship and a hastily-assembled crew of Navy folks and a half-dozen SEALS into action.  A lot of action!

And I very much liked the action sequences - lots of detail about operations and weaponry of the modern Navy, also the skillsets of the SEALs.  This was very good, I was impressed.  Seems like the author knows a lot about this.

Less good were the characters - this part of the book was comparatively weak.  The protagonist and his lover were idealized (the love story part very meh); the terrorists were without a shred of humanity; the law firm, naval career types, politicians including POTUS were completely shallow. Some of the crew characters were pretty interesting.

There is a court martial - this part was OK, of course his lawyer is superb-plus.

Some cranky comments here but I very much enjoyed the book and was tugged right along.

My Antonia (Willa Cather, 1918)

This is another delightful re-read, though my initial read would have been prior to blogging about books.

Antonia is the daughter of Czech immigrants to Nebraska; she arrives with her family (the Shimerda family) on the same train bearing newly-orphaned Jim Burden, who will be living with his grandparents on their Nebraska farm just a short distance from the Shimerdas.

Jim is four years younger than Antonia; helps her learn English at the request of her father (a strong character who didn't adapt well to moving across the ocean); he admires and falls in love with Antonia after a fashion, though separation by age and life trajectory didn't permit anything to happen (other than a lifelong friendship, if often separated by distance).

The book is rightly famous for its descriptions of the Nebraska prairie and of life in those frontier days.  The Shimerdas were not well prepared and received quite a bit of help from Jim's grandparents in the early going.

I liked the role of the "hired men" on Jim's grandparents' farm - this rang quite accurate, there were many folks floating around like that in those days (and into the mid-20th century, declining as mechanization "took their jobs".)

The story isn't quite as interesting once Jim and his grandparents move into town (as they aged off the farm); arrangemenets are made for Antonia to get off her farm (overworked by her brother) and take domestic jobs in town.  We meet several other immigrant girls.  Antonia with a bad experience with a railroad guy that promised marriage. Jim eventually comes back to Nebraska and meets Antonia's husband and children.

Cather an absolute favorite of mine.    

Lonesome Dove (Larry McMurtry, 1985)

Book club selection via Chris (session held June 8, 2025).

It's a really delightful read.  It's also really long, so here I'm going to include various notes I jotted as I read (rather than a more traditional write-up).

Emptiness of the plains; the gap moment when the Indians had largely been removed but the settlers were not yet numerous.  A good job communicating this.

Whore with a kindly heart appears - Crime and Punishment, From Here to Eternity, etc. - a classic character.

Prevalence of whoring as profession for women in this part of the world - I think it's probably correct on the leading edge.  Mining camps.

Grasshoppers - a good description of the swarm - these don't seem to happen anymore?

Rough characters sloughing off from the Civil War.

Life in Lonesome Dove, Call's increasing restlessness.

The whole idea of uprooting everything, for many folks including folks not fully capable of making independent decisions, to run some cattle up to Montana - unknown territory, relying on Jake's comments in the early going. 

Wilbarger is funny in his opening scenes. A favorite character. Reading John Milton. 

Sean O'Brien and the snakes

Louisa's proposal to just-arrived Roscoe

Jake and Lorena

The cattle drivers (Call and co)

Roscoe pursuing July, picks up Janey

July (accompanied by Joe) pursuing Jake, switches to chasing Elmira

Elmira pursuing Dee

July, Roscoe, Joe, Janey take the two robbers to Ft Worth jail

Blue Duck takes Lorena. Gus follows. 

Jake falls in with the Suggs brothers. Chapters involving them were not pleasant.  They get Wilbarger.  Gus and Call get them and Jake whew.  Another rough passage.

As i get to the 75% area I'm feeling like I need a break.  So much heavy stuff happening.  Much lighter earlier in the novel.

Law and order, peace and prosperity, these are not the default condition anywhere in the world at any time. Action on the plains!

Was Clara right - her long speech about Gus and Call - just two guys who couldn't resist a ramble - leaving behind women, Newt?

All these folks relocated to Montana.  For what? Their future?

Call witnesses Blue Duck's death, then he runs into settlers.  Change.

Call - the world for which he was suited didn't exist anymore.

His pleasure in watching Newt.  His failure to tell Newt. The author didn't give us what we wanted. Leaves more of a sting at the end.

