Nathan’s Comments (group member since Jun 30, 2011)

Nathan’s comments from the Topeka & Shawnee Co. Public Library group.

I have to agree with you about Saving Private Ryan and Shakespeare in Love, Jean. Nothing against Shakespeare in Love, as it is an excellent movie, but I certainly thought Saving Private Ryan was more deserving of Best Picture.

Thad wrote: "Stephanie Hall stops by to talk about her favorite paranormal romance books in the latest episode of Hush. What are your favorites? I don't know if it qualifies in the strictest definition of the..."

I don't know if Replay qualifies either, but I read it in high school and absolutely loved it. I've been thinking I should read it again sometime.

Kelli wrote: "Apparently, Spielberg's new movie, Lincoln, is based on Doris Kearns Goodwin's biography, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. What did you think about the book and are you exci..."

Loved the book, and am definitely interested in seeing the movie. I've heard the movie is going to be based more on the last part of the book, and the end of Lincoln's presidency, as the whole of the book would be far too much to fit in a two or three hour time frame. I'll be interested to see how the relationships between Lincoln and his cabinet are portrayed, and how Lincoln's leadership skills are shown. Of course, with Daniel Day Lewis playing him, and Spielberg directing, I have a feeling it will be excellent!

Kelli wrote: "Alba wrote: "I am reading The Help and really like it so far, but it is making me nervous because I know that the plot is thickening and things are about to turn ugly."

That is the one thing about..."

I'm actually reading The Help right now as well, and I know exactly what you mean. Everyone has a lot to risk, and the tensions are getting really high. I'm going to be really interested to see how things turn out in the end.

Melanie wrote: "I'm listening to John Adams by David McCullough. I really don't like Thomas Jefferson. I was begining to get the feeling he wasn't a great man in Washington's biography as well. I guess I will b..."

I've read a lot about the Founding Fathers and can tell you that Jefferson is an interesting guy, and quite different from many of the other Founding Fathers. He lived in a Utopian world, quite often disconnected from reality. That doesn't mean he didn't have a brilliant mind, and didn't make significant and valuable contributions to our country, but I always have a hard time understanding where he was coming from myself. Joseph Ellis's book, "The Character of Thomas Jefferson" is a good one to read, and I think gives a fairly balanced assessment of his qualities. It isn't necessarily a biography, but if you want to know about what made him tick it really gets to the point, and fully examines how he thought. It also won the National Book Award, so it is high quality scholarship.

Hi Melanie,

I'm glad you enjoyed reading the book! I will tell you that the town continues to support their team even though the past couple of years haven't been as successful as those portrayed in the book. We have someone who works here at the library who played for Coach Barta, and whose son currently plays for him, so he keeps us updated, which is nice.

The thing that Coach Barta does, which I find to be inspiring is the molding of young people into adults. I love the fact that he teaches them about living life, loving their families, loving one another, working hard to achieve goals, and focusing on the important things in life. As he says, "None of this is really about football." And while we can rest assured that some of it is about football, I can tell you that after meeting Coach Barta, and talking with people who have known him for a long time this really rings true. Although Coach Barta loves football, he is a teacher at heart, and loves working with and helping kids.

I can also say, as a man, that I never had a teacher, coach, or mentor in high school say some of the things to me that Coach Barta says to his boys about telling your parents you love them every day, and loving your teammates. Those kind of things aren't often spoken about in groups of teenage boys, and the fact that he breaks that barrier with the kids in his program is inspiring, and something that I think should be done more.

Glad to hear you might read the book! I agree with you about the WWWI Museum in Kansas City. I went there a couple of years ago, and it's definitely worth a visit if you've never been. I've always found it odd that it's the only museum dedicated to WWI in the country, as you would think it would be in Washington D.C. or something, but since the United States was only in the war for about a year, it seems to be forgotten as compared to World War II, The Civil War, etc. Regardless, it's definitely a jewel in the Heartland of the country, and something history lovers in this region should take advantage of!

