Freedom From Fear- David M. Kennedy- January 2012

[Alias Reader]

Chapter 13 - Gathering Storm

P 397

The crisis in barren and remote Ethiopia was a turning point. The inability of the powers to stop Mussolini's war of aggression, Winston Churchill later reflected, 'played a part in leading to an infinitely more terrible war.'

I never really focused on this, but I can now see how important this was.

I am enjoying this chapter and learning a lot !

[Alias Reader]

I was looking on the net for more info on the Ethiopian war and found this. Simplistic but easy to understand.

I've written the 5 points in the margin of the text.
I also like to copy these into Word and put a copy in the text when I think it explains things more clearly.

War History: Why did Italy invade Ethiopia? What did they hope to gain by it?

There were a bunch of reasons, none of them very good.

1. Revenge for an earlier defeat in 1896.
2. Access to the Red Sea.
3. Keep up with the Joneses. France and England had colonies in Africa. Italy wanted one too.
4. Ethiopia was weak, so they could get away with it.
5. National honor, rather than gain.


Here is a slightly longer, more formal explanation:

Italian dictator Benito Mussolini had long held a desire for a new Italian Empire. Reminiscent of the Roman Empire, Mussolini’s new empire was to rule over the Mediterraneanand North Africa. His new empire would also avenge past Italian defeats. Chief among these defeats was the Battle of Adowa which took place in Abyssinia on March 1, 1896. Mussolini promised the Italian people "a place in the sun", matching the extensive colonial empires of Britain and France.

Ethiopia was a very spectacular candidate of this expansionist goal for several reasons. Following the "Scramble for Africa" by the European imperialists, it was one of the few remaining independent African nations, probably due to its inhospitable and very mountainous terrain. Acquiring Ethiopia would serve to unify Italian-held Eritrea and Italian Somaliland. In addition, Ethiopia was considered to be militarily weak; much of the indigenous tribal forces were still largely armed with spears and shields, and its airforce comprised only twelve aircraft. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Italo-Ab...

http://askville.amazon.com/War-Histor...

[Alias Reader]

Chapter 13 - Gathering Storm

P395
The Neutrality Acts were laws that were passed by the United States Congress in the 1930s, in response to the growing turmoil in Europe and Asia that eventually led to World War II. They were spurred by the growth in isolationism and non-interventionism in the US following its costly involvement in World War I, and sought to ensure that the US would not become entangled again in foreign conflicts.

The legacy of the Neutrality Acts in the 1930s was widely regarded as having been generally negative: they made no distinction between aggressor and victim, treating both equally as "belligerents"; and they limited the US government's ability to aid Britain against Nazi Germany. The acts were largely repealed in 1941, in the face of German submarine attacks on U.S. vessels and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Sometimes if I look up things on the net to further help me understand a topic it clarifies things for me and help me remember things. Hope this little factoids help you, too. :)

[Alias Reader]

Chapter 13

I finished this chapter and found it to be simply excellent. It's the most concise, lucid and enlightening piece I've read on the buildup to WWII. This chapter is worth the whole price of the book.

[Alias Reader]

A few more book mentioned in this chapter.


For Whom the Bell Tolls~Ernest Hemingway

The Rape of Nanking~Iris Chang

The Good Earth~Pearl S. Buck

Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Rendezvous with Destiny~Frank Freidel

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany~William L. Shirer

Beyond Belief: The American Press and the Coming of the Holocaust, 1933-1945~Deborah E. Lipstadt

While Six Million Died: A Chronicle of American Apathy~A.D. Morse

On page 417 the author discusses the SS. St. Louis.
A good movie, which I haven't seen in ages, and should see if my library has it, is the 1976 movie
Voyage of the Damned
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075406/
Voyage of the Damned~Gordon Thomas

[Alias Reader]

From the above list I've read:


For Whom the Bell Tolls- Excellent

The Good Earth~Pearl S. Buck - Read in school and again a few years ago. The back story that David Kennedy gives this book puts it into a whole new light for me.

