Posted on 08/16/2005 10:27:58 AM PDT by GretchenM
Bush tackles historical sagas on vacation
CRAWFORD, Texas — Gas prices are climbing, motorists are fuming, President Bush is vacationing with a book about the history of salt. There may be a connection.
Bush is reading "Salt: A World History" by Kurlansky, chronicling the rise and fall of the world's [formerly] most strategic commodity.
The other books are "Alexander II: The Last Great Tsar" by Radzinsky and "The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History" by Barry.
The analogies between salt and oil are striking. For most of history, salt was synonymous with wealth. It established trade routes and cities. Governments taxed it. Nations went to war over it.
In the early 20th century, salt became ubiquitous. Refrigeration reduced its value and advances revealed its global abundance.
"It seems very silly now, all of the struggles for salt," Kurlansky said. "It's quite probable that some day, people will read about our struggles for oil and have the same reaction."
Kurlansky said he was surprised to hear that Bush reads books. The author said he was a "virulent Bush opponent" who had given speeches denouncing the war in Iraq.
Barry, author of "The Great Influenza," said that he too had been a Bush critic. But his views have not deterred the administration from seeking his advice on the potential for another pandemic like the 1918 outbreak that claimed millions of lives worldwide.
The administration, Barry said, was investigating what steps public officials could take to lessen the severity of a flu pandemic. "One lesson is to take it seriously," Barry said. "… I think they are doing that. The Clinton administration I don't think paid much attention to it as a threat."
(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...
It's worth reading the entire article for the historical background on the subjects of the books.
FYI
I don't care what this dimwit says, "Salt" is a great piece of historical writing. I learned all kinds of stuff from it.
Very highly reccomended. Really.
Ah, Alexander II. The Ruskies did not know what a great leader they had until he was gone.
Bush got an advance copy of Radzinsky's book, scheduled for November publication. The article says Alexander II (Russian ruler from 1855 to 1881) freed 23 million Russian slaves in 1861, but "his governmental reforms ultimately were his undoing." The article's author makes much hay out of this.
Ya see folks, ignorance like this is what happens when you only listen to the other idiots who have your same ideological axe to grind. The fact is, was, and was easily known to anybody who didn't hate the man, is that Bush reads ALOT. More than I do, I am ashamed to say.
My mother-in-law (College English Professor) is a flaming lib. She looked me square in the eyes and said, "You know Bush doesn't read, he has people do it for him. "
I just heard a story on NPR about Bird Flu being carried about by migratory birds. That made my left eyebrow rise.
//ooo...Warchild listens to NPR! Ghastly heresy. Actually, last night, they had a pretty good program concerning a woman whose older brother murdered all their family, and how she managed to cope. Very interesting.
It was regarding the book "The case for democracy".
Bush wanted his staffers to read it, and was bothering Rove to read it too, Rove wanted to borrow the Presidents copy.
Bush refused, according to Rove (I believe this exchanged appeared in either Newsweek or Time and was according to Rove), Bush wouldn't lend his copies of his books out or buy them for others, Rove claimed that "He's cheap".
LOL.
I love books like these on salt and the flu and I'm conflicted as to whether to read them or not now that I find out these weirdos are hostile to Bush.
If you ever want to have fun with liberal paranoia, just tell them "Thats what him and Karl Rove want you to think".
I've watched liberals twist their brains around trying to figure that out, its funny, especially if you keep playing up the Karl Rove wants you to think that part.
Its good for laughs.
He doesn't care, and some of the artists on his Ipod don't like him, if it doesn't bother him in even the slightest, it shouldn't make a differance.
Perhaps the fact that Bush doesn't ignore those who dislike him should be a lesson for us.
We can't live our lives only with those who like us or the politicians we like.
I detest these excerpting limits. If you go to the source link atop the thread and read the rest of the book authors' comments, and those of the article's author, I think you'll find the books deserve a read.
Me too. The number, quality, and range of nonfiction and history these days is remarkable; but so many of the authors are preening screwballs.
I lend out books only if I plan never to see them again. I've lent so many that never return, that I had to adopt that attitude in order to keep myself from losing what I couldn't replace, or getting mad at the people who expressed such a fantastic interest in a book and then apparently never finished it and then forgot about it. I like to keep certain books around for reference; I also like to write in or highlight some books so I can easily find data later.
IOW, I understand W wanting Rove to be responsible for getting his own copy.
We can see why liberalism has gotten us into so much trouble. What Bush is doing is excellent strategic work - using a past analogy to help understand future scenarios. Typical liberal - the writer doesn't even understand this. It's over his head!
Yeah, he was murdered by an extremist group of terrorists who didn't realize that Alexander II was the best hope for Russia's future. Instead, his assassination results in the ascension of Alexander III, a brutal reactionary who quashed any further reforms that might have been achieved. A constant theme in history is how great projects are ruined by those who do not understand them.
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