9.30.2022
Something In The Air: American Passion and Defiance in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, Hoffer - B
The 1968 Olympics came at perilous a time. "Not since WorldWar II had there been so much deadly commotion throughout the world. Not since the Civil War had the United States been so riven." America had been roiled for years over racial tensions and the war in Vietnam. Athletes historically were often isolated from society's issues, but 1968 would be different.
Speed City, San Jose State's track team, "would have a profound effect on culture, history even, that went well beyond sports." Its team included Harry Edwards, Tommie Smith, Lee Evans, and John Carlos. Smith, Lee, and Evans were the fastest sprinters in the country. The national media focus was on the all-American boy from Kansas and record holder in the mile, Jim Ryun. On the other end of the spectrum was the drug-dealing juvenile delinquent from Queens, Bob Beamon, now at UTEP and setting long jump records. From Tennessee State, the only women's powerhouse program in the US, came virtually all the women sprinters, although pretty much no one paid them any attention.
Harry Edwards, 6'8" and 275 lbs., turned down an NFL offer, obtained a graduate degree at Cornell, returned to SJS to teach and speak out on behalf of black athletes, and called for an Olympic boycott. The older black athletes were opposed; the younger ones uncertain and divided. Lew Alcindor was the most prominent boycotter. Although Edwards was supported by the all-white Harvard crew team, there were few takers amongst the young blacks, and he withdrew the boycott in August.
"Innovation in sports is exceedingly rare."The curve ball, the jump shot, the forward pass are all unique examples. So too is the Fosbury flop. Dick was struggling to clear the minimums in high school meets in Oregon so he threw himself over facing upwards. Everyone ran to the rulebook, but the only rule was that the jumper jumped off one foot. The Fosbury flop was legal and he won the NCAA's in the spring of 1968 with a jump of 7'2 1/2".
The Americans flew to Mexico City thinking about and talking over how to protest, but without any kind of plan. Mexico was the first developing world country to host an Olympics, but it was the altitude of 7350 feet that was the leading cause of anxiety about 1968. On the first day, six runners did not finish the 10,000 meters and the Australian favorite passed out and needed to be revived with oxygen. Only four men finished the final. The first three were Africans who lived at altitude.
Before the 200m final, Tommie Smith was lying in the training room with an iced groin, uncertain he would run. Of course, he did, and he set an Olympic record. Fellow Speed City athlete, John Carlos, took 3rd. In the twenty minutes between the race and the ceremony, they decided on the black gloves. They raised them as the anthem began. One of the most powerful acts of defiance in US history was met with vituperative hatred immediately. They were suspended by the USOC and sent home. The reaction of the IOC and the USOC exploded interest in the actions of Smith and Carlos. Fearful of other acts of rebellion, the USOC threatened every remaining athlete. The next two men to medal were Beamon and Boston in the long jump. For the medal ceremony, Bob Beamon wore black sox and no shoes, Ralph Boston was barefoot. Lee Evans, Larry James and Ron Freeman swept the 400m and wore black berets on the podium. The men's 4 x 400m relay winners all wore black gloves on their podium and refused to shake the hand of the USOC president. On the final day of the track and field competition, Ryun garnered a silver and Fosbury a gold.
With the track and field athletes gone, the second week settled down. "The Olympic spirit, as it was interpreted by white authorities, reasserted its soothing self." The week went smoothly, but the closing ceremony did not. At Tokyo four years earlier, the athletes were allowed to wander around instead of marching in and out. The IOC was offended by people blowing kisses to Hirohito, who laughed and thought it funny. For 1968, they would revert to marching only seven athletes behind each country's flag bearer. To the chagrin of IOC president Brundage, the athletes in the stands flooded the infield. "There was nothing to be done for the moment anyway, and the revelry continued for a half hour, the infield full of thousands of athletes now, one on shoulders, some snatching flags, others wearing sombreros."
For many who had disrespected the games, there were consequences, but none greater than those faced by Smith and Carlos. "They came home as outcasts, terrorists, when they might have been welcomed as heroes."