"The Guns of August" had been on my "to-read" list for years, and I finally got around to picking it up several months ago. It did not disappoint. Barbara Tuchman was one of the preeminent historians of her time, and won the Pulitzer Prize for this re-telling of the years and events that led to the first World War, and the crucial first month which foretold the carnage and overall outcome of the war.

Although it was written decades ago, "The Guns of August" still hits home, not only as historical non-fiction, but as a deeper evaluation of the cause and folly of a war that needn't have been fought. And as only Barbara Tuchman can, she points out the folly in ways that will make you laugh and shake your head at the same time. Her dry wit is on display as she discusses the actions of leaders, monarchs, and generals who made decisions based upon treaties, plans, and strategies that were outdated, ridiculous, and had no bearing on the situations they found themselves in at that time. Many decisions were made without common sense, and those who called for sensible thinking often found themselves out of a job, or blacklisted within the political or military ranks.

I have done a lot of reading about wars, and the more I read the more I realize how many incompetent generals and military personnel there have been in some of the world's greatest conflicts. And I continue to be amazed at how one tiny mistake, or one tiny piece of sound strategy can completely change the tide of a war and end up shaping world events for years to come. As Tuchman shows us in "The Guns of August", this was certainly the case with World War I. This is the reason I enjoy reading about wars - the drastic changes they bring with them. And to me understanding why things change is what makes history so fascinating. World War I is a perfect example of this, as the Europe which had existed for centuries changed dramatically after the war and began it's journey to the modern Europe we know today.

"The Guns of August" is not light reading by any means. It is an in depth re-telling of the beginning of the first World War. But if you're interested in history, World War I, or want to increase your understanding of the ways the world changed in the 20th Century, there are few books that can match it.

Melanie wrote: "Getting read to start Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilence, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. She wrote Seabiscuit. It should be good.

Marked had taken some turns that I di..."

I have heard nothing but good things about "Unbroken". It is on my list of books to read, but I just haven't gotten around to it yet. It's supposed to be quite an amazing true story.

I just got finished reading "Last Dance: Behind the Scenes at the Final Four", which I would recommend to any college basketball fan. It was written by John Feinstein, who has written several excellent sports books. "Last Dance" really gives the reader a feel for what being at the Final Four is like by talking to coaches and players who have participated over the years. Currently, I am reading "The Doomsday Key" by James Rollins. I've read one other book by Rollins, "Altar of Eden" which was okay, but I am enjoying this more, as it is more heavily involved with historical artifacts, and ancient mysteries.

Kelli wrote: "Miranda wrote: "I'm about halfway through The Lost Gate, by Orson Scott Card, and it's so good that the story has been in the back of my mind while I do everything else for the last two days. The ..."

I've read a couple of books by Card. My personal favorite is "Songmaster", which I would highly recommend.

Like you, I enjoy reading about presidents and enjoy presidential history. I had seen this book, and figured I would want to read it someday, but after reading your review, I'm going to read it sooner rather than later!

Nate: Today we’re discussing the book “Hunting Eichmann”, by Neal Bascomb, which focuses on the search for the Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann in the years following World War II. I have to say, Dave, I didn’t know a lot of the details surrounding Eichmann, the search for him, and the way he was actually tracked down and captured. But it was almost like a Hollywood script, to be honest.

Dave: I agree. This has to be one of the most intriguing manhunts of a Nazi criminal following World War II. He lived such a non-descript life in South America – really a meek existence, and kind of faded into the background. But the search for him never completely died, and one slip-up finally did him in.

Nate: For those who don’t know, Adolf Eichmann was a leader in the Nazi party, who had a hand in much of what went on in many of the concentration camps during the Holocaust. But after the war, he managed to escape capture and eventually fled to Argentina, where he lived for years.

Dave: I have to say, I always find it interesting that the Nazi leaders, such as Eichmann are able to separate the evil they were doing from the “job” they were performing. The excuse always seemed to be that they were just doing their job, or doing their duty, or following orders. The evil almost wasn’t real for them because in their minds it was just what they had to do. Somehow, they are able to separate a job, from the morality of being a human being.

