Sigrid Weidenweber's Blog, page 4

The Blog-Tour is progressing

Dear Reader,

Below you will find the link to tune in on the blog-tour for my trilogy "Volga Flows Forever." Cheryl Christensen is the reviewer for the first book "Catherine," the historical novel about Catherine the Great. I hope you will join the discourse and, most of all, go on line, download the book and steep yourself in vibrant history. You may also buy a hard-bound, signed copy from me. If you are intersted, leave a request below this blog and I will contact you at your "correct" e-mail address. Thank you, Sigrid

Conversation History

Cheryl Christenson

10:19am Nov 2

Sigrid, I am the publicist running your online book review tour with MediaGuests. Here is the first review link for you. I think you'll like it. http://www.facebook.com/l/xAQFr4HRxAQ...

Sigrid Weidenweber

6:17pm Nov 3,

Dear Cheryl,

I just came back from four days’ vacation and found your message. I love what you wrote about Catherine. You totally understood what I tried to accomplish. I became the young girl, the woman, the monarch— through the historical data. Perhaps it was easier for me to do than for someone else, because of my German background, the knowledge of culture and customs of the country. In addition I must mention that I spoke and read Russian fluently forty years ago and was also steeped in Russian culture and literature. The Russian author and dissident Vladimir Bukovsky has read all my works, commented very favorably on all of them and made me aware of two minor oversights.  

Please let me know what I can do for you, helping your readers to receive all the knowledge on the book they might want.

Warm regards, Sigrid Weidenweber

Sigrid,

I also understand the benefits of embracing one's heritage. I do genealogy research for my ancestors in Denmark parish records. I really feel their joy and pain as I read through the christenings and burials and get a glimpse of their lives. The joy of a live birth, the pain of burying many young children, it all becomes real through those scant records. This tour is an adventure of the same flavor. Glimpses into a real life of such historical magnitude. I'm enjoying it!

Thank you for your work and passion.

Cheryl

           

 

Another Wall Street Journal Exclusive

You, who return often to this site, know, of course, that I am very attached to the Wall Street Journal because, in my opinion, it is the last balanced newspaper left in the country. If you compare the articles featured in the WSJ to those of any other paper in the USA, you will see soon enough the difference in reportage.

Having said this, I will go on to talk about another pearl I found in the journalistic waters of WSJ. The article is by Ron Paul, he of presidential hopes. The headline of his epistle is as follows: Blame the Fed for the Financial Crisis.

Let me preface the following discourse with the statement that I do agree with many of Mr. Paul ideas, but when he right, he is right. My Opinion! Mr. Paul begins by telling us that to understand the wrongs perpetrated by the Federal Reserve we must first understand the nature of money. And here, with his explanation he performs, my opinion again, a public service. Far too many people have no idea how money works in our economy. I quote Mr. Paul: “Money is like any other good in our economy that emerges from the market to satisfy the needs and wants of consumers. Its particular usefulness is that it helps facilitate indirect exchange, making it easier for us to buy and sell goods because there is a common way of measuring their value.”

He furthermore states that money is not a government phenomenon and should not be managed by government. A central bank, like the Fed can engage in price fixing, which is an act not bringing prosperity but disaster. He accuses the Fed of having caused every boom and bust that occurred since its inception in 1913.

The way I understand his reasoning is, that the Fed, by printing new money and keeping the interest rates artificially low, certain projects, favored by this method, create a boom, as the example of the housing market shows. Also, new money pushed into the economy is an artificial good not supported by real value, as for example machinery, food, commodities, oil, gold and so forth. So what is floating about is nothing but paper that foreign banks, see China, buy, because although the government has nothing to back it with—we, the tax-payer are now indebted to come up with the means of paying off the debt.

Mr. Paul believes that the people working for the Fed believe, as most governmental entities do, that they know best, despite evidence to contrary. He cites the contributions by the Austrian school of economics. This contribution describes the boom and bust business cycle and its antecedents in the intervention by the government.