This has been an intriguing read, especially for me, as it is probably the only Summer Olympics in 62 years I didn't see. Colleges back in the day had few, if any, television sets around. Thanks to my brother Bill who suggested the book, and tells me that Smith and Carlos will light the fire in LA in 2028. They'll be in their mid-80's - I hope they make it. Hell, I hope I make it.
Counterfeit, Chen - B+
This excellent book is written in the first person by Ava, a Chinese-American Stanford grad, lawyer and mother, who narrates her confession to an anonymous detective. Along the way we receive an insightful and witty peek at the Chinese industry that makes brand name knock-offs, the perils of growing up as the child of Chinese immigrants, the complex pecking order amongst young SF moms, ditto Stanford alums, and a myriad of other first-world concerns. Ava's former college roommate of but a few months recruits/steamrolls her to work in a scheme whereby one buys a top-of-the-line handbag, returns a cheaper but equally exquisite copy, sells the original on E-Bay, and pockets quite a bit. Together, the two hire and build a pyramid, thus magnifying their profits, until their eventual facing the music. This is a blast.
Act of Oblivion, Harris - B
This thoroughly researched and well written novel is set in the 17th century. The Act of Oblivion was signed by King Charles II in 1660. It condemned to death all of those who had participated in the trial, imprisonment and execution of his father, Charles I. Those still living regicides were hunted down. Our story features three principals. Col. Edward Whalley was Cromwell's cousin and Col. William Goffe was married to Whalley's daughter. Richard Naylor was the detective for the Privy Council. The two fugitives fled to America when it became apparent the new king would seek revenge. Naylor was determined to track down each and every one on the list. When he heard that the two men were in Massachusetts, he departed for Boston. The colonels had already fled for New Haven, a colony that paid little heed to London. Naylor arrived in the New World and began the chase. He pursued the two men through Connecticut and was sure he was very close at New Haven, but he could not crack the Puritan commitment to protect them. He eventually called off the search. The regicides spent almost the entire summer of 1661 in the woods living like the natives. By 1662, the appetite for revenge was fading in London and Naylor was told to not waste any more time pursuing the two colonel's. In the Colonies, the Puritans found shelter for the two men 80 miles inland in a town on the frontier. The aging colonels were destined to live out their lives in the far corner of Massachusetts. Whalley died first in 1674. The time and place of Goffe's death is unknown. This book has some fabulous insights into the Cromwellian era and the intense religious extremism that drove both sides in the English Civil War.
9.23.2022
Facing The Mountain: An Inspiring Story Of Japanese American Patriots in World War II, Brown - B
"At its heart, this is a story of young men - some of the bravest Americans, the Nisei warriors of World War II, and how they, through their actions, laid bare...what exactly it means to be American. But it's also the story of their immigrant parents, the Issei, who like other immigrants before them...faced suspicion and prejudice from the moment they arrived in America." "It's the story of the first Americans since the Cherokee in 1838 to face wholesale forced removal from their homes, deprivation of their livelihoods, and mass incarceration."
A third of Hawaii's residents in December, 1941 were of Japanese ancestry. One young man, Kats Miho, was a freshman at the University of Hawaii and a member of the Army ROTC. Martial law was declared the afternoon of the 7th and the islands were completely blacked out. On Maui, Kats' father was arrested that same day. Issei were considered resident aliens and not allowed to become citizens. In January, Kats Miho and all of his colleagues in the ROTC were dismissed from their roles in the Territorial Guards.
A month later, FDR authorized the military to establish exclusion zones. The western sections of California, Oregon and Washington were designated as places requiring the expulsion of all Issei and Nisei. Knowing that the Hawaiian economy would collapse if the Japanese-Americans were removed, only people on FBI lists on the islands were incarcerated. In Salinas, CA, Rudy Tokiwa and his farmer parents were put behind barbed wire. In Seattle, Gordon Hirabayashi, a student at the University of Washington, refused to relocate and surrendered to the FBI. He apparently was the only person in the west coast exclusion zone to cite his constitutional rights and refuse to be relocated. Ironically, the law required people to consent to their exclusion and he could not be excluded without signing a form. Instead, he was jailed, indicted, and convicted. The Tokiwa family was sent to Poston, AZ. Meanwhile in Hawaii, Kats Miho worked as a laborer on Maui.