The Rape of Nanking~Iris Chang
I've heard so much about this book. I haven't read it yet because I don't know if I can deal with it's horrendous subject matter.

Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Rendezvous with Destiny~Frank Freidel
The synopsis for the book says: The best single-volume biography of our greatest twentieth-century present Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Since I am a FDR nut, I will have to put this on my TBR list.

[Julie]

Alias Reader wrote: "Chapter 13

I finished this chapter and found it to be simply excellent. It's the most concise, lucid and enlightening piece I've read on the buildup to WWII. This chapter is worth the whole pric..."

That's great! I am going to try to get through chapter 12 tonight so that maybe I can get caught up by the end of the week. I just got past the photos, which were nice.

The only book I read in your last list was The Good Earth (in high school). I don't remember much about that one either.

[Madrano]

Thanks for the book list, Alias. I've read The Innocents Abroad~Mark Twain, A mixed bag for me, as Twain oft times is. However, i liked reading about travel "back then".

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court~Mark Twain. Same note, although it's fun.

The Great Gatsby~F. Scott Fitzgerald. I've read it a couple of times. While i like it enough, i still don't see the brilliance others do.

A Farewell to Arms~Ernest Hemingway. Really, we just don't want to get into my thoughts on Hemingway. How the same man could have written The Old Man and the Sea is beyond me.

All Quiet on the Western Front~Erich Maria Remarque. I really liked this book.

The Good Earth~Pearl S. Buck. Read as a teenager, i missed much, of course, but still had a fond memory. When we read it as a group (i think it was this group), i liked it much better and can see why it remains beloved.

The Rape of Nanking~Iris Chang. Alias, it is harsh and mostly ignored history, until Chang wrote her book. There are images which i seem unable to get out of my head. However, there are some remarkable stories of heroism, as well.

I have only Their Finest Hour from the WWII series by Churchill. And i haven't even read that! I suspect my thinking was that i'd like to read Gathering Storm first.

Thank you for continuing to post about this book. I'm learning bits & pieces as you discuss.

deb

[Alias Reader]

I'm glad you are enjoying it, Deb. The posts help me clarify my thoughts.

For those that want to learn about the Great Depression and WWII, this book really is excellent. The writing is terrific. I can see why it is a Pulitzer Prize winner.

It's a big book, but so is the topic at hand. It's well worth the effort and time it takes to read it. I like how we are doing it, a chapter a week. It gives me time to think about it and explore a bit on the internet.

[Julie]

Alias Reader wrote: "For those that want to learn about the Great Depression and WWII, this book really is excellent. The writing is terrific...."

I agree. It is not a casual, easy read but I recommend it for anyone with a real desire to learn about this time period who is used to reading some non-fiction. I was never much into history class in school and I am not used to reading about presidents and politics like you Alias, so the fact that I like this book says a lot about how good it is!

[Madrano]

When/If i ever get the inclination to read more about this era (& for some reason, i have never been) this is the book i'll read. Your discussions & sharing of material has helped me realize what a valuable book it is for exploring this period. Thank you for that.

deb

[Alias Reader]

Madrano wrote post #58
:The Rape of Nanking~Iris Chang. Alias, it is harsh and mostly ignored history, until Chang wrote her book. There are images which i seem unable to get out of my head. However, there are some remarkable stories of heroism, as well.

--------------------

March 28
It's the birthday of the journalist Iris Chang born in Princeton, New Jersey (1968). She was a talkative, but serious, child. She began writing while she was still in grade school, starting an advice column à la "Dear Abby." She won a "young author" competition when she was 10, and in high school, she was always writing and publishing something. When she began working as a journalist, she drove herself very hard, not eating or sleeping for days at a time. She wrote books about the Nanking Massacre, the history of the Chinese in America, and the Bataan Death March — which was the book she was working on when she had a nervous breakdown. She stopped taking her medication because it made her groggy and unable to work. She was in therapy and had a plan for recovery. But she was unable to overcome her illness, and she committed suicide not far from her home in San Jose, California, in 2004.

