Murder on Shades Mountain

One August night in 1931, on a secluded mountain ridge overlooking Birmingham, Alabama, three young white women were brutally attacked. The sole survivor, Nell Williams, 18, said a black man had held the women captive for four hours before shooting them and disappearing into the woods. That same night, a reign of terror was unleashed on Birmingham's black community: black businesses were set ablaze, posses of armed white men roamed the streets, and dozens of black men were arrested in the largest manhunt in Jefferson County history. Weeks later, Nell identified Willie Peterson as the attacker who killed her sister Augusta and their friend Jenny Wood. With the exception of being black, Peterson bore little resemblance to the description Nell gave the police. An all-white jury convicted Peterson of murder and sentenced him to death.

Most students of southern history are familiar with the Scottsboro Boys, but few are familiar with Willie Peterson, the murder of Shades mountain, and the trials.  The involvement of the Communist party in Jim Crow South was very involved.  I was not aware of this until reading this book.  This book on the history of the murders on Shades mountain is eye-opening and engaging.  It is both enjoying and disturbing to read.  I read this book every time I had a moment.  I knew the ending but was still hopeful for Peterson.

The Mafia's President

Unbeknownst to most people even now, the election of 1968 placed the patron saint of the Mafia in the White House. In other words, Richard Nixon would go on to not only lead a criminal presidency; he would be totally indebted to our nation’s top mobsters.

By 1969, thanks in large part to his long-time campaign manager and political advisor Murray Chotiner, a lawyer who specialized in representing mobsters, Nixon had participated in secret criminal dealings for more than 20 years with sketchy figures such as Mickey Cohen, Mob financial guru Meyer Lansky, Teamsters union chief Jimmy Hoffa, and New Orleans Mafia boss Carlos Marcello. And with Chotiner as one of his key behind-the-scenes advisors in the White House, Nixon's ties to the Mafia didn't end there. The Mafia’s President reveals a mind-blowing litany of favors Nixon exchanged with these sinister characters over decades, ranging from springing Jimmy Hoffa from prison to banning the federal government from using the terms “Mafia” and “La Cosa Nostra.”

Drawing on newly released government tapes, documents, and other fresh information, The Mafia’s President offers a carefully reported, deeply researched account of Richard Nixon’s secret connections to America’s top crime lords.

Author Don Fulsom has written an excellent history of Richard Nixon, the Mafia, Nixon's political career, and his connection to the Mafia.  I was amazed reading it.  Given the now known connections and even connections known at the time; If the 24-hour news cycle existed in the 60's, Nixon would never have been elected president or vice-president.  It is surprising to me that it took until 1973 before an illegal event was finally connected to Nixon for his removal from office.

I am very questioning of Nixon's involvement in the JFK assassination, but his tight connections with the Mafia makes for a compelling argument.  No matter the often repeated phrase of Nixon's, "I'm not a crook," it seems to me that he was a perfect example of a political crook.

It is interesting to me that I was born in 1974; the year a president resigned in disgrace to avoid impeachment.  Then, my son was born in 1998; the year a president was impeached but not removed from office.  I wonder if I will have a grandson born the year a president is removed from office.  I know; I know.  Correlation does not mean causal.

The Wishsong of Shannara

An ancient evil is stirring, intent on the complete destruction of all life. The Druid Allanon sets out on a dangerous journey to save the world, reluctantly aided by Brin Ohmsford, daughter of Wil Ohmsford—for she alone holds the magic power of the wishsong. But a prophecy foretells doom, as evil nurses its plan to trap the unsuspecting Brin into a fate far more horrible than death.

Brooks's last book of his original Shannara trilogy.  It is evident from his writing of this book that he had honed his craft.  The character development is better in my opinion.  The story is broader, making the book more encompassing, but at the same time a little more confusing.  Brooks does run back to his Lord of the Rings roots with a few characters.  I still believe the best book of this trilogy is the Elfstones of Shannara.  The Wishsong is not necessary to understand the totality of the tale.  People desiring to read this trilogy, I would recommend reading the Elfstones and then the Wishsong without ever reading the Sword.

The Gospel for Muslims

If you wanted to share the gospel with Muslims, could you?

There are over three million Muslims living in the United States today. Soon, if not already, you will have Muslim neighbors and co-workers. Does the thought of reaching out to them with the gospel make you nervous? How can you effectively communicate the good news with such large theological differences? The Gospel for Muslims can help make sharing your faith easier than you think.

Thabiti Anyabwile, himself a convert from Islam to Christianity, instructs you in ways to discuss the good news of Christ with your neighbors and friends. The Gospel for Muslims allows you to focus on the people rather than the religious system. Meant for the average Christian, it is not an exhaustive apologetic or detailed comparative study of Christianity and Islam. Rather, it compellingly stirs confidence in the gospel, equipping the reader with the basics necessary to communicate clearly, boldly, and winsomely.

Thabiti Anyabwile writes a very engaging text that is personal in origins and encouraging in its results.  Anyabwile keeps the reader focus on the fact that the Gospel is the Gospel no matter the person.  He did inform me of some facts about Islam that I was not aware of that I believe makes sharing the Gospel with Muslim friends and neighbors straightforward.  I never knew the Koran states the Torah, the Psalms of David, and the Gospels are divine texts.  Anyabwile cites the Sera for every statement he makes concerning Islam.  Due to this book, I want to renew relationships I have had with Islamic neighbors that have moved.  Great book.

The Elfstones of Shannara

Ancient Evil threatens the Elves. For the Ellerys - the tree created by long-lost Elven magic - is dying, losing the Spell of Forbidding that bars the hordes of vengeful Demons from the Races of Man. Allanon, the legendary guardian of Earth, summons Wil Ohmsford to guard the Elven girl Amberle on a perilous quest as she carries a seed from the Ellerys to the mysterious Bloodfire, there to be quickened into a new Ellerys. Ravening behind them comes the Reaper, most fearsome of all Demons. Against it, Wil has only the Elfstones of Shannara - and he has lost all power to control them. Helplessly, he watches the shadow of the Reaper appear on the trail before him... Here are valiant companions, formidable foes, wonders - and the ancient mystery of how the Elves survived. Once again, Terry Brooks brings us an epic novel of wonder and adventure in this eagerly awaited sequel to his bestselling The Sword of Shannara.

After talking with my brother, this was the first book in the Shannara sires that he read.  It stands alone well.  I do not believe that is dependent upon the beginning of the series, The Sword of Shannara.  This book was Terry Brooks's second entry into the world of myth writing.  It is apparent that he had learned from his first endeavor.

This tale is a great work.  The characters are well developed.  Each has their strengths and weaknesses that are a challenge to the quest.  Brooks makes passing reference to his prior work without relying upon it.  I enjoyed this book immensely.  To me, Brooks became a writer in this work rather than a law student that needed a distraction.  I am looking forward to reading The Wishsong of Shannara.

The Slave-Trader's Letter-Book

Description
In 1858 Savannah businessman Charles Lamar, in violation of U.S. law, organized the shipment of hundreds of Africans on the luxury yacht Wanderer to Jekyll Island, Georgia. The four hundred survivors of the Middle Passage were sold into bondage. This was the first successful documented slave landing in the United States in about four decades and shocked a nation already on the path to civil war.

In 1886 the North American Review published excerpts from thirty of Lamar’s letters from the 1850s, reportedly taken from his letter book, which describe his criminal activities. However, the authenticity of the letters was in doubt until very recently. In 2009, researcher Jim Jordan found a cache of private papers belonging to Charles Lamar’s father, stored for decades in an attic in New Jersey. Among the documents was Charles Lamar’s letter book, confirming him as the author.

This book has two parts. The first recounts the flamboyant and reckless life of Lamar himself, including Lamar’s involvement in southern secession, the slave trade, and a plot to overthrow the government of Cuba. A portrait emerges at odds with Lamar’s previous image as a savvy entrepreneur and principled rebel. Instead, we see a man who was often broke and whose volatility sabotaged him at every turn. His involvement in the slave trade was driven more by financial desperation than southern defiance. The second part presents the “Slave-Trader’s Letter-Book.” Together with annotations, these seventy long-lost letters shed light on the lead-up to the Civil War from the remarkable perspective of a troubled, and troubling, figure.

The author does and excellent job of presenting an academic text in a very readable, and enjoyable fashion. As a student of U.S. southern history, this is a must read. The aspect of states desire to reopen slave trade in the 1850's and 60's is often overlooked.  Charles Lamar never thought.  His actions were short sighted and foolish.

Silencing the Bomb

In December 2016, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists moved their iconic "Doomsday Clock" thirty seconds forward to two and a half minutes to midnight, the latest it has been set since 1952, the year of the first United States hydrogen bomb test. But a group of scientists—geologists, engineers, and physicists—has been fighting to turn back the clock. Since the dawn of the Cold War, they have advocated a halt to nuclear testing, their work culminating in the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which still awaits ratification from China, Iran, North Korea—and the United States. The backbone of the treaty is every nation's ability to independently monitor the nuclear activity of the others. The noted seismologist Lynn R. Sykes, one of the central figures in the development of the science and technology used in monitoring, has dedicated his career to halting nuclear testing. In Silencing the Bomb, he tells the inside story behind scientists' quest for disarmament.

Called upon time and again to testify before Congress and to inform the public, Sykes and his colleagues were, for much of the Cold War, among the only people on earth able to say with certainty when and where a bomb was tested and how large it was. Methods of measuring earthquakes, researchers realized, could also detect underground nuclear explosions. When politicians on both sides of the Iron Curtain attempted to sidestep disarmament or test ban treaties, Sykes was able to deploy the nascent science of plate tectonics to reveal the truth. Seismologists' discoveries helped bring about treaties limiting nuclear testing, but it was their activism that played a key role in the quest for peace. Full of intrigue, international politics, and hard science used for the global good, Silencing the Bomb is a timely and necessary chronicle of one scientist's efforts to keep the clock from striking midnight.

This book is an excellent insiders tale of nuclear testing and limiting.  The author explains the science behind verification clearly.  This is scientific history at its best.  Dr. Sykes played a central role in the limiting of nuclear testing and the ability to verify the following of the treaties agreed to.  As a geoscientist of off earth phenomena, I found the book fascinating.  Having worked in missile defense for decades, I am familiar with the results of some of his work.  He reaches conclusions regarding arms limitation treaties that are different than I, but I see the current world differently than he does.  Dr. Sykes still views the world as a primarily bilateral nuclear threat.  I see the world where the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty has become of limited importance.  Where clandestine nuclear weapons are shared at will with numerous countries.  Dr. Sykes does make a point of covering the numerous missed opportunities that we have had to limit nuclear proliferation that were missed.