On February 1, 1943, the US authorized the enlistment of Nisei. The Army expected 1500. Ten thousand volunteered. Kats Miho and his older brother were among them. Fred Kisaburo, son of an Issei laundryman in Washington, was outside of the exclusion zone, walked out of Gonzaga in Spokane, and enlisted the day he learned of the new rule. Rudy signed up at his internment camp. The members of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team were sent to Mississippi for basic training. Basic is hard enough, but in addition to the incredible heat and humidity and living in the Jim Crow south, there was a constant ongoing confrontation between the Hawaiians and the Nisei from the west coast. The islanders were happy go lucky people used to a bountiful life in Hawaii, and whose family members were home and free. Most of the mainlanders families were imprisoned. Tensions between the two groups escalated until a chaplain and the commanding officer came up with plan. They sent the Hawaiians to visit two nearby internment camps. Chastened by what they saw, they paved the way toward a reconciliation of the two groups. By the time the 442nd went overseas, they were united. In May, 1944, they headed for Italy.
Gordon Hirabashi was released from prison and returned to Washington to continue his work with the Quaker American Friends Service Committee. When he saw the questionnaire and loyalty oath that all Nisei were expected to sign, he refused. In the camps, traditional family ways were falling apart. Because everyone ate in canteens, the concept of the family meal was no more. The older Issei had nothing to do and lost their natural leadership roles and status. And after the US allowed Nisei to enlist, their daughters did the unthinkable. They ignored their parents and joined the Women's Army Corps.
The 442nd marched north from Anzio in June. They entered western Tuscany and faced the Germans for the first time on June 26th. The infantry had a difficult first day, but the artillery excelled. Around them, death dominated the day, with Germans and their colleagues falling everywhere. They fought continuously into July. Four hundred of the initial 4,000 were casualties. The Germans always commanded the higher ground that the 442nd approached. The Americans continued to move forward. They crossed the Arno and faced the Gothic Line constructed along the spine of the Apennines. They were also gaining attention back in the US for their successes, and their enemy called them 'the little iron men.' On Sept 6, they were pulled back to the south and sent off to Marseille for the attack up the Rhone Valley. They went back into action a month later in the Vosges. With their homeland just 30 miles away, the Germans fiercely defended every yard of ground. Relentless and constant combat ensued. They made headlines around the US for saving the 'Lost Battalion' of Texans surrounded by the Germans.
In late 1944, FDR ended the exclusion and evacuation protocols. The decimated 442nd was pulled out of the lines and given duty in the Maritime Alps far from the fighting. They took extended leave on the coast enjoying the Riviera at Christmastime. Gordon Hirabayashi was now married to a white woman, the father of twins and incarcerated for refusing the loyalty oath and the draft. In March, the 'Champagne Campaign' was over, and the 442nd headed back to Italy. The Fifth Army still had not breached the Gothic Line after seven months and wanted the 442nd to assist. Within two days, they broke through. Soon, the war in Europe ended. The surviving boys from the 442nd went home.
The 442nd was the most decorated unit in the war. Its men received 21 Medals of Honor, 29 Distinguished Service Crosses, 560 Silver Stars, 4000 Bronze Stars and over 4,000 Purple Hearts. Nonetheless, the men were mostly met with continued unrelenting hatred as Japs when they returned to the mainland. Truman attempted to honor and compensate the Japanese-Americans abused during the war. He pardoned all of the draft resisters. In 1952, a law allowed the Issei to apply for US citizenship. Congress awarded the survivors of the camps $20,000 and an apology in 1988. In 2012, the Nisei warriors were presented with Congressional Gold Medals. Gordon Hirabayashi was posthumously award the Congressional Medal of Freedom.
Thanks again to Carl Kreitler for the recommendation. This a fabulous story of courage in the face of appalling racism.