Wrapping up the book with Wanz committing suicide over Lorena. Her power over Dish. Gus spending time with her.

The scene of Gus's death is very long but works very well.

Lots of death; Newt's reaction.

Numerous characters with "why did we leave Texas?" Pretty normal.

Deets - most gifted helper. Very sad to be drawn north.

Many highlighted passages.

Trying to understand the wistfulness, or ?, as conclude the book.

Maybe because McMurtry didn't tie up loose ends.

Gus dead, didn't end up with Clara or anyone. Killed by an arrow.

Deets dead, sad to be far away.

Call not feeling any purpose, disappointed in himself for not speaking with Newt. (Call pretty deep throughout)

Newt very disappointed with Call.  But he's young.  With a ton of responsibility.

Clara up in Nebraska; no Gus; seems accepting of the dud July Johnson but why; just rationalizing about why she didn't accept Gus, or did she mean it? 

Lorena - felt pretty shallow to me, also stuck in Nebraska.

The whole group of hands up in Montana - are they OK? How long can they ranch up there when no surrounding towns or ranches? Loneliness plus plus.  Indians probably less of a threat.

Charles Goodnight!

The old cook; Bolivar.

Pea Eye pretty simple. 

Jake Spoon - also shallow.

One of the best passages in the book was Gus telling Pea Eye that he wouldn't have missed the drive for the world - a fine horse in a fresh country - and that Call was just the same.

Call and Gus like a married couple.

Mason Dixon - Crucible of the Nation (Edward G. Gray, 2023)

(374 pages)

Grok's summary below.  I liked the book but it was kind of a slog in spots. Here are some ideas I took away - 

The idea of uncertain boundaries in the early colonial era, sometimes continuing quite a while.  Vague land grants, inexact or nonexistent maps. Settlers who don't know if they have title, don't know who is entitled to tax payments, etc.  Challenges of surveying - in merry old England you could line up a bell tower or whatnot whereas in this area it was a bunch of trees and other ephemera.

Similar - vague wording of authority granted to proprietors of the various colonies. In this immediate area - conflict between Lord Baltimore and successors (Maryland) and William Penn and successors (Pennsylvania).

Meeting the actual Mason and Dixon - very little biographical information, few details of their surveying expedition.  One of them later became obsessed with figuring out longitude (though I don't think he was part of the famous contest, per this). 

Interesting discussion about Lancaster (Charlie & Beth's area) - always part of Pennsylvania, a bit to the west and nearing Maryland; Pennsylvania ultimately succeed in pushing its border a bit south (at Maryland's expense).

Low Counties become Delaware.

Mason Dixon line as fraught for blacks - I hadn't thought about it but because getting into Pennsylvania was a very useful step in escaping - southerners very watchful in this area - tough for free blacks. 

Fugitive slave acts. Roger Taney and James Buchanan.  

Maryland and Delaware south of the Line and both permitted slavery; but they did not secede.

I didn't appreciate how exposed Washington DC was during Civil war times.  Maryland with slaveholders and mixed feelings about this; if it seceded, no way to get federal trips to DC without passing through rebel territory.  

Author with a couple obligatory potshots at capitalism as driving slavery. Does not mention that slavery existed pretty much always and everywhere, before any idea of capitalism was conceived; or that capitalist countries were the first to ban it.  Oh well.

Grok is kind of generic - 

Mason-Dixon: Crucible of the Nation by Edward G. Gray traces the history of the Mason-Dixon Line, a boundary that resolved a colonial dispute and became a symbol of America’s divisions. Established in 1767, the line settled a conflict between Pennsylvania and Maryland, sparked by Pennsylvania’s 1681 founding, Dutch settlers in Delaware, and rapid agricultural growth. This led to jurisdictional chaos, violence, and ethnic clashes with Lenape and Susquehannock natives. Historian Gray frames the line as a geopolitical border where colonial, imperial, Native, and U.S. sovereignties collided.

The book highlights the line’s transformation into a cultural and political divide. Pennsylvania’s 1780 abolition act positioned the Mason-Dixon as a boundary between free and slave states, intensified by the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act, which made it a federal tool to recapture enslaved people. Gray details the region’s history of imperial intrigue, Native dispossession, and settler violence, featuring colonial grandees, Native diplomats, Quaker abolitionists, and Underground Railroad conductors navigating a volatile borderland.

