Hurtgen

A Dark and Bloody Ground: The Hurtgen Forest and the Roer River Dams 1944-1945 (1995) by Edward G. Miller

I need to stop reading books about Hurtgen. The more I read, the angrier I get.

Many of our best and bravest died in a battle that was criminally mismanaged. The senior commanders should have been court-martialed. If they had been in the pay of the Soviets, with the intent of stalling the American advance so that the Soviets could take over Europe, they could not have done much worse.

By concentrating on the dams and utilizing combined arms doctrine in the more open terrain around the forest, most of the Hurtgen quagmire could have been avoided.

This is not hindsight. Testimony from German commanders at the time showed that they were amazed bordering on stupification by the way that the Americans chose to fight the battle.

There were many acts of incredible heroism by soldiers and low-level commanders. Several Medals of Honor were awarded.

Meanwhile, cowards, shirkers, and malingerers survived, returned home and raised the worst elements of the baby boomers. It proves that, to some extent, cowardice is inherited.

The weather and the terrain greatly contributed to the problems. As a result, the battle devolved into a series of suicidal frontal attacks by unsupported infantry.

On several occasions, tank commanders refused to advance in support of infantry. The narrow muddy mined roads were certainly a factor. The qualitative superiority of German armor was another factor. However, to stand aside and watch your fellow soldiers die is cowardice. In the Soviet system, the first tank commander who refused to advance would have been executed by his commissar.

The chaotic close combat hindered artillery support. At times, American artillery was incredible effective. Other times, poor coordination resulted in a lack of support or friendly fire casualties.

Because of the weather and terrain, air support was almost non-existent.

Overall, one of the worst chapters in American military history.

Judging from what happened in Vietnam, not many lasting lessons were learned from Hurtgen.

Foley scandal

I am amazed bordering on stupification that the Republican leadership is so inept that it is willing to risk letting the entire future of the nation swirl down the drain over one misbehaving closet Democrat.

Stewps

Grilled Beef with Red Potatoes and Parmesan

I could not taste the parmesan but I could see the grill lines on the beef. Very good flavor. Chunky.

Sausage, Leek, and Pasta

Very thick and creamy. Chunky. Good flavor.

Mexican Vegetable

Good flavor, but too thin.

Spicy Pork

Chunky. Good flavor.

Roasted Root Vegetable.

Too thin. Not enough flavor.

On the Waterfront

On the Waterfront (1954)

Cast includes Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Leif Erickson, Eva Marie Saint, Martin Balsam, Fred Gwynne, and Nehemiah Persoff.

An ex-boxer gets the snot beat out of him by union thugs.

Very preachy with a heavy dose of religion.

Tombs

Tombs (1994) edited by Edward E. Kramer and Peter Crowther

A very uneven collection, with some excellent stories and some not worth reading.

The best stories are:

In Trust by Ben Bova (could have been called Never Trust a Catholic; a very cynical story about a priest who buys his way to be pope and betrays his brother)

No Ordinary Christian by Michael Moorcock (the red-eyed albino Von Bek wreaks a terrible vengeance against a caliph for the murder of a young woman)

White Lady's Grave by Lisa Tuttle (a creative twist on the buried alive theme with some interesting references to mythology)

Burial at Sea by Larry Bond and Chris Carlson (things go horribly wrong on a submarine's last mission and everyone dies)

The Land of the Reflected Ones by Nancy A. Collins (a collector of forbidden lore makes a fatal miscalculation, with more than a nod to Lovecraft)

Blue Flame of a Candle by Storm Constantine (an innocent young man encounters a monster in the guise of a beautiful woman, this is a truly haunting story)

Herbs

A Grower's Guide to Herbs (1997) by Geoffrey Burnie & John Fenton-Smith

Detailed information on 60 herbs, including some of my favorites like angelica, bee balm, comfrey, lemon balm, and tansy.

Curious that costmary (bible leaf) and valerian are not included.

Fatso

Fatso: Football When Men Were Really Men (1987) By Hall of Famer Arthur J. Donovan, Jr. and Bob Drury

A great book by one of the best players and one of the most interesting characters ever to have been a part of the NFL.

Donovan's father was a well known boxing referee.

Donovan was a member of the 1958 Baltimore Colts that won the championship in "The Greatest Game Ever Played."

Donovan was one of the players who stopped Gifford on the key fourth down play. Gifford has been telling us for decades that he made the first down and the refs blew the call. According to Donovan, not ony did Gifford fail to make the first down, he was not even close. I will take Donovan's word over that of the smarmy Gifford any day.

The book is a fascinating look at th NFL in the 1950s.