The Local, Hartstone - B+
This is a fabulous legal thriller written by an accomplished screenwriter. Jimmy Euchre is a patent lawyer practicing in Marshall, Texas in the Federal District Court. The EDTX attracts patent cases from around the country and the local bar works closely with larger out of town firms. One of Jimmy's clients is accused of murder, and wants Jimmy to represent him. He works with a lawyer from NY who had been in the US Attorney's office and together, they pull off the defense. This novel is a fun read with insights into Texas, with particular attention paid to how a small town far from the big cities has become one of the three busiest courts for patent issues in the US. Recommended.
Do No Harm, Pobi - B
In the third in this series, Dr. Lucas Page is asked by the FBI to take a look at a sequence of killings involving physicians as victims. He realizes that the stakes are much higher and that there are over 30 physician murders over the last two years in Manhattan. There is no connection at any point between the victims and the killers or suspected killers. That makes Page suspect that there may be a group with a person in charge who connects up different people who might wish to kill a physician. These books are always fun and the NYC settings make it more so for me. However, the conclusion here is somewhat baffling because we never find out why it was orchestrated.
Take Your Breath Away, Barclay - B
When Brie Mason goes missing, the police assume its her husband Andrew. He is soon persona non grata in his corner of Connecticut and four years later, he changes his name while attempting to rebuild his life. Six years after Brie's disappearance, her mother is dying and her brother decides to give his mother some hope. He hires an actress to impersonate his sister, which leads to a runaway cascade of unanticipated events. This is a modern day thriller par excellence that you'll knock off in a day.
Widowmaker, Doiron - B
This is not one of the better novels in this series. Mike gets stabbed and while off to recover, gets involved in trying to find out what happened to a young man with whom he had a slight connection. The plot spins out of control and ends with a mass murder of a dozen young men working in a logging camp. The fun here continues to be insights into the wild world of the far north, and in this instance a lengthy discourse on hybrid wolves in North America.
9.06.2022
A Higher Call: An Incredible True Story Of Combat And Chivalry In The War-Torn Skies Of World War II, Makos - A
This is an excellent story about two pilots, one German, one American.
Bavarian-born Franz Stigler flew 487 combat missions as a fighter pilot. Of Germany's 28,000 fighter pilots, only 1,200 survived the war. His father had flown in the first war, and he had flown a glider at the age of 12. By the time he was 22, he was a Lufthansa pilot. A year later, in 1938, the Luftwaffe came calling, and assigned him to train pilots. He was a flight instructor until he requested a combat assignment in late 1940. In the Spring of 1942, Stigler was sent to support the Afrika Korps. Flying and fighting in the desert offered opportunities, as Franz was an ace (5 kills) within a few months. But, the hardships were overwhelming. In the summer's heat, each man slept in a grave - a hollowed out hole in the ground with a tarp over it. In September, he took an eight week leave at home, after which he was assigned to Sicily. The fighting was complicated by the Allies growing numbers and better equipment. The following June, a P-40 riddled his Me-109 with bullets and he landed in the Mediterranean. He survived, just barely. With nineteen victories to his credit, Franz was transferred to Germany to help defend the Fatherland as it was being battered by Allied bombers. His squadron flew out of Wiesbaden every day to confront the B-17's.
Charlie Brown grew up in West Virginia, and was a pilot of a B-17 by the time he was twenty. At the end of 1943, Charlie and his crew flew from England to Germany on the their first combat mission. As they approached Bremen, flak blew out the planes nose, pierced a wing, took out an engine and damaged a second engine. They slowed after they turned toward home and were attacked by Me-109's, who shot away half the rudder and hit another engine. The B-17 was pummeled again and again, with damage everywhere, the radio out, and two men dead. His stabilizer was shot off and soon, Charlie was flying the plane in an upside down spin. With his oxygen gone, he passed out. The plane plummeted from 22,000 feet. Charlie came to at about 10,000 feet and pulled the plane out of its death drop so close to the city of Oldenburg that he blew shingles off roofs. Flying barely faster than his stall speed, Charlie headed for the Baltic and passed over a German fighter base. Eyeing the wounded B-17 and in need of a bomber to earn a Knights Cross, Franz Stigler took off. When he saw the condition of the B-17 he could not believe the plane was still airborne, and he concluded he didn't have the heart to destroy a handful of helpless men. Franz saluted Charlie and let him attempt to return to England. Three-quarters of the way across the North Sea, they were down to 500 feet. By the time Charlie landed the plane, they were running on one-and-a-half engines. A few months later, Charlie and his crew finished their 28th and final mission. Their war was over.