Nate: And this was completely true of Eichmann. When he was living in South America, years after the Holocaust, he convinced himself that what he did in the concentration camps, all the death and murder he was responsible for, was just something he had to do. He even went so far as to claim that he felt no animosity towards the Jewish people, and that he felt he was a friend of the Jews. It’s hard to believe someone could dilute themselves that much, but he obviously did.

Dave: What about the whole story of how he was actually found in South America?

Nate: As I said, the whole manhunt almost has a Hollywood feel to it. The few people who were still interested in bringing Nazi war criminals to justice in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s had practically given up on finding him, because there were no fresh leads. There were rumors of his whereabouts all over the world, but no one was really sure where he was until his son, in Argentina, made some comments to the father of a girl he was dating which aroused suspicion.

Dave: It seemed like a harmless little comment, but he said it to the wrong guy, because it made its ways to Germany, eventually to Israel, and the Israeli Intelligence Agency, the Mossad.

Nate: And that was where the book simply took off for me. Finding out how the Mossad orchestrated the capture and removal of Eichmann was astounding, because Argentina was known for being friends with, and harboring Nazi war criminals. They were not going to assist the Mossad with Eichmann’s capture and extradition.

Dave: That’s right. They had to go into Argentina without anyone knowing they were there, do surveillance on him, determine whether this man really was Eichmann, capture him, detain him, and then remove him from the country without anyone knowing they were ever there.

Nate: The way they did it was incredible. They handpicked the members of the team that would participate, many of whom had either been in concentration camps during the war, or had loved ones murdered by the Nazis. Everyone involved felt a higher calling for the mission, and knew how important it was.

Dave: But yet, as emotional as it was for the agents involved, there was a deep sense of professionalism, in terms of how they did their jobs, and how they treated Eichmann once they captured him.

Nate: There were some rumblings initially about wanting to kill him once they got him, but that was put to rest quickly by cooler, professional heads, as you said, understanding the significance of capturing him and putting him on trial to face his crimes in front of the world.

Dave: How about all of the planning, and hoops they had to go through to make sure every detail of their plan worked?

Nate: Exactly. For every small detail they came up with for the overall plan, they had to think of twenty different things that could go wrong, and the ways they could overcome each of those problems. It was absolutely fascinating to see this in action. And then during the capture and removal, to see what things went right and what went wrong, and how they compensated for all of that, was incredible as well. Again, much of it was almost like it had been written for Hollywood.

Dave: What heroes stood out to you in the book?

Nate: I thought Fritz Hauber, the German official who relayed the information of Eichmann’s whereabouts to Israel, was pretty gutsy. He knew his actions could be considered treasonous, but he also knew that his government, if armed with that information, would do little or nothing to bring Eichmann to justice. And then, of course, the Mossad agents and other Israelis involved in the capture.

Dave: I thought the “Nazi Hunters” who kept searching for Eichmann over the years, such as Simon Wiesenthal and Tuviah Friedman deserve a lot of credit, not necessarily for the actual capture, but they were always pushing government leaders to keep up the search, and tracking down information. At the trial, much of the evidence that was used against Eichmann came from information those guys managed to scrounge up in the fifteen years after the war.

Nate: One of the best things about this book is how I think it would appeal to a lot of different readers. Certainly if you like reading about history or World War II, you would find this book fascinating. But I think it would also appeal to readers of fiction, who like thrillers, suspense, and international intrigue as well. It almost reads like an exciting fictional story.

Dave: I completely agree. I also like how it fills in the gaps of history. I think that a lot of people have heard of Eichmann, know he was a Nazi, and maybe even know it took years to track him down and capture him. But this gives all the amazing details you would never find in a history book. You really get to know the people who were involved, which makes it seem more personal and real.

Nate: I couldn’t agree more. I think what we’re both saying is that this is definitely a book worth reading, for many reasons, and would appeal to many readers!