Tale of The Fall of Gondolin

In the Tale of The Fall of Gondolin are two of the most significant powers in the world. There is Morgoth of the uttermost evil, unseen in this story but ruling over a vast military force from his fortress of Angband. Deeply opposed to Morgoth is Ulmo, second in might only to Manwë, chief of the Valar: he is called the Lord of Waters, of all seas, lakes, and rivers under the sky. But he works in secret in Middle-earth to support the Noldor, the kindred of the Elves among whom were numbered Húrin and Túrin Turambar.

Central to this enmity of the gods is the city of Gondolin, beautiful but undiscoverable. It was built and peopled by Noldorin Elves who, when they dwelt in Valinor, the land of the gods, rebelled against their rule and fled to Middle-earth. Turgon King of Gondolin is hated and feared above all his enemies by Morgoth, who seeks in vain to discover the marvelously hidden city, while the gods in Valinor in a heated debate mainly refuse to intervene in support of Ulmo’s desires and designs.

Into this world comes Tuor, cousin of Túrin, the instrument of Ulmo’s designs. Guided unseen by him Tuor sets out from the land of his birth on the fearful journey to Gondolin, and in one of the most arresting moments in the history of Middle-earth, the sea-god himself appears to him, rising out of the ocean in the midst of a storm. In Gondolin he becomes excellent; he is wedded to Idril, Turgon’s daughter and their son is Eärendel, whose birth and profound importance in days to come is foreseen by Ulmo.

At last, comes the terrible ending. Morgoth learns through an act of supreme treachery all that he needs to mount a devastating attack on the city, with Balrogs and dragons and numberless Orcs. After a minutely observed account of the fall of Gondolin, the tale ends with the escape of Túrin and Idril, with the child Eärendel, looking back from a cleft in the mountains as they flee southward, at the blazing wreckage of their city. They were journeying into a new story, the Tale of Eärendel, which Tolkien never wrote, but which is sketched out in this book from other sources.

Following his presentation of Beren and Lúthien Christopher Tolkien has used the same ‘history in sequence’ mode in the writing of this edition of The Fall of Gondolin. In the words of J.R.R. Tolkien, it was ‘the first real story of this imaginary world’ and, together with Beren and Lúthien and The Children of Húrin, he regarded it as one of the three ‘Great Tales’ of the Elder Days.

Christopher Tolkien, J. R. R. Tolkien's son, has done great detailed work in evaluating and ordering his father's notes regarding Middle-Earth and the mythology he had created central to it.  This was not easy work.  He has spent years of effort reading all of his father's numerous notes written over multiple years.  Christopher has ordered and deconflicted these many tales.  I cannot imagine the magnitude of this work.

To be thorough in his publishing of his father's thoughts, Christopher recorded in this book the different version of the tale, and he notes his selection of essential aspects of the story that he chose in his telling of the tale.  Christopher's writing of The Fall of Gondolin is engaging and beautiful in keeping with his father's writing style.

I am not taken by the details of Middle-earth mythology.  I skipped over large sections of this book that provided retellings of the story from his father's copious notes.  Christopher had already noted these in his telling.  The myth of Gondolin's fall as told by Christopher was enjoyable and complete.  I believe the son performed due diligence in providing all the notes.

Hitler’s Death

In The Death of Hitler, author and expert Luke Daly-Groves rigorously looks at the question:Did Hitler shoot himself in the Führerbunker or did he slip past the Soviets and escape to South America? Countless documentaries, newspaper articles, and internet pages written by conspiracy theorists have lead the ongoing debate surrounding Hitler's last days. Historians have not yet managed to make a serious response. Until now.

This book is the first attempt by an academic to return to the evidence of Hitler's suicide in order to scrutinise the arguments of conspiracy theorists using scientific methods. Through analysis of recently declassified MI5 files, previously unpublished sketches of Hitler's bunker, personal accounts of intelligence officers along with stories of shoot-outs, plunder and secret agents, this rigorously researched book takes on the doubters to tell the full story of how Hitler died.

Conspiracy theorists are plentiful.  The conspiracies regarding Hitler, even after so many years, are still very active.  These conspiracies are more damaging than those of the flat earth society.  The flat-earthers do not support the growth of evil.  Hitler conspiracies aid the growth of evil.

Daly-Groves has written an excellent book covering the historical evidence in a deeper and academically satisfying manner regarding the time and method of Hitler's death.  He provides previously unavailable documentation the completely closes the question of Hitler's possible survival and the cowardice of his death.

My only problem with Daly-Groves's book is in the first two chapters.  These are obviously from one of his thesis papers.  The writing is stale and uninvolving.  The rigor of the research is very clear in these chapters, but they read very much like a dissertation, not a popular history text.

The Luckiest Man

How do you experience God's intimate, comforting, tangible presence? In The Luckiest Man, John Paine reveals how he found the answer to this most important of all questions--by facing a terminal diagnosis.

At middle age, John Paine thought he knew what it meant to have a relationship with God. He was a successful businessman, a well-respected Christian leader, a Bible teacher, and--outwardly, at least--the spiritual leader of his family. He was satisfied and thought he understood what it meant to know and experience God. But did he?

John's journey into true, mystical intimacy with God began when a neurologist diagnosed him with ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, and said, "Go home and get your affairs in order." Seventeen years later, John tells his story, recounting the ways God intervened in his life, freeing him from all that prevented intimacy with God, even as John slipped into pain, paralysis, and further toward death.

In stunning, insightful prose, The Luckiest Man points to the God who lovingly, though occasionally painfully, drew John into the richness of friendship. In this profoundly moving memoir, John Paine reveals the secret to intimacy with God and provides hope to all who are in the middle of their own trials. They, too, will understand why John considers himself the "luckiest man." (less) [Thomas Nelson]

This was a difficult read for me.  Mr. Paine is fighting ALS.  I'm battling Progressive MS.  He's from northeast Texas.  I'm from southwest Arkansas, towns separated by about 2 hours.  His father was a hard man.  Mine was not as hard as his, but somewhat hard.  I grew up working on the farm where work was always hard.  We both played football.  Mr. Paine is only eleven years my senior.  Our diseases are different, but the symptoms at onset and speed of regression seem very similar.

Paine was successful in his career and business dealings.  I was pursuing science while working an engineering job to support my family.  I would say that I was average to mediocre at both.  What is meant is that I found myself jealous of Paine in the beginning because of this.  I thought, at least he got to be successful before he was robbed.  Oh, how much more Paine had to show me.

Reading beside my wife in the evenings, I saw myself more in him.  I saw how much I had to lay down and the truth of where I had placed my value.  How much more I was.  Paine painted for me a clear picture of what he was indeed before ALS and who God was making him into.  Paine's transparency convicted me in my battle with MS.  He had come to the point of intimacy with God.  I was too busy fighting disease to listen to God.  I was busy telling God what I needed rather than looking for God to speak into me what I needed to hear.

There are not words enough to recommend this book.  Mr. Paine's writing is excellent, and his message is important, for everyone, not just those fighting disease.  Read it with an open mind, soul, and a humble spirit.  Allow God to convict you.

Moby Dick

The book is sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship Pequod, for revenge on Moby Dick, the white whale that on the ship's previous voyage bit off Ahab's leg at the knee. A contribution to the literature of the American Renaissance, the work's genre classifications range from late Romantic to early Symbolist. Moby-Dick was published to mixed reviews, was a commercial failure, and was out of print at the time of the author's death in 1891. Its reputation as a "Great American Novel" was established only in the 20th century, after the centennial of its author's birth. William Faulkner confessed he wished he had written the book himself,^[1] and D. H. Lawrence called it "one of the strangest and most wonderful books in the world" and "the greatest book of the sea ever written".^[2] Its opening sentence, "Call me Ishmael", is among world literature's most famous.^[3]“Moby-Dick.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 2 Nov. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moby-Dick.

This is a ubiquitous text in the West.  We reference it.  We talk about Ahab.  Everyone is familiar with the first line, "Call me Ishmael."  We even visit a coffee chain named after the first mate, Starbuck; but I find that many have not read this text.  I was never required to in secondary or university studies.  Therefore, in keeping with my drive to read books people talk about but haven't read, I read Moby-Dick.

This was a long book.   Herman Melville wrote two books in one from my view.  He wrote an excellent tale with foreshadowing, symbology, and unique language that included a dry and dull text of the details of whaling.  This structure reminded me very much of The Hunchback of Norte Dame.  The clear example of the unrelenting pursuit of a prize regardless the cost is clear.

Had Melville had an editor, I believe he would have sold more books in his lifetime, and his fame may have existed before his death.  The sheer volume of this text likely discouraged many from purchasing.  A book of 135 chapters must have had quite a price tag in the mid 19th century.  My brother told me when I first began reading it that it would remind me of Hugo in the mixture of story and banal information.  It did.

I actually didn't visually read the text.  Since I knew the book to be in the public domain, I first went to Project Gutenberg to download a Kindle version.  While on the site, I saw that an audio version was available.  Rather than loading up my Kindle, I downloaded the audio version which was actually produced by LibriVox.  The version I listened to was read by Stewart Wills.  His reading rivals any professional audiobook I have ever listened to.  Very high quality.

Moby Dick is a book worthy of the respect that it receives.

Sherman Lead

Sherman Lead is the gripping story of a year flying the F-4 Phantom in combat during the Vietnam War, told through the eyes of a US Air Force fighter pilot. Operating out of Ubon Royal Thai Air Base, Thailand in 1968–69, Gail Peck and his squadron mates were tasked with flying combat missions into North Vietnam and Laos at this time as part of Operations Rolling Thunder and Steel Tiger.

The F-4 was heavily involved in the air-to-ground mission at this time, with targets being well defended by enemy anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles. Gail Peck's arrival in-theater coincided with the beginning of electro-optical and laser guided "smart" bomb combat operations. There were periods of fierce combat interspersed with lulls, and the fighting was intense and unforgettable to those who participated. Some men lived through it, and others died without a clear understanding of why.

Written by a pilot who flew near-daily combat missions, this engrossing book is the story of one man, his colleagues, and his machine--the mighty F-4 Phantom--at war.

My father was an F-4 hydraulic mechanic during the Vietnam conflict until the F-4 was retired.  I grew up with love for the F-4.  When other guys were all about the F-14 due to Top Gun, I still loved the F-4. I was excited to read this book.  Peck did a great job relaying personal stories regarding his flying of the F-4 during the early Vietnam period.

Peck was a USAF pilot rather than Navy, so I was a little disappointed in that as a Navy brat.  Peck still relayed the strength of the jet during this period and its versatile use.  He also clearly shows from the stories how poorly the Vietnam conflict was executed by the US leadership.

I recommend this book to anyone with interest in the history of the Vietnam conflict or in air warfare.