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Shawn
Shawn is on page 2 of 200 of Khomeinism: Essays on the Islamic Republic
"'Fundamentalism' implies rejection of the modern world; 'populism' connotes attempts made by nation-states to enter that world."
Oct 19, 2022 09:06AM Add a comment
Khomeinism: Essays on the Islamic Republic

Shawn
Shawn is on page 46 of 264 of The Gulistan or Rose Garden of Sa'di
"I myself might have done it differently, quite differently in places; for if translation is not betrayal, it is at least an inadequate service, and nowhere more so than in the case of a literature like Persian, abounding in echoes, allusions and word-plays of maddening complexity and subtlety."
Oct 19, 2022 08:34AM Add a comment
The Gulistan or Rose Garden of Sa'di

Shawn
Shawn is on page 404 of 560 of Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy
Certainly thorough and comprehensive. I wish it had a glossary for all of the nautical terms, and a diagram of the types of ships. The anatomy of a boat. Another note, the battles are described good enough but I can't help but imagine a better writer putting it all together. Some stuff feels incomplete, or too much summarized. But altogether, this big book is solid. Just can't call it 'a masterpiece'.
Oct 18, 2022 09:40AM Add a comment
Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy

Shawn
Shawn is on page 277 of 560 of Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy
Ouch, shots fired! America was profiting from war in Europe, and this guy Randolph, Virginian congressman John Randolph, a 'skilled debater', calls America out, saying that American interests in trade & commercialism is really just "this mushroom, this fungus of war." Whew--fungus of war. Damn.
Oct 12, 2022 10:39AM Add a comment
Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy

Shawn
Shawn is on page 253 of 560 of Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy
Astounded & appalled by the prevalence of dueling. The Navy had a real problem. "yet the wisest Legislatures and the most able Magistrates have for some hundred years in vain endeavored to check it. It is one of those Evils which is consequent upon Society. It most frequently proceeds from the noblest feelings of the Heart. Before it can be stopped, the State of Society itself must change,"
Oct 11, 2022 02:20PM Add a comment
Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy

Shawn
Shawn is on page 223 of 560 of Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy
Dueling was a significant problem.
Oct 11, 2022 09:14AM Add a comment
Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy

Shawn
Shawn is on page 219 of 560 of Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy
"The most trivial disagreement was liable to trigger a challenge. One midshipman was offended when another entered the room wearing a hat. Another challenged a messmate because the offender had spilled some water on a letter he was writing."
Oct 11, 2022 08:46AM Add a comment
Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy

Shawn
Shawn is on page 213 of 560 of Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy
Wow. U.S. Navy is the 1,000-pound gorilla, everyone knows. But this, it's when the Navy was just a baby, infant gorilla. Who'da known that [we] were out there dealing with N. Africa, the northern coasts, the Mediterranean, the Barbary states, w/emperors, pirates, merchantmen, it's like a scene where you can see that U.S.A. was entering & transitioning the world of antiquity. From British naval dominance to--
Oct 10, 2022 12:44PM Add a comment
Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy

Shawn
Shawn is on page 103 of 560 of Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy
Really cool to learn about the turning point in American war footing: Many were pro-French, and did not want a Navy b/c it jeopardized relations w/France. But after it was proven clear that American ambassadors were threatened & humiliated by French dignitaries, the American nation puffed up its chest, flared its nostrils, and became the 1,000-pound Gorilla that it is now. French sympathizers (Rep) were silenced.
Oct 07, 2022 10:38AM Add a comment
Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy

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