-The Writer's Almanac is produced by Prairie Home Productions and presented by American Public Media.

[Julie]

I like this quote. P. 406.
"It's a terrible thing to look over your shoulder when you are trying to lead and find no one there".--Roosevelt

[Julie]

Thanks for looking up and posting the extra info Alias. I am still reading the chapter but I find the info helpful.

[Alias Reader]

Julie wrote: "Thanks for looking up and posting the extra info Alias. I am still reading the chapter but I find the info helpful."

---------------

:) I find it helps me, too. It helps me to organize my thoughts. That is why I often take notes when reading non fiction. Even if I never read the notes again, just the act of trying to organize my thoughts and getting it down on paper helps me realize what I know and what I need to research a bit more.

And having a Buddy to read a book with is very helpful !
So thank you for sticking with this long project.

[Alias Reader]

Julie wrote: "I like this quote. P. 406.
"It's a terrible thing to look over your shoulder when you are trying to lead and find no one there".--Roosevelt"

-------------

Yes, being President can be a lonely job I imagine.

[Julie]

Long project is right! We are only about halfway done. Don't get me wrong, I like the book alot, but my attention span doesn't normally hold up this long! :-) Good news is that I will no longer be a week behind. I am almost done with this week's chapter. It doesn't help that I have also been dragging another book out forever. Once I finish that I will feel better. :-)

[Alias Reader]

It's a big project, but I think your suggestion that we read only one chapter a week makes it very easy to do. And by doing it this way I can read the chapter at a thoughtful pace and not feel I need to rush through it.

Years ago at BNC we read a chapter a week of
A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present~Howard Zinn and it worked out very well. It's a terrific book.

[Julie]

I bought that book when I bought Freedom from Fear (had to buy enough to get free shipping!) I am definately not going to read them in a row though. :-)

[Madrano]

Julie wrote: "Long project is right! We are only about halfway done. Don't get me wrong, I like the book alot..."

I'm smiling in recognition. An online friend & i began reading Europe: A History by Norman Davies in 2002, i believe it was. It was not our intent to read within a time frame because as we read each chapter, we wanted to read other material (books, articles, etc.) before moving to the next era/chapter. I think it took us a year of reading about ancient Greeks before we decided we wanted to move forward. It's been a decade now & we are beginning the Reformation. Or did we do that already? Regardless, we're about halfway through the text, not mention the delightful passages in the back of the book.

This progress has suited us & i'm glad we are going at this pace. I liked the way we read the Zinn book, too. It kept me on target, helping me remember more of it.

deb

[Julie]

That's cool Deb. It's like a two decade long history class!

[Madrano]

Neat way to put it, Julie. We've certainly enjoyed the pace & learned much in the process.

[Alias Reader]

Chapter 14

There was so much happening in this chapter. I should probably read it again.

I thought the quote on page 438 was interesting.
"I felt as if I was walking with destiny." Churchill
I had the same feeling about FDR when I read the excellent book by Jonathan Alter- The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope.

It's almost hard to comprehend how the countries fell so quickly to Hitler. I can't imagine how the citizens felt. I also find it hard to imagine what the Blitz was like for the British citizens. I've read that many slept in the subway system at night and then came out during the day to go about their normal business. The courage and fortitude that must have taken when they knew that 10,000 of their fellow citizens had died is enormous. I would like to read a book about that. I see Amazon has a few interesting ones.

P461 Interesting to read about how the war was fought psychologically, too, when Hitler canceled Operation Sealion. It's fascinating to read how things could have turned out so differently if certain things didn't fall exactly into place as they did.

P 443 talks of the personal relationship between FDR and Churchill. It reminded me of a book I have on my TBR list. Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship~Jon Meacham

Page 452
Mers el-Kebir
I wasn't totally clear on this. The British killed 1297 French sailors. I can see why it remains controversial to this day.