He quotes the Austrian economists Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich von Hayek who already in the 1920s asserted that in a marketplace where people freely decide what they need and want to pay for is the only effective way to allocate resources. He, somewhat facetiously, adds that this notion may be obvious to most ordinary citizen, but that, however, this simple thought has not penetrated the thinking of the government leaders of today. I do believe that, although I am not an economist. I can, however, add and subtract.

Mr. Paul then compares the actions of our Fed with the financial workings of the former Soviet Union---a very interesting comparison, indeed.

Now if you want to know more about Mr. Paul’s thoughts on the matter you must read his article in the Wall Street’s Journal of Thursday, October 20, 2011, page
A 17. I hope that I whetted your appetite to consume more interesting ideas on the subject, so seek out the WSJ.

  

 

More Readers' Best Quotes

 




Dear fellow lovers of great quotes and pronouncements. We filled two blogs with pithy mental bursts of interesting people. Yet, so great is the liking for a truthful phrase well-turned that in my perusal of reader notes I found a new plethora of great sayings. Some of the quotes made me laugh, some made me think, and in the process of checking correct spelling I came to learn more history of famous minds. Thank you readers for enriching my life! We had comments and quotes from Poland, France, Germany, India and some unidentified places. However, if people comment in their native languages, unless it is German, Russian or Spanish, I eradicate the message because I have no clue what to do with their quotes. Having said that, we shall proceed with more mind-enriching offerings.

“Meetings are indispensable when you don’t want to do anything.” by John Kenneth Galbraith, offered by Pecinansky984
“Time discovers truth.” By Lucius Annanaeus Seneca, sent by Colarossi 1928

“Washington is the only place where sound travels faster than light.” by CVR Thompson, sent by Kammer 1351
“The capacity to care is what gives life its most deepest significance.” by Pablo Casals, sent by Lawver 20
“Solitude is fine, but you need someone to tell you that solitude is fine.” by Honore` de Balzac, sent by Winterholler 63
“Talent does what it can, genius does what it must.” by Edward George Bulwer-Litton, sent by Tridel 193
Here is a German quote, which I will translate after quoting. “Wer nur um Gewinn kaempft, erntet nichts wofuer es sich lohnt zu leben.” No author, sent by Fatora 81. “He, who fights only for material gain, reaps nothing that makes life worth living.”
“Never take the advice of someone who has not had your kind of trouble.” by Sydney J. Harris, sent by Hrbacek1690
“Experience—a comb life gives you after you lose your hair.” by Judith Stern, sent by Bulland 1094. This one cracked me up. Guess I belong to the gang that is losing hair.
“That is true wisdom, to know when to alter one’s mind when occasion demands it.” by Terrence, sent by Shiminsky 8
“I have to be myself, I can’t be no one else…” by Noah Gallagher, sent by Kapsalis1430
“No man is wise enough by himself.” By Titus Maccius Plautus, sent by Durick 1785 While we are speaking of Plautus, we might as well gather knowledge about him: Plautus was an esteemed dramatist (circa 254 – 184 B.C.). He is still known among lovers of comedic writing to this day. Compare him to Lukian, or Lucian (circa 125 – 180 A. D.), who claimed to be a Syrian, a satirist, whose work I adore
“It is a very hard undertaking to seek to please everybody.” by Publilius Syrus sent by Sago 1105 Publilius, for your edification, was a writer of maxims in the first century B. C. A Syrian brought as a slave to Italy he amazed with his wit and talent. For that he was freed by his master and educated. Which goes to show a good mind is appreciated, unless it shows up a superior’s short-comings.
“Never contend with a man who has nothing to lose.” Baltasar Gracian y Morales, sent by Waide 428 Morales was a Spanish Jesuit (1601- 1658) and a writer of prose. He also was the author of a plethora of great quotes.

And with that, I thank all of you for sending quotes and enriching our lives with these thoughtful morsels of wisdom and experience. May we all take away in our minds the essence of their offerings.



  









 



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IS THE GOVERNMENT THE IDEAL SHEPHERD FOR US, THE WAYWARD FLOCK?

I cannot imagine what my mornings would be like without the Wall Street Journal. The pearls I find therein are well beyond the realm of ordinary papers. I find myself going blithely on thought-provoking journeys stimulated by reports. Best of all, the fare presented is fairly balanced between the liberal and conservative outlook on the world. In the Saturday /Sunday, October 1-2, 2011 edition, I found an intriguing book review of Jeffrey Sachs’ work, The Price of Civilization, by Paul Ryan.

As I joyously romped through the cerebral review, I found myself once again contemplating the vexing dilemma of mankind. Everything a human hand touches and a human brain designs is inherently flawed by restrictions set upon us. Whatever system we choose, however hale and moral it may be in its antecedents, sooner or later enough quarreling over spoils, laurels or power will ruin the grand design. We are always left with Hobson’s choice—which system is the lesser evil of the two. We have all felt being in a quandary when choosing a president. Bifurcated are our thoughts on many political issues. As human beings we often cannot foresee the end result of our best laid plans. Who would have thought that gunpowder invented by the Chinese and used for entertainment would soon power weapons of war? The same formula holds for the splitting of the atom. I doubt Madam Currie had in mind the creation of atomic weapons capable to destroy all of human kind. Yet, clever, ruthless people soon found a way to split atoms for arms.

In his review Mr. Ryan states that Mr. Sachs carries into our day, Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s reasoning that people in a commercial society are:  “scheming, violent, greedy, ambitious, servile, and knavish.” Yes, they are and always have been no matter the social system in which they function. Unfortunately mankind is not created equal, except for the inalienable rights granted by their creator, and we all know that tyrants do not care about that which is granted by God.

Since we are not equal in any other way, but are uniquely different, as different as splicing genes can make us, we will always suffer from different desires, wants and beliefs. Just give me a group of twenty people and they will often hold twenty different ideas on subjects important to their wellbeing. Just look at general elections. California has some of the highest taxes in the nation, is deeply in debt, with fraying infra-structure, oppressed by unions, with a student population of which almost half is certifiably unable to speak the English language and in need of special tutoring for years to come, therefore, it boggles the mind to observe how the populace elects the same corrupt governing body again and again.

It has been said that it true insanity to repeat the action over and over again with disastrous results and expect different results. Well, maybe we have grown comfortable with elected officials who treat the mob like a stupid herd of cattle, because we let them do exactly that. In his book, Mr. Jeffrey Sachs utters precisely this kind of reasoning. Although he acknowledges that the governments, large and small, in the US of A are corrupt and incompetent, he would have us believe that more of it is better. Thank you very much, dear author, but I for one want less and less of the overwhelming load of bureaucrats that is crushing us under their salaries and retirement accounts. I want fewer rules, fewer Tsars, fewer laws, lawyers and regulations. I have lived through a government of Socialists once before under Communism and once was more than enough. I happily throw my lot in with the free enterprise system that I recognize as the only system to have enriched the most citizens of any country in the world. While travelling all over the world, I have seen with my own eyes that our poor are still richer than 89%, or thereabout, of the people in the world.

Mr. Sachs alludes to the constitutional right to happiness. He wishes, according to Mr. Ryan to establish quantification of America’s citizens happiness and what is lacking therein, and then, have the government do everything to make them happy. What a pathetic dreamer!! I have never in my long life met anyone who was made happy by the efforts of another man. Sorry! One must go out and smell one’s own roses, hike one’s own mountain and decide that it better to love and hurt sometimes than to sit back and wait for someone to bring perfect love. And with this morsel of hard acquired wisdom I will leave you for today.

Paraprosdokians--Do you Know What They Are?

Dear Readers, Lately I have been amusing myself with odd and strange things in the language. I cannot not bear leaving you without the true under standing of what a paraprosdokian is. So, here we go: I had to look up "paraprosdokian". Here is the definition: "Figure of speech, in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected; frequently used in a humorous situation."

"Where there's a will, I want to be in it," is a type of paraprosdokian. Okay! Now that you know what they are like, enjoy! This collection was assembled by Jon Hammond. I enjoyed them.

1. Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on my list.

3. Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

4. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.

5. We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.

6. War does not determine who is right - only who is left.

7. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

8. Evening news is where they begin with 'Good Evening,' and then proceed to tell you why it isn't.

9. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.

10. A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station.

11. I thought I wanted a career. Turns out I just wanted paychecks.

12. Whenever I fill out an application, in the part that says, 'In case of emergency, notify:' I put 'DOCTOR.'

13. I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

14. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

15. Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.

16. A clear conscience is the sign of a fuzzy memory.

17. I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn't work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.

18. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.

19. Money can't buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.

20. There's a fine line between cuddling and holding someone down so they can't get away.

21. I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure.

22. You're never too old to learn something stupid.

23. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.

24. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

25. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

26. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

27. A diplomat is someone who tells you to go to hell in such a way that you look forward to the trip.

28. Hospitality is making your guests feel at home even when you wish they were.

29. I always take life with a grain of salt—plus a slice of lemon, and a shot of tequila.

30. When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water.

Words of Wisdom:  "The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."                 ~ Jon Hammond

 

 

Reader Response

A while back I posted a selection of quotes and sayings. Lo and behold, today I found blog-readers responding with quotes they cherish. I have not gone to the trouble of checking the authenticity of the quotes or whether they were applied to the rightful author. I just share them, as they came.

“What passes for optimism is most often the effect of an intellectual error.” Claude Ferdinand Aaron

I like that one! Sent by “Respass 1834”

“…obstacles do not exist to be surrendered to, but only to be broken.” Adolph Hitler

Sent by Hansome 55        That quote reminds me of a very famous quote, loaded with truth, also by Hitler:  “If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed…”   Truth is—all politicians live by that rule.

“The human spirit needs to accomplish, to achieve, to triumph to be happy.”  Ben Stein

Sent by Velega 430

“Better by far you should forget and smile than that you should remember and be sad.” Christina Georgina Rossetty

Sent by Sespinosa 237

“It is easy to be nice, even to an enemy—from a lack of character.” Dag Hammarskjold

Sent by Ebinger 1000     

“You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses.”   Ziggy

Sent by Salata 738

“Wisdom doesn’t necessarily come with age. Sometimes age just shows up by itself.”  Woodrow Wilson

Sent by Beverage 954

“I don’t care what they write about me so long as it isn’t true.”   Dorothy Parker

Sent by Billing 1858

“Let every man mind his own business.” Miguel de Cervantes

Sydney 985

More Profound Pronouncements:     The dark side of charisma is narcissism. Sharon Watkins Enron

A wise historian has said that to plan for the future without a sense of the past is like trying to plant a garden with cut flowers.

“It is impossible to know how precious the mind of a child is if you have not cared for him/her personally.”                                     

                                                                                                                                             Sigrid I Weidenweber

“The Islamic world today is being held prisoner, not by Western but by Islamic captors who are fighting to keep closed a world that a badly outnumbered few are trying to open.”           Salman Rushdie, in his syndicated column.

“A storyniverous planet consumes the writers. A person is like a narrative the strength of which is either revelation or withholding.” David Kirby

 

 

 

 

THE TAX SYSTEM EXPLAINED IN BEER

Well, it had to happen. Today I received in my mail a forward item that is very funny and yet very wise. We must give full credit to David R. Kamerschin, Ph.D. who put this delightful explanation of our tax system together. As I like to share good things, here it is:

  Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100...

If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this... 

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing. 
The fifth would pay $1. 
The sixth would pay $3. 
The seventh would pay $7.. 
The eighth would pay $12. 
The ninth would pay $18. 
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59. 

So, that's what they decided to do.. 

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve ball. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20". Drinks for the ten men would now cost just $80. 

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men? The paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share? 

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. 

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by a higher percentage the poorer he was, to follow the principle of the tax system they had been using, and he proceeded to work out the amounts he suggested that each should now pay.

And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% saving). 
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% saving). 
The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% saving). 
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% saving). 
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% saving). 
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% saving). 

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings. 

"I only got a dollar out of the $20 saving," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,"but he got $10!" 
"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar too. It's unfair that he got ten times more benefit than me!" 
"That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back, when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!" 
"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison, "we didn't get anything at all. This new tax system exploits the poor!" 
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. 

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had their beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill! 

And that, boys and girls, journalists and government ministers, is how our tax system works. The people who already pay the highest taxes will naturally get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas, where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier. 

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D. 
Professor of Economics. 

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.

A Review on my Book Catherine (sent by e-mail from an anonymous male)

Catherine is an adventure into the heart, mind and soul of one of history's
greatest rulers.  The story reveals the full spectrum of a woman's potential
by exploring the breadth and depth of feminine experience. Catherine exposes
everything every woman ever wanted to experience and more. The author
unveils a compassionate insight into Catherine's weaknesses along with an
admiring view of her strengths. She weaves a bold and vivid story about the
daring of one woman meshed with a psychological peeling of the layers of
character found in every woman.
Discover the one weakness which prevented Catherine from advancing history
as she desired and dreamed.  Explore the greatness and flaws in Catherine
and share an in depth analysis of how this tragic and heroic figure was
built up by love and destroyed by love.
Women will laugh and cry in empathy; men will be blessed with insight and
understanding of the full potential and complexities of women. This is a
book for readers who want to experience the true soul of history through one
of the most dramatic lives ever lived.
This is book one of the trilogy, The Volga Flows Forever, which details the
history of the Volga Germans, a unique group of people Catherine enticed to
populate and develop the Volga region.

Thank you dear friend. I could not have said this better myself. S.I. W.

The Upcoming Blog Tour

Oh boy!! Once again I have forgotten to self-promote. I am not very good at that kind of thing. On October 1, 2011 my Blog-Tour begins and I have not even written one line about my books on my own blog.

Well, let me remedy this problem. (Problem for my e-publisher.) My first book of the Volga Flows Forever Trilogy, the historical novel Catherine, about the great Russian Monarch, is available on line via Kindle and Nook. This is not the old historical material rehashed, but a fresh look at a powerful woman who was maligned by those who wished her to fail. Fredrick the Great, who promoted her ascendency to Grand Duchess in Russia, much for his own political reasons but also because he perceived her to have an outstanding mind and a presence of greatness, later chastised her rudely because she rejected to become a docile ally. However, he sought her council and military power when he needed help.

The Russian princes, nobles and boyars often blackened her character by spinning tales about her excessive sexuality, a theme the Turks, the British and every other monarchy loved to expand.

I see Catherine as an enormously intelligent woman, who through character, shrewd-ness and great courage, not to forget diligent, hard work, became one of the most successful and admired monarch’s in the world. She truly was the perfect successor for Peter the Great’s work.

You can find through the same sources the second book of the Volga Trilogy “The Volga Germans.” This book is a continuation of Catherine’s work. She began to settle the Lower Volga region in 1763, inviting settlers from all over Europe to come to Russia. What intrigued me was the fact that almost only Germans eventually followed her three invitations. I found the historical antecedents why that was so.  (Mostly because of the Thirty Year War and the Seven Year War.) The last one of Catherin’s three edicts was loaded with promises of house and money to help the settlers establish villages. Then, horror upon horrors, when the settlers arrived there was nothing—nothing at all, only the immense steppe.

It will not be long now, and the last book of the trilogy, From Gulag to Freedom, will be made available to you. It documents how the communists, led by Stalin, systematically eradicated all opposition through outright murder, the imprisonment in gulags or, as with Volga-German minority men, by throwing them into the frontlines in the war against Hitler. I am telling the story through the eyes of a young Volga-German woman, who, after escaping the gulag with great good luck finds her way to America.

The Roots of Obama's Rage, by Dinesh D'Souza, (Review)

I have been bored to tears by most books I have read lately. I even blogged about this most disturbing development because, basically, I loved to read from the time my mother taught me the letters. You, dear readers, have not been helpful with suggestions so far, and have not recommended any splendid, outstanding books. Well, I managed without your help to find a book that was truly amazing. Dinesh D’Souza, born into an Indian family whose great grandfather was a laborer (they were called coolies than,) on the railroad-line through Kenya and Uganda, says that he and his generation benefitted greatly from British Colonialism. He took on the task to discover what intellectual and emotional forces move President Obama to make decisions for America and its people.

Before I explain Dinesh’s scholarship and reasoning, let me preface the discussion by stating that I evaluate everything written by the following criteria. First: I can accept only logical discourse. Second: I like brevity. Do not try to bamboozle me with a lot of extemporaneous flimflam and hearsay, muddying the water. Third: if I cannot see the straight line leading me through your thought process, I refuse to follow your argument. Fourth: if you use false emotion to make your case I will abandon you and your case immediately. I am not young and cannot waste my time with falsehoods and useless frills.

To make a long story short, Dinesh proposes the hypothesis that Barack Hussein Obama, formerly Barry Soetoro, suffered for many years from an identity crisis, more than that even; he had abandonment issues of enormous proportions. I can agree with him on both points. From the beginning, after reading Obama’s “Dreams of my Father,” I wondered how a young child, particularly a boy, would feel if both, his father and mother, both of different cultures and continents, abandoned him. Imagine the psychological load: two people, male and female, white and black of two different continents, found that they could not love and raise you but abandoned you. Wow!  

In a former life I studied psychology and was particularly intrigued with the child’s mind and development. After all, I had two children of my own. From that viewpoint I would argue that a child treated in this way would have trust issues and inner rage forever.

Dinesh argues that Barry, in order to overcome the multiple issues of race-confusion, abandonment and identity crisis, began to construct a new reality for himself. He does not see himself as an American but as the child of a larger than life man, Obama sr., whose potential was ruined by colonialism. From the moment Barack Obama begins to build the constructs for his persona, researching his father’s past, Barack identifies with his father’s familie's lives under colonialism. This becomes the overriding theme in his mind. He begins to emote the past, ignores that the world has changed. He, however, to live out his father’s dreams, sees neo-colonialism wherever he goes. To him America becomes the biggest neo-colonial nation, the enemy that must be brought to its knees or tamed.

I quote Dinesh: “In other words, Obama is not writing a book about his father’s dreams; he is writing a book about the dreams that he got from his father. Think about what that means. The most powerful country in the world is being governed according to the dreams of a Luo tribesman of the 1950s---a polygamist who abandoned his wives, drank himself into a stupor, and bounced around on two iron legs (after his real legs had to be amputated because of a car crash), raging against the world for denying him the realization of his anti-colonial ambitions. This philandering, inebriated African socialist is now setting this nation’s agenda through his reincarnation of his dreams in his son. The son is the one, who is making it happen, but the son is, as he candidly admits, only living out his father’s dream; the invisible father provides the inspiration and the son dutifully gets the job done. America today is being governed by a ghost.”

Oh, wow, dear Dinesh, what an enormous web of research you weave to make your point. I was thinking, "what a mind," as I was reading my way through the book. As I said earlier, my criteria for judging a book of that character are fairly simple, and I found all fulfilled. Dinesh writes with brevity, intellectual acumen, a straight line through the thought process and no false emotions. I think one has to read the book and draw one’s own conclusions, but I highly recommend the exercise.