Franz's was not. He already had posted 300 combat missions by the time Charlie was finished. He continued flying two or three missions per day. By the end of the year, the Luftwaffe was a shadow of itself with Franz leading teenagers against the Allies, and facing devastating odds. In October, he was wounded and grounded. In the last month of the war, Franz and a handful of veterans took to the skies in Messerschmidt jets. He survived, surrendered to the Americans, and emigrated to Canada after the war. Because he flew a Me-109 in a few air shows, he was invited to Boeing's 1985 B-17 reunion. About the same time, Charlie began to wonder about the man who had saved his life. He got in touch with the magazine of the German pilots association and posed the question. In 1990, he received a letter from Franz. They met the following year; their reunion attracted national media attention. By virtue of the unusual circumstances of Franz not shooting down Charlie and his plane in 1944, the Air Force had hushed the matter up. Sixty-four years later the Air Force awarded Charlie the Air Force Cross and all of the crew received Silver Stars.
This book tells a remarkable story. The chapters describing Brown and his crews first flight and the amount of destruction their plane took is as harrowing and nerve wracking as anything I have read about WWII. It is incomprehensible that the plane stayed in one piece and that Brown could fly it for hours in that condition. The degree of professionalism amongst the Germans who fought for years is truly impressive. And not least of all, stories like this are a reminder that almost all of these courageous men were just boys. A magnificent read and one highly recommended. Thanks to Carl Kreitler for the suggestion.
The Disappearance of Josef Mengele, Guez - B-
This 'factual' novel is the story of Mengele's thirty years in Argentina. He arrived in 1949 and went to work as a laborer. His circumstances improved when he let those in high places know who he was. His family's agricultural equipment business in Bavaria provided financial support. Mengele began accumulating wealth and expanding the family business into both Argentina and Paraguay. The passage of time allowed him to obtain a German passport and birth certificate as Josef Mengele. The time for hiding had passed. He married his brother's widow in order to assure all of the family business assets stayed in the family. Happily married and making money, Mengele was feeling very good about life in South America in the mid-50's.
In 1959, he was indicted in Germany. Fearing possible extradition, he moved to Paraguay. A year later, the Mossad kidnappped Eichmann, but failed to find Mengele. The Nazis of South America became very wary, fearing the Mossad was constantly pursuing them. His wife returned to Germany, he burned his German passport and began life anew again as a Brazilian. With Eichmann captured, tried and hung, he was now the most wanted Nazi fugitive. He worked as a farmhand for a Hungarian couple who were paid nicely for harboring him. By the end of the decade, he was almost 60 and in failing health. Years of stress, anxiety, loneliness and manual labor have taken its toll. His endless complaining lead the Hungarians to throw him out and he found himself in a rundown small house. In 1976, Mengele suffered a stroke and is hospitalized for two weeks.
Mengele's only son, Rolf, born in 1944, is a left leaning Munich lawyer who despises his surname and has only a limited memory of the 'uncle' who visited him when he was a young boy. Mengele begs his son to come and in October, 1977, he visits Brazil. Rolf confronts his father about his monstrous crimes at Auschwitz. Josef tells Rolf of the struggles Germany faced after WWI, of his belief in the policies of Hitler and that he just followed orders at Auschwitz. "After two days and two nights of relentless discussions, Rolf gives up. His father is stubborn, incurable and evil, a war criminal. a criminal against humanity, unrepentant." Miserable, and in ill health, he suffers a stroke while in the ocean and drowns on Feb.7, 1979.
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