WWW.WEDNESDAY

WWW. WEDNESDAY asks three questions to prompt you to speak bookishly. To participate, and to see how other book lovers responded, click here. 

PS I can no longer participate in WWW.WEDNESDAY via that link because her blog won't accept Blogger comments. I mention this only to save you the frustration I experienced trying to link up.

1. What are you currently reading? Confidence Man by Maggie Haberman. NY Times reporter Haberman has been covering Donald Trump forever, long before he entered politics. She's never been predisposed to be sympathetic to him, yet he's always given her access. So I believe this portrait of his rise to fame (his emphasis was always on celebrity, not achievement) and how he parlayed it into the Presidency. I also find it monumentally depressing, especially after ... 

2. What did you recently finish reading? Churchill by Jacob Bannister.What a man! Soldier, reporter, politician and hero. Physically brave and deeply patriotic. He literally helped save the world during WWII and played a major role in the start of NATO in the aftermath. I can't resist commenting that The Former Guy sees no value in NATO or in supporting Ukraine in their stand against Russian encroachment, and I imagine Churchill would be disgusted by Donald Trump.

 

When President Kennedy, a decorated WWII veteran, made Churchill an honorary American citizen for life, he said that Churchill "mobilized the English language and sent it into battle" against the Nazis and it's true. Churchill didn't have much to work with at the beginning of the war, but he used soaring rhetoric to inspire the English people and encourage them to believe they would prevail. It's stirring and inspirational. I also learned that Churchill wasn't a fan of Gandhi's, dismissing him as a poseur. I admit that took me by surprise, though I suppose it shouldn't have considering the role each man played in shaping India's fate in the 20th century. It's just I'm not accustomed to hearing bad things about Gandhi. I mean, what's next? Is Winnie gonna slag Santa? 

 

So Bannister's book was a good intro to the man, and now I want to learn more.

3. What will read next? Something light. I admit Trump seems especially odious and depressing after Sir Winston. So maybe I need chick lit or a cozy mystery.