Fascinating. George Orwell‘s novel, “Nineteen eighty-four” (sometimes spelled as “1984”) has been catapulted back into the US bestseller lists!
Practically overnight, sales have risen almost 5800%.
There are several editions of the original works published in 1949, so it is not quite clear how the numbers are compiled. I wonder what Mr. Orwell would have to say. (Unfortunately he died in 1950).
Don’t forget, Prols:
WAR IS PEACE!
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY!
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH!
Here’s a most fascinating new book by journalist Lynne Olson. As I have outlined in my previous post about Charles Lindbergh, America’s entry into World War II was by no means a given, nor was it popular among average Americans before the Pearl Harbor attack.
Olson’s book goes into great detail describing the political division between the non-interventionist faction (of which Charles Lindbergh was a major proponent and figurehead) and those who wanted to support Britain — if not with an all-out war against Nazi-Germany, at least with arms shipments.
Olson shines a light on many little known facts, for instance, a huge clandestine British operation to infiltrate US media, spy and discredit leading non-interventionist Americans, spread propaganda materials and even disseminate forged documents designed to draw America into the war. Roosevelt not only knew about these activities, but he also issued a loose directive to the FBI to conduct massive surveillance on non-interventionists from the popular “America First” movement.
Terry Gross (All Things Considered) recorded this fine radio interview with the author.
Those Angry Days
Roosevelt, Lindbergh, and America’s Fight over World War II, 1939-1941
by Lynne Olson
Random House, Hardcover, 576 pages; List Price $18.
ISBN-13: 978-1400069743
One of the greatest and most inspiring living Americans, US Air Force Major General (ret.) Chuck Yeager is celebrating his 90th birthday today. He still lives in California, and I hear he is still keeping his pilot’s license current.
[P.S.: Chuck Yeager passed away on December 7, 2020].
Chuck Yeager’s autobiography, Yeager is one of my favorite books, and I own several, slightly tattered copies. (It was co-written with Leo Janos, a speechwriter and ghostwriter who was known for writing speeches for the President Lyndon Johnson. He authored and co-authored notable books including Skunk Works – A Personal Memoir Of My Years At Lockheed).
Yeager is a captivating account not only of the man’s boyhood and military flying career, but also an insight into the mindset and values of the generation of pilots who ushered in the jet age, built the U.S. Air Force, and fought the Cold War.
The first edition of Yeager was published by Bantam in 1985, but it is still in print as paperback.
In 1989, a follow-up appeared: Press On – Further Adventures In the Good Life (co-written by former Newsweek editor Charles Leerhsen and Yeager) deals mostly with the legendary pilot’s life after retirement and his love for fishing, hunting and backpacking.
Harper Collins just came out with a new, substantial biography of Walter Cronkite.
From the publisher’s release: “Douglas Brinkley presents the definitive, revealing biography of an American legend: renowned news anchor Walter Cronkite. An acclaimed author and historian, Brinkley has drawn upon recently disclosed letters, diaries, and other artifacts at the recently opened Cronkite Archive to bring detail and depth to this deeply personal portrait. He also interviewed nearly two hundred of Cronkite’s closest friends and colleagues, including Andy Rooney, Leslie Stahl, Barbara Walters, Dan Rather, Brian Williams, Les Moonves, Christiane Amanpour, Katie Couric, Bob Schieffer, Ted Turner, Jimmy Buffett, and Morley Safer, using their voices to instill dignity and humanity in this study of one of America’s most beloved and trusted public figures.
For decades, Walter Cronkite was known as “the most trusted man in America.” Millions across the nation welcomed him into their homes, first as a print reporter for the United Press on the front lines of World War II, and later, in the emerging medium of television, as a host of numerous documentary programs and as anchor of the CBS Evening News, from 1962 until his retirement in 1981. Yet this very public figure, undoubtedly the twentieth century’s most revered journalist, was a remarkably private man; few know the full story of his life. Drawing on unprecedented access to Cronkite’s private papers as well as interviews with his family and friends, Douglas Brinkley now brings this American icon into focus as never before.
Brinkley traces Cronkite’s story from his roots in Missouri and Texas through the Great Depression, during which he began his career, to World War II, when he gained notice reporting with Allied troops from North Africa, D-day, and the Battle of the Bulge. In 1950, Edward R. Murrow recruited him to work for CBS, where he covered presidential elections, the space program, Vietnam, and the first televised broadcasts of the Olympic Games, as both a reporter and later as an anchor for the evening news. Cronkite was also witness to—and the nation’s voice for—many of the most profound moments in modern American history, including the Kennedy assassination, Apollos 11 and 13, Watergate, the Vietnam War, and the Iran hostage crisis.”
Here is Patt Morrison’s radio interview with Douglas Brinkley.
ISBN: 9780061374265; ISBN10: 0061374261; Imprint: Harper ; On Sale: 5/29/2012; Format: Hardcover; Pages: 832; $34.99.
Don’t we all secretly wish we could go where the Wild Things are? (And be back in time for dinner?)
In memoriam of Maurice Sendak, who died on the morning of May 8, 2012, in Danbury, Connecticut, from complications of a stroke.
“From their earliest years children live on familiar terms with disrupting emotions; fear and anxiety are an intrinsic part of their everyday lives, they continually cope with frustrations as best they can. And it is through fantasy that children achieve catharsis. It is the best means they have for taming Wild Things.” (Maurice Sendak)
I love old books. But I’m not so sure about the smell. At least I now know what causes it (sort of).
Today would have been Wernher von Braun’s 100th birthday. He was the greatest rocket engineer of all time.
Recommended book:
Von Braun – Dreamer of Space / Engineer of War
by Michael J. Neufeld, chair of Space History Division of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.
© Smithsonian Institution 2007. Published by Alfred Knopf, New York.
ISBN: 978-0-307-26292-0 (hardcover) or 978-0-307-38937-4 (paperback).