Wiki says
France and the United Kingdom were not at war but France had signed an armistice with Germany, and Britain feared the French fleet would end up as a part of the German Navy. Although French Admiral François Darlan had assured Winston Churchill[2] the fleet would not fall into German possession, the British acted upon the assumption that Darlan's promises were insufficient guarantees.[3] The attack remains controversial to this day, and created much rancour between Britain and France, but it also demonstrated to the world and to the United States in particular, Britain's commitment to continue the war with Germany.[4]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_o...

[Madrano]

I was unfamiliar with the Mers el-Kebir attack. How profoundly sad that it came to that situation. And the numbers of lives lost is staggering.

I wonder if the book will mention Exercise Tiger, where many lives were lost in a sort of D-Day practice. When i first heard of this, i was as stunned as i am about the Mers el-Kebir. Yes, we know many thousands died but sometimes reading about the specific, less renowned, events can still shock us. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise...

deb

[Alias Reader]

Madrano wrote:wonder if the book will mention Exercise Tiger, where many lives were lost in a sort of D-Day practice.
-------------

That is horrible. I've never heard of Exercise Tiger. The magnitude of lives lost in WWII is just staggering.

[Madrano]

True. I sometimes wonder how many others i do not know. It was over 25 years ago that i first heard about all those deaths from "a D Day practice run in England." That was all i knew & could find nothing, even several years after the internet was thriving for PCs. Finally, i tracked it down. Actually, it wasn't as bad as i thought, as there was some reasons for the failure. My original impression had been that practice boats for landing on D Day sunk. Awful.

[Julie]

I haven't gotten to chapter 14 yet. I have had zero time to read except during my lunch (and I only carry smaller books to work). I am going away for the weekend too and won't be reading then. But the good news is...my taxes are done! :-)

[Madrano]

LOL, Julie! That is no small feat some times. Enjoy your weekend.

[Julie]

WWII timeline
http://www.historyonthenet.com/Chrono...

[Julie]

Thanks for the additional info on mers el-kebir. It didn't make sense to me when I first read it either.

What interesting sounding books about the blitz did you find?

[Alias Reader]

Julie wrote: "Thanks for the additional info on mers el-kebir. It didn't make sense to me when I first read it either.

What interesting sounding books about the blitz did you find?"
-------------
You're welcome. I just have it on my topic list, but I haven't researched a book for it yet.

[Alias Reader]

Julie wrote: "WWII timeline
http://www.historyonthenet.com/Chrono..."

=============

That's a good outline to print out and put in the book.

I also just noticed that starting on page 872 are maps.

He should have included a time-line in the book.

[Alias Reader]

I just finished chapter 15.

I found it to be a excellent intro for the war in the Pacific, which I didn't know very well.

[Julie]

Alias Reader wrote: "He should have included a time-line in the book..."

I agree. It helps to summarize the events in proper order in my head.

[Alias Reader]

Julie wrote: "Alias Reader wrote: "He should have included a time-line in the book..."

I agree. It helps to summarize the events in proper order in my head."
------------------

Yes, with the war being fought on so many fronts it can get confusing.

I think a list of names would also have been helpful.
I could only find a very basic list of names online.

[Alias Reader]

Julie, I am sorry that I am a bit behind in my reading. I have a novel I need to finish for my f2f group read. Then I will catch up.

[Julie]

I am glad you are behind because I am more behind than you! I still need to read chapter 15.

[Julie]

Chapter 15
p.469 bottom and 470 top talk about the Roosevelt's Four Freedoms and Norman Rockwell. Thsi link shows the paintings Rockwell did of the Four Freedoms. I've seen Freedom from Want before, but had no idea about it's meaning.
http://www.normanrockwellvt.com/FourF...

Roosevelt's speech:
http://www.normanrockwellvt.com/FourF...

[Alias Reader]

I don't recall ever seeing that Rockwell painting before. And I saw a large exhibit in D.C. a few years ago.

I have a coffee table book of his paintings. I have to see if it's in there. Maybe I just never noticed because I didn't know the connection and background info.

I believe in the book, in the next section of pictures, they have a photo of it. too.

Thanks for the links. I'll check them out.

[Madrano]

I've seen 3 of the 4 paintings previously but didn't realize they were part of a series with relevance to FDR & the era. The freedom from fear is not one i might have associated, as i just thought it was a "tucking in" of the li'l ones. Missing the detail of the newspaper made a difference!

deb

[Alias Reader]

Madrano wrote: I've seen 3 of the 4 paintings previously but didn't realize they were part of a series with relevance to FDR & the era. The freedom from fear is not one i might have associated, as i just thought it was a "tucking in" of the li'l ones. Missing the detail of the newspaper made a difference!
-------

The photo in the book has this caption:
The Four Freedoms. Popular artist Norman Rockwell here rendered artistically a notable passage from Franklin Roosevelt's address of January 5, 1941., when he spoke of the "four Freedoms" that were threatened by German and Japanese aggression.

There are words above and below each picture.

Save freedom of Speech --- Buy War Bonds
Save Freedom of Worship --- Buy War Bonds
OURS...to fight for ---- Freedom From Want
OURS...to fight for ---- Freedom From War.

In the book I can't read what is written on the newspaper.

The book says they are at paintings are at the National Archives but doesn't say which one.

The National Archives website is quite interesting.
http://www.archives.gov/

I thought it was done with all four in one painting. But I guess that was done later for papers and posters.
Here are various layouts of the Four Freedoms.
http://www.google.com/search?q=norman...

I see on Ebay they also have it in something they call "quilting fabric".
http://compare.ebay.com/like/20056943...

[Sarah]

I've always enjoyed the Four Freedoms paintings by Rockwell. You can't read the whole headline on the folded newspaper the father is holding in Freedom from War, but the part you can see says "Bombings Ki. . . . ." on the first line, and "Horrors Hi . . ." on the second.

[Alias Reader]

Thanks for the newspaper info, Sarah.

And thank you, Julie, for bringing up the topic. I know our discussion will help me remember things I may have glossed over in my reading.

Norman Rockwell's paintings, in general, remind us of a simply and idolized past.

WWII and the Great Depression, the topics of this book, could also be said was a time of lost innocence.

[Madrano]

Alias Reader wrote: "The National Archives website is quite interesting.
http://www.archives.gov/
..."

I think the Archives can be one of the most interesting stops in D.C. when a good exhibit is on. Once i saw one which featured letters & items from non-celebrity citizens. It was outstanding. Still, with almost every exhibit, i wonder what else they have that we'll probably never glimpse. While i know this is true for other national/federal museums i feel it more with the archives because they seem to chronicle "us" more than the others, which seem to focus on the well-known. Or, perhaps, "better-known" would be a better term.

deb

[Alias Reader]

Madrano wrote:I think the Archives can be one of the most interesting stops in D.C. when a good exhibit is on.
-------------
My trip to D.C. was only a few days but one of the best I've ever had. There is so much to see and do. My sister and I could barely walk at the end of each the day we did so much. I can't wait to go back someday.

[Julie]

Sounds like my trip to San Diego in february. My back hurt every day from walking around and standing.

[Madrano]

Love the pain traveling gives us! I identify with both of you but it's such a reward to sit years later, achy feet & back allayed, with the good memories of sights seen & things learned.

[Alias Reader]

Chapter 16 War in the Pacific

I've read half of this chapter but since there is so much here I thought I would post on it.

Here are links for a few of the books mentioned.

At Dawn We Slept: The Untold Story of Pearl Harbor~Gordon W. Prange

Churchill: A Life~~Martin Gilbert

Roosevelt: The Soldier of Freedom, 1940-1945~~James MacGregor Burns

The Second World War~~John Keegan

Pearl Harbor: Warning and Decision~~Roberta Wohlstetter

And since the Battan Death March is discussed in this chapter, I thought I would mention a really terrific and inspiring book
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption~~Laura Hillenbrand

Also since the chapter discusses the Pearl Harbor attack, I have to recommend a terrific 1970 movie Tora, Tora, Tora. It really is a must see.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066473/

[Alias Reader]

The author discusses the fact that the not a single battleship remain in action in the U.S. Pacific Fleet after Pearl. Then he notes that no U.S. Fleet carries had been at Pearl and were thus unharmed.

I have to say I don't know the exact difference between a battleship and a Fleet carrier. So here is what I found at Wiki.

A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships are larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a nation's naval power from about 1875 up until World War II. With the rise of air power, guided missiles, and guided bombs, large guns were no longer deemed necessary to establish naval superiority and as a result battleships faded from use.

A fleet carrier is an aircraft carrier that is designed to operate with the main fleet of a nation's navy. The term was developed during the Second World War, to distinguish it from the escort carrier and other lesser types.[1] Fleet carriers include supercarriers and light carriers (light fleet carriers), as well as standard fleet carriers.[2]

The idea of a modern fleet carrier was developed in 1931 by Admirals J.J. Clark and Harvey E. Yarnell of the US Navy. Fleet carriers instead of operating as scouts for the fleet, would operate in unison with the fleet, to ward off air attacks, and to strike opposing forces from the air. Cruisers and destroyers would protect fleet carriers. The place of fleet carriers would then displace dreadnaughts and battleships as the preeminent assets of the surface fleet.[3] A fleet carrier would carry over 50 aircraft, and be fast enough to keep up with other major elements of the fleet, such as cruisers and battleships.[4]

In WWII, a fleet carrier usually carried three squadrons, typically, a fighter squadron, torpedo bomber squadron, and a dive bomber squadron.[5]

[Alias Reader]

Page 523
Footnote

Fifty representatives and six senators, by contrast, had voted against the resolution taking the United States into WWI in 1917. Jeannette Rankin of Montana, the first women elected to Congress, has the distinction of being the only person who voted against both war resolutions.

I never hear of her name and found her actions fascinating and wondered what her possible explanation could be. So to the Internet I went.


Wiki
Jeannette Pickering Rankin (June 11, 1880 – May 18, 1973) was the first woman in the US Congress. A Republican, she was elected statewide in Montana in 1916 and again in 1940. A lifelong pacifist, she is the only member of Congress to have voted against the entry of the United States into both World War I in 1917 and World War II in 1941. She is the only woman to be elected to Congress from Montana.

Her domestic and foreign politics lie within the strict lines of Pacifism, and despite overwhelming unpopularity at the time, have resulted in a legacy that helped propel the second wave of feminism and pacifism during the 1960s and 1970s.

However, just after her term began, the House held a vote on whether or not to enter World War I. Rankin cast one of 50[7] votes against the resolution, earning her immediate vilification by the press. About her vote, Rankin later said, "I felt the first time the first woman had a chance to say no to war she should say it."

With World War II tempting US involvement, Rankin argued that the enemy was not abroad, but rather residing in the US itself in the form of hunger, poverty, unemployment, and disease. She advocated the buildup of a national defense, but did not encourage an active participation in the world war.

She defended her vote by saying, "As a woman, I can't go to war and I refuse to send anyone else."

On the 18th of May 1973, just weeks before her 93rd birthday, Jeannette Pickering Rankin died of old age in Carmel, Ca. However, Rankin remained as active in politics as she could right up until her death.

Her contributions to various feminist movements cannot be ignored, and continue to be relevant today.

For Full Wiki article -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeannett...




I think reading a bio of her would be fascinating. I'm happy to see my library has a few of these.

Jeannette Rankin, America's Conscience~Norma Smith

Jeannette Rankin: Political Pioneer~Gretchen Woelfle

A Heart in Politics: Jeannette Rankin and Patsy T. Mink~Sue Davidson

Jeannette Rankin: A Political Woman~James J. Lopach

Jeannette Rankin: First Lady of Congress~~Trish Marx

Flight Of The Dove, The Story Of Jeannette Rankin~Kevin S. Giles

Is There a Woman in the House-- Or Senate?~Bryna J. Fireside