I picked up Miles Gone By for a light read. However, wading through William Buckley's lexicon is never a light read. I don't read Buckley because I am a die hard conservative. I read Buckley because he writes well. My first introduction to his writing was his Blackford Oakes spy novel series. So, I thought I would take a run through a life fairly interesting.
Mr. Buckley grew up at the highest level of affluence. His father was highly placed in foreign affairs and in U.S. business. Most of his youth stories are framed in instances of three household staff members for each child. William benefits from a solid set of parents and takes full advantage of a first rate education. His surfacing as a professional was his writing of God and Man and Yale.
It becomes apparent early that Buckley is a gifted journalist/writer. The book is split up into writings he did for journals through his career. I have not thought of the value of the writer at events until I read through this book. Much as I am challenged to share my thoughts on books in this journal, Buckley takes events and brings them to magnificent life. He tells of sailing, time with dignitaries and time going down to the Titanic, riding the Orient Express. The trip down to the Titanic and his trip on the Orient Express were the most riveting example of the value of someone who can write memorializing special events/scenes.
Buckley received an invite to go down in a exploration submarine to pick up some artifacts from the Titanic wreckage. He does a tremendous job describing the scene, the history, etc. He brings the entire episode to an interesting light.
Buckley is also a sailor so there are lots of stories on sailing. I want to sail, some day, so hearing his stories are of great interest to me. The more I read about sailing the less it is romanticized - sailing is a lot of hard work followed by periods of grandeur. Buckley crosses the Atlantic and Pacific multiple times. As noted he is wealthy, so most of his boats are crewed. The navigation at the time of his crossings were still pretty basic, unlike today's. If you like to sail, the parts of the books would be interesting.
Virtually everyone that is a who's who is a close friend of Buckley. He tells great stories of social gaffes (interrupting Queen Elizabeth to introduce a friend to the person she is talking to), his close friends, David Niven, Ronald Reagan, Henry Kissinger, Clare Boothe Luce, Tom Wolf, Vladimir Horowitz, Roger Moore, Alistair Cook, Princess Grace and John Kenneth Galbraith. He also talks of times with Whittaker Chambers.
Would I recommend this read? Only if you enjoy a little of the high brow life. It was dry in spots, especially the discussions of God and Yale and Man. Overall, an interesting insight to a life fully lived.
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Jerusalem - Montefiore
"For 1,000 years Jerusalem was exclusively Jewish; for about 400 years, Christian; for 1,300 years, Islamic; and not one of the three faiths ever gained Jerusalem without the sword, the mangonel (catapult) or the howitzer. Their nationalistic histories tell a rigid story of inevitable progressions to heroic triumphs and abrupt disasters, but in this history I have tried to show nothing was inevitable, there were always choices. The fates and identities of Jerusalemites were rarely clear cut. Life in Herodian, Crusader, or British Jerusalem was always just as complex and nuanced as life is for us today." Montefiore
This book was a Christmas gift from someone that knows I love history (my wife). I read a review of it in the WSJ and also saw that Bill Clinton saw it as a great read. Jerusalem is simply a historical survey of the city. As Montefiore notes above, the city has seen many changes and has many intrigues. My initial interest in the book was to fill in the gaps of what I knew and see if I could gain a clearer understanding of current conflicts in the area.
If you were Jewish and lived in Jerusalem, it wasn't a good situation. One take away from the book is that the Jewish population was a side show throughout the history of Jerusalem - even before the coming of Christ. David saw the zenith of the city but it later went through multiple sackings from the Persians, Macedonians, Maccabees and Romans. Even under Rome, the Herods ruled the city until its ultimate destruction. At this point the Jewish population in Jerusalem was very small and continued to be so until just before World War II.
Christians saw some presence in the city for a short period of time. Mostly influenced by the Christians from the Anatolia(Asia Minor) region. The group mostly influenced by the early church. Subsequently, the Arabs decided they saw Jerusalem as an important city.
