WWII | WWII
Nov.30.2009
Occasionally I go exploring book-wise. I used to do the same with records back in my rock ‘n’ roll days, and most of the time I found pearls among the commercial swine. So it is with books, I find – some pearls, a few zircons, an occasional lump of coal, a rare bucket of mud. Whitcroft’s book, a...
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Nov.27.2009
Tough message to Holocaust deniers
You are a disgrace to your countries and your communities. People like you encourage racism, sexism, tribalism, homophobia, fascism, nazism and so on.Do you really think that you can change the world? When you can’t even change your attitudes and...
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Nov.16.2009
Thank you, Armenian Odar (aka Myrthe), my wonderful blogger fan in Yerevan, who reads large stacks of books and reviews them with great insight. I'm so pleased you saw fit to mention my book again in your blog today.
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Nov.13.2009
After Chagall
A man grips a woman by the shoulders On a bed in the open air, a courtyard With a wall no taller than their knees stopping No one from getting in or seeing them there In the middle of a town blue as the sky, An anxious...
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Nov.11.2009
In a trunk filled with mothballs lies the somewhat-shredded woolen flag that flew over my father’s minesweeper while it cruised the Straits of Iwo Jima. My mother’s bridal suit and my father’s navy blues are there too, sandwiched along with the flag. I will keep the uniform and the suit along...
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Oct.07.2009
Visible traces of WWII in Germany are disappearing. The allied forces blew up all the German bunkers leaving behind only the rubble, and that is being covered up.
I moved to Nothweiler, Germany in 1992. It is a small village less than 10 kilometers from the office and production facilities that...
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Sep.04.2009
Last week I took a break from house renovations for an afternoon to see Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds. The movie is based roughly on a 1978 movie of almost the same name and is a fantasy, alternate universe version of the last year or so of the Third Reich. Other, older movies about that...
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Jul.26.2009
My book came out in the UK on Thursday, July 23. I've been a nervous wreck. I check the rankings on amazon.co.uk constantly, trying to remain mindful that it's also on sale in brick-and-mortar stores and other sites such as Tesco. It has garnered some good Web publicity, suich as this review by...
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Jul.19.2009
When I walked into his room, I knew he was dying. His face looked gaunt, as if the muscles that once pulled a frown, and parted a smile chased by laughter had dried up. Yet, he managed a weak smile when he saw me in uniform.
As I approached the side of his bed, I smelled his death as if it clung to...
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Jun.08.2009
Landing at New York's JFK airport felt normal enough. I had flown several times over the span of the previous two years. Before then, I never stepped foot aboard an airplane.
Required to wear my dress uniform, despite my formal discharge from active duty, was not bothersome. Although I'd heard of...
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