Gray excels in analyzing the line’s role in pre-Civil War tensions between abolitionist Pennsylvania and slaveholding Maryland. Initially meant to end conflict, the line became a metaphor for a divided nation, reflecting struggles over slavery, freedom, and identity. Its significance faded post-Civil War but lingered through Jim Crow oppression. Deeply researched, Gray’s narrative reframes U.S. history by centering this overlooked region, revealing its national impact. Praised for its vivid storytelling, the book underscores the Mason-Dixon Line’s role in shaping America’s colonial roots, nation-building, and enduring racial divides.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain, 1885)

I had never read this one and found it worthwhile, if mostly because of its place in American literature. 

Not a favorite, and there were plenty parts where I just blew through it.  But entertaining.

A sequel to Twain's novel Tom Sawyer (also never read by me); Huck has some money, is living with an aunt, runs into problems with his alcoholic father.  Escapes the father by faking his own murder and getting to an island in the river.  A slave named Jim (familiar to Huck) escapes upon hearing of a plan to sell him downriver, is thought to have murdered Huck, escapes to the same island.  They meet up and decide to head downriver to Cairo, from which they will get Jim to a free state.

But they sail past Cairo in foggy conditions.  Keep heading south, which is risky.  Encounter the King and the Duke - a couple grifters preying on river towns - Twain spends quite a bit of time with those two.  Jim eventually is captured and held for return to his owner.

Huck ends up with Tom Sawyer's relatives somewhere pretty far south; then Tom shows up; they work out an elaborate plan to free Jim.  All ends well.

Twain clearly knew the river; antebellum South descriptions are good; it's a useful way to think about slavery.

The Pioneers (David McCullough, 2019)

 (258 pages)

Quick read, enjoyable, McCullough writes engagingly.

This is a story about the Northwest Territory - which became five states with which I'm quite familiar (WI, IL, IN, MI, OH) - I don't know much about this history.  

For one thing I didn't realize the scale of the Ohio River - looking at it on the map was useful.

Also didn't realize how this followed close on the heels of the Revolutionary War; lots of veterans involved.  First settlers head for Ohio in 1787. Founding of Marietta, Ohio.  

Author kind of obsessed with the education and anti-slavery planks of the founding documents; somewhat though much less interested in the fate of the local natives.

The stories about clearing the land, building settlements, dealing with Indians, etc. seemed more familiar.  Mad Anthony Wayne's expedition ended the Indian threat (if that's the way to describe it).

Rapid growth, a lot of change is seen - flatboats, keelboats eventually steam power. Crossing the Alleghenies very difficult; early travelers sometimes had to take apart their wagons and carry the pieces through a rough spot or two (along with the cargo).

Story is told via diaries and letters that I don't think were previously plumbed to such depth.  It's an effective way to tell the story - we see things through the eyes of selected founders and their descendants. One was a doctor who moonlighted as a naturalist (Hildreth). Reminded of the approach in Holland's excellent book about WWII in Italy (though not as compelling as that instance). 

Rabbit, Run (John Updike, 1960)

 (325 pages)

Updike is well thought of, I think.  This novel (and a couple companion pieces) are considered to be among his best, I think. 

But I only made it a little over halfway.  Maybe missed something great. But I don't like this kind of book.  Protagonist was a successful high school basketball player, later unhappy with his wife, acting immature, mostly interacting with unappealing folks.

Destiny of the Republic - A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President (Candice Millard, 2011)

(308 pages)

Book club selection per Nicole.

An era of US history I don't know much about. Garfield was elected in 1880 and assassinated shortly thereafter.  The author focuses on four people - 

1. James Garfield - author presents him as a great guy; not running for president (or at least effectively demure about it) but becomes nominee after an impasse.  Great orator, family guy, has a farm in Ohio, ancestors carved out life on the farm.  Civil War veteran with success despite no experience. 

2. The assassin - Guiteau or somesuch name - pretty much mentally ill, not very interesting. Minimal or zero security for US presidents at this era.

3. Alexander Graham Bell - had achieved great success with the telephone, now thought to apply related principles to create a device to locate the bullet embedded in Garfield. Probably on a useful track but this was difficult to pull off.  I was interested in the descriptions of Bell's creative process - in a way it reminded me of Mandelstam's (per the book immediately prior).  Inventive outbursts, keep going while the flame is burning!

4. Lister (of antiseptic medicine fame) and Bliss (Garfield's doctor) - avatars for the then state-of-the-art medical practices.  US doctors generally uninterested in Lister's ideas at this phase.  Bliss poking his fingers into the wound - guess what, lots of infection! Not that long ago.

Medical treatment in DC in the summertime - intense heat - a group try to create a sort of air-conditioning system.  Includes John Wesley Powell.

Insanity defense in the assassin's trial.  England's McNaughton rule.

The Savage Storm - The Battle for Italy 1943 (James Holland, 2023)

(476 pages)

I've been lucky to run across quite a few WWII histories that are very high quality - but this one is a definite favorite - the author was completely effective in knitting an overview of the military strategy and key battles with many contemporary excerpts from diaries, letters and the like; these latter gathered from grunts and officers in American, British, German, and Italian armies; also Italian citizens, Ernie Pyle, etc.  

I'll let the author explain - 

"I have been studying the long and terrible Second World War for some years now, but nothing has moved me in quite such a profound way as researching and writing this book.  Perhaps it's because, for the first time, I've used mostly contemporary sources:  diaries, letters, signals and memoranda, and photographs taken in a split second.  Rather than hearing the memories of those times fifty, sixty or even seventy years on, my cast of very real characters have drawn from the testimonies they recorded at the time. I have deliberately tried to avoid any forward projection and to write purely in the moments, hours and days in which the events described were taking place.  None of those writing diaries and letters knew when Rome would fall. None of them knew when the war would end.  I have found it difficult not to be swept up in their experiences, their suffering, their anxieties, their fears and it has been impossible not to care about their fates." (p. 474)

I was definitely swept up.  It also helped that Irvin Bormann and Vernon Hohenberger were literally there for big chunks of the 1943 timeline covered in this book - Irvin's diaries and Hohenberger's memoir include items that are 100% on point with descriptions here; makes it much more personal.

Some things I have a better grasp of -

--The Allies attacked Sicily earlier in 1943 with overwhelming force and encountered weak Italian resistance in many cases.  Plenty of landing craft available to bring all the stuff that a mechanized army needs, especially when the strategy is to overwhelm the enemy with aircraft and artillery to reduce the expenditure of soldiers' lives.

--Italy in this second half of 1943 was not like this.  Resources were diverted to preparations for Normandy and for the war in the Pacific.  Sicilian success perhaps gave too much confidence; the politicians and high command were promising "Rome by Christmas" and no one could back off this push even though it pretty quickly became evident that there soon was no basis for achieving this goal.

--Landing craft in particular were key - I didn't think about how new large-scale amphibious assault was (not a thing in WWI) - these craft just didn't exist in sufficient numbers to bring all the stuff needed. As manufacturing ramps up, many diverted to Pacific and Normandy.

--And to some extent the lack of mechanized support and artillery didn't matter - horrific winter weather and isolated mountainous terrain made aircraft and tanks and shelling less effective. 

--Italy surrendered in September 1943, and the German army took over - much tougher resistance than encountered in Sicily.  Hitler very concerned about this southern approach to Germany.

--The mountains were just made for defense; and the Germans were expert at exploiting this. Whereas an attacking force might be assumed to need a 3:1 numbers advantage, it probably was higher here. Divisions were pulled out of the line (Normandy), soldiers were expected to keep going way beyond normal tours.

--Yet the decision was made to keep going.  Which meant the infantry had such a terrible time of it here.  

--Mark Clark takes a lot of grief, but this author pins the blame higher up the chain, thinks Clark did well under the circumstances.

--I hadn't read much about the Salerno landing - difficult, interesting.

--The civilian suffering - the mechanized, heavy shelling approach had very different consequences in populated Italy as compared to the North African deserts. The sad stories here, wow.

This book wraps up at year-end, so author doesn't get to Anzio, Rapido River crossing; Irvin Bormann DOW on February 1, 1944 so we don't get battles in his final month. Irvin does mention seeing a big battle down in a valley in the December 15-17, 1943 time frame; that could well have been for San Pietro (p. 440).