"one night, his followers believed that, as he slept beside the Kaaba (a cuboid building in Mecca - one of the most sacred Muslim locations), Muhammad had a vision. The Archangel Gabriel awoke him and together they embarked on a Night Journey mounted on Buraq, a winged steed with a human face, to the unnamed "Furthest Sanctuary"." This furthest sanctuary is believed to be the Temple Mount and part of the sacred Muslim locations.
"After Muhammad's death, the Muslim desired to build the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount. The Rock was the site of Adam's paradise, Abraham's altar, the place where David and Solomon planned their Temple later visited by Muhammad on his Night Journey. Abd al-Malik rebuilt the Jewish Temple for the true revelation of God, Islam." When you consider the Jewish position that Jesus was not the messiah and the Islamic position that Jesus was a prophet just as Muhammad and all praise and glory goes to God - then building the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount makes sense. The Muslims just thought they were improving on the Temple with the Dome of the Rock. The Rock is the Foundation Stone - the stone that was beneath the Ark of the Covenant.
The crusaders tried to unseat Islam from Jerusalem. It would be a natural decision to try to oust the people that built a mosque over the site of the temple. The book goes through multiple visits by the crusaders and their somewhat limited success to restore Jerusalem to Christian rule. Past the crusaders you have attempts by Napoleon and other European (and Russian) leaders to influence Jerusalem. Unfortunately for them, Jerusalem is always a side bar for other events in Europe and sufficient resources are never available for total control of the city.
Through this time, as noted previously, the Jewish population was not a significant influence as to what is going on in Jerusalem. It isn't until after the first World War that a migration of European Jews begins into Palestine. The Russians and the British start to lay the foundation for the modern geography of Israel and Arab lands. Stalin was a defender and proponent of the Jewish state. The British controlled the city for some time until the mandate for the current country. The two state option was on the table from the beginning. The Arabs fought against it and began what we see today in bombings and assassinations. Many of the Arab leaders we know in current times cut their teeth in these early wars - for example - Arafat and Fatah were created during this time.
The bottom line during this period is that the entire Arab region attacked the young state of Israel. Israel was able to defend itself and create buffers of land around the original state. I was in the military in the early 1980's and witnessed in person the Israeli military spirit and the backwardness of the Arab military while stationed in the Sinai desert.
I went into the book with a desire to learn more and have an equitable view. This book is written very much by a defender of the Jewish population - so there is a slant. However, it is clear that the Arab world has received an opportunity to live in peace alongside the Jewish population in Palestine. No "one" people have the rights to Palestine - Jews and Arabs have lived there for thousands of years. The Arabs have chosen to wage a constant battle with the Israeli's. Peace will not come until the Arab world decides it will live in peace.
It also becomes painfully obvious as you go through the history, that Jerusalem is an international city. There is much discussion of treating it almost like a Vatican with a totally independent authority that oversees it. This is an interesting concept.
This is a good read if you really enjoy historical surveys - it is not a light read.
This book was a Christmas gift from someone that knows I love history (my wife). I read a review of it in the WSJ and also saw that Bill Clinton saw it as a great read. Jerusalem is simply a historical survey of the city. As Montefiore notes above, the city has seen many changes and has many intrigues. My initial interest in the book was to fill in the gaps of what I knew and see if I could gain a clearer understanding of current conflicts in the area.
If you were Jewish and lived in Jerusalem, it wasn't a good situation. One take away from the book is that the Jewish population was a side show throughout the history of Jerusalem - even before the coming of Christ. David saw the zenith of the city but it later went through multiple sackings from the Persians, Macedonians, Maccabees and Romans. Even under Rome, the Herods ruled the city until its ultimate destruction. At this point the Jewish population in Jerusalem was very small and continued to be so until just before World War II.
Christians saw some presence in the city for a short period of time. Mostly influenced by the Christians from the Anatolia(Asia Minor) region. The group mostly influenced by the early church. Subