"Foreign Correspondent" by H.D.S. Greenway (2014)

What struck me most about this book is the author’s sense of history and his knowledge of literature.  His assessment of the post-World War Two era as post-colonial may hardly be novel; or even new. But his treatment of the subject allows a deeper understanding of just what has happened in the world since then. His assertion that the post-colonial era engendered many; if not all; of the world’s conflicts since then is borne out by contemporary history itself. And Mr. Greenway was on the front lines for much of it.

In this age of Brian Williams, Peter Jennings and Glenn Beck; as well as all the rest of the “pretenders”; what a joy it was to read this book by a real correspondent and veteran of 50 years of reporting from some of the hottest spots on the planet. This is one guy you never saw playing “anchorman” while the film rolled on the screen in a studio. Greenway was busy; he was there.

His accounting of Vietnam is not the usual assortment of stories and anecdotes we have come to expect. To be sure, there are plenty of great stories here; but they are told within the context of a larger history, making this book all the more unusual. His time with Sean Flynn; the irrepressible son of the actor Errol Flynn; are a particular treat. Although his exploits have been covered by other authors, Mr. Greenway’s friendship with Mr. Flynn comes across as particularly close.

His political grasp of Vietnam from the earliest of days after the Japanese surrender until the last helo out in 1975 could fill volumes; yet he is able to condense it all into a highly readable chapter which brings a familiarity to the reader concerning the leading names of the war. He explains the treaties, the elections and even the failures in a way which will re-inforce your own knowledge, yet also allow you to take that knowledge one step further in the puzzle which was Vietnam. 

The chapters dealing with Cambodia and Prince Sihanouk will explain just how that unfortunate and beautiful country was dragged into the periphery of the war. He also explains just how the interim leadership of Lon Nol gave way to Pol Pot and the rise of the brutal Khmer Rouge, who slaughtered almost 2 million of their own countrymen before order was finally restored. The attitude of the United States then; after the failed war which gave birth to that tragedy; stands as an analogy to the United States today, in regards to ISIS in the aftermath of our blundering in Iraq. History never dies; it just repeats itself, hoping we will learn something.

It is likewise with the section of this book dealing with Israel. You will come away scratching your head at some of the misconceptions about the Mideast which have all but become prevailing wisdom; true or not. The 1973 War (Yom Kippur) was not just another blunder by Egypt. It was a face saving move that was necessary before Egypt could begin to modify its stance regarding peace with Israel. And, once again; the history of the area is at the center of this whole narrative. The author’s love of history and literature shines through each page, making the book highly readable.

His chapters on Indonesia, India: and especially Pakistan; should be required reading for serious students of today’s volatile political climate, as these stories are the story of decolonization and the ruin in which the colonial powers left their former charges; who then turned to the Communists for help in certain places. Reading these portions of the book you can actually understand how we lost much of the goodwill engendered by our victory in World War Two in a senseless race with the Soviets to prepare for a war which never came.

This is also the story of how Mr. Greenway managed to move his family around the world with him for most of his career. There were times the family stayed in Hong Kong while he covered the War in Vietnam. And, for other times, and other stories, there were other homes. In each of these places he manages not only to take some time with his wife and children to absorb the local cultures where they live; he also takes the time to Impart to the reader as much of the history as he can to help in the understanding of the time and place in which the events take place.

There is richness to this book which cannot be adequately described in a review. There is history and literature on each page, just waiting for someone to open the cover. When you do, you will be stepping into the author’s world. From Vietnam all the way through to Afghanistan, he has covered it all. This is the best world journey you will ever embark upon from your favorite armchair.

   

"Dreamers and Deceivers" by Glenn Beck (2014) HISTORICAL FICTION

This is not a non-fiction book. But that's where it is being filed in the library and in book stores. It is what is known as “historical fiction” according to Mr. Beck; but that in itself is an overstatement. Historical fiction is a genre in which true events are used as a backdrop for a story. What Mr. Beck does is to take actual people; inventors, politicians and the like; and make up whole conversations and thoughts based solely on what he believes occurred. 

Actually, it is a fiction to think that this book was even written by Mr. Beck. At the end; in the section where even Mr. Beck refers to this work as “historical fiction”; he speaks of the “teams” he used to cull other peoples books and biographies to re-write them in a way which will “clarify” for the reader what the original author really meant.

Reading the chapter about Desi Arnaz is nothing more than reading a book report of Mr. Arnaz’ brilliant autobiography “A Book.” It is the same with all of the other chapters. And some of the source notes for the chapters are really almost funny.  For instance, in the notes on the chapter dealing with Edwin Armstrong; the inventor of the radio receiver which revolutionized Marconi’s wireless, as well as FM radio itself; actually read, “From an imagined conversation.”  I’m not kidding you.

This is a continuation of a troubling trend (nice bit of alliteration there) which began when the book “Dutch” was published several years ago. That book was purported to be an autobiography of Ronald Reagan as imagined by the author, who was not Ronald Reagan.

Rush Limbaugh uses horses that talk in his books “Rush Revere.” That’s okay. Those are children’s books and we all know; or should know; those horses and other animals cannot talk. That’s historical fiction. And it serves a purpose in getting children interested in reading about the actual events later on.

"Gone With the Wind" is a perfect example of historical fiction; wherein real life events serve as the backdrop to a fictitious story. Lincoln and Lee are only names in the film; and Shiloh and Gettysburg are merely names of distant battles.“Shogun” and any other number of other books also come to mind. None of which contain real people doing and saying anything. While the King may be real in “A Prince and a Pauper”, we know that the book is fiction. It is labelled that way. Even in “The Bridge Over the River Kwai”, by Pierre Boulle; which is a fictional tale about the real bridge; the author uses fictional names for the characters. (By the way, Boulle also wrote "The Planet of the Apes.")

Books like this one by Mr. Beck do a great disservice to serious history; as they will be read largely by adults who will then not read the books written by the original authors and biographers who have already carefully chronicled the true events. And, naturally, fans of Mr. Beck's TV show will be taking his books to be the "gospel" on the subjects they purport to be about. That's troubling. Also, consider the younger readers who will take this book to be all fact..

What troubles me most though is that the real stories no longer seem to be of interest to the average reader. The books have to be suggested by Oprah; or else re-written by "talking heads" like Mr. Beck. Certainly there is an agenda at work in these projects. And, even with a team of researchers and writers, Mr. Beck's book has Neil Armstrong broadcasting from the surface of the Moon in 1968. For the benefit of those who might not be old enough to remember, we didn't land there until 1969. With an error like that, how am I to trust him in the chapter about something as complicated as the Alger Hiss case?

Having a team of researchers distill the essence of other people’s writings and experiences; while adding conversations and motives not attributable to any real source other than “imaginary”; only serves to slant history and dumb the reader down. I will be asking my library to please file these types of books under Fiction, where they clearly belong. This is not just my opinion. Even the author says so on page 285. 

While the author has the perfect right to pen whatever he chooses to, he also has the responsibility to see that the book is not misrepresented as something it is not. While Mr. Beck may be blameless; leaving the publisher at fault initially; surely Mr. Beck noticed that his book was listed and reviewed as Non- Fiction rather than Historical Fiction, and yet chose to do nothing about it. 

Note: Having read almost all of the books referenced in "Dreamers and Deceivers", I was unable to finish reading this one. I made it to the end of Chapter 2 before looking at the source notes and confirming my suspicions that this is merely a collection of highly imaginative book reports. I then skimmed through the remainder of the book, which did not improve in regards to being "imagined history" rather than a collection of true biographical sketches.

However, the book is registered with the Library of Congress as a Biography; and I have registered my concerns with them about whether or not this book should even be classified as Non-Fiction, let alone as Biography. 

Here is the reply I received last Tuesday from the Library of Congress. It would appear that the book was presented by the Publisher as something which it is not.

"The original record (you see it as Cataloging in Publication Data printed on the copyright page of the book) is created pre-publication based on the minimal information provided by the publisher.  Hopefully we got the cover info, title page, copyright page, table of contents, preface, and first chapter.  We did not have page 285.  If you look at our record, one of the summaries provided by the publisher says, "The new nonfiction from #1 bestselling author and popular radio and television host Glenn Beck" and the other says, "Glenn Beck provides stories of the people who built America and the people who sought to destroy it." The table of contents provides chapter titles that show no sign of fiction.*  So to say the book is "so poorly cataloged" isn't exactly correct based on what the publisher provided to LC.  It is difficult enough to catalog with minimal information and the publisher providing incorrect information will be reflected in what you see."

David Williamson
Cataloging Automation Specialist
Acquisitions and Bibliographic Access Directorate
Library of Congress
Washington, D.C. 20540

* The original e-mail from Mr. Williamson stated "non-fiction" here in error. It was corrected later by a subsequent e-mail from him. For the sake of brevity I have inserted and highlighted the correction.

End Note: I have contacted the publisher; Simon and Schuster; about this issue and as of this writing they have chosen not to respond.

Fukushima Disaster - Glenn Beck Explains Nuclear Power

This is the 3^rd anniversary of the meltdown at the Fukushima Nuclear Facility in Japan. It is also the anniversary of Glenn Beck’s notoriously simple explanation of how a nuclear power plant functions. Actually, although oversimplified, it is quite informative. Perfect for an elementary student, or even an adult who wants to know the basic concept of how the plant; as well as the “Containment” process; actually work.

But his segue into the economic meltdown of America and the middle class is priceless. You can call it a leap of genius or just the result of a disordered mind, but either way it’s an example of the media manipulation/indoctrination of which guys like Beck regularly accuse the left. But, I still give him credit for the M and M’s.