2/9/2020

This has been my lowest reading week by far - guests in town for a solid week and my daughter’s birthday.

The Arms of Krupp: The Rise and Fall of the Industrial Dynasty that Armed Germany at War by William Manchester (first half only)

This is a recommendation from my dad. He couldn’t put it down and, while I understand that, I haven’t quite finished it because I got hot on David McCullough.

Leadership in War: Essential Lessons from Those Who Made History by Andrew Roberts

I kept recognizing his viewpoints and then finally flipped it over and realized I just read the author’s book on Napoleon from NYPL. This was on display at Barnes & Noble during a particularly rainy day when I was taking refuge with a stroller + sleeping child. Naturally I perused the table of contents and quickly devoured the George Marshall chapter. Interesting viewpoints, lots of tidbits throughout and little pieces of context. His chapter on Hitler was so incredibly harsh that it seemed like he hadn’t actually considered him in terms of the point of the book. Andrew Roberts was not able to remove himself enough to give a historical perspective of the man, vs one that savors strongly of anger. I don’t disagree with the anger - obviously - but it makes you think more about his perspectives and how personal he gets. Is he really thinking about the strategic minds/movements and their outcomes or is he so personal that he can’t separate?