Sicily '43 - The First Assault on Fortress Europe (James Holland, 2020)

(499 pages)

I'd never read much about this - it sort of falls into a gap between all the activity in North Africa and then larger Italian mainland campaign.

Summer 1943; largest amphibious landing to that point, by a long shot.  So there was lots of learning to be done.

Success seems inevitable in hindsight.  But terribly difficult. Very difficult to storm beaches even with materiel advantages.

Nighttime paratrooper drops - disaster.  Little effect on outcome, however.  Lots to learn, somewhat helpful at Normandy.

Italian troops just not ready - or inspired- in any sense - offered little resistance.

Hermann Goering division touted by name but cobbled together and not very effective.

German balancing needs on eastern front - Kursk battle going on right at this time (July 1943).  Hitler worried about "southern flank" and does move men and material from the east.

German reinforcements arrive - higher quality. Many very difficult local situations, lots of casualties, seems discouraging in a fight whose outcome both sides could readily foresee.  Germans fall back to the NE corner of the island, then they do a good job falling back into the "toe" of the Italian "boot".  And surviving to make difficult fighting for the Allies as they push up into Italy (the author's next book).

This author does a good job weaving individual narratives within the overall story line.  Also history of Sicily, including mafioso development (the Fascists had mostly subdued them and many emigrated to America; the Allies found them useful including in the postwar period, reinvigorating them).  I hadn't known much about Sicily before this other than classical tales, Arab pirates, lingering poverty.

Death Be Not Proud (John Gunther, 1949)

The title is from a well-known John Donne poem.

Author's son dies of a brain tumor after a 15-month illness. The son is very bright. The parents are very devoted.  They pursue all sorts of medical angles (they have money and connections and use them).

Very solemn topic and this was universally considered well-written.  But I didn't get into it. Maybe because it's kind of an uncomfortable thing and the kid seemed too-good-to-be-true?  Not sure. 

I think perhaps the novelists are more captivating with this (easy example the death of the Proust narrator's grandmother).  

The High Window (Raymond Chandler, 1942)

265 pages.

Super quick read, and Chandler writes so very well.  Kind of like Wodehouse - sets up a phrase or sentence in a way that seems familiar and the reader can usually anticipate the author's direction - then drops in something unexpected, interesting, clever.

Philip Marlowe.

This was good, entertaining, well-written - but not a favorite.  Characters not particularly likable (probably the author's intention).  Too much talk-explaining about the crime(s) resolution to wrap up the book.

(Seems like I had a similar reaction to the Chandler book previously read.)

Hawaii (James Michener, 1959)

(1095 pages)

This is recommended as useful background for Hawaii visitors - which we plan to be - so I thought I'd give it a shot.  Long (but quick reading); often interesting; in the end not that great - but I think quite helpful for its intended purposes. 

Michener starts with the formation of the islands - very late geologically.  Then arrival of folks from Bora Bora and Tahiti area - this is interesting to think about if speculative.  Then arrival of missionaries - these folks had tremendous influence on the islands, generation after generation of their descendants pretty much ran things.  (The book is fiction, but I think somewhat tracks the trajectory here.). The transit of the missionaries around Cape Horn was quite the adventure.  Cramped quarters; most missionaries married just prior to embarking to brides they just met (missionaries required to be married).  This is in 1820s.

What I'll call native Hawaiians did not thrive - disease, policy, etc. 

Discussion of sugar plantations, arrival of pineapples, arrival of other plants.  Figuring out irrigation. As labor is required - folks are brought in from China (this story centered on the Kee family).  Intended to be temporary workers that would return to China, but most ended up staying.  Founding of Molokai leper colony and arrival of Peter Damian. Later - arrivals from Japan, pretty much the same story (this part centered on Sagakawa family).  Some rise through the system despite intense prejudice.  Being good at (American) football helped.

Pearl Harbor.  Formation of a US army unit of Japanese soldiers - mostly from Hawaii - they end up in intense fighting near Cassino - very much the same time frame as Irvin Bormann, the Japanese unit has the misfortune of being assigned to cross the Rapido River.  Later they are unexpectedly tasked with rescuing the "Lost Battalion" in France - taking way more casualties than the number of folks rescued.

The discussion moves into 1940s and 1950s politics, labor unions, a descendant of Hawaiian royalty who works as a beach bum - this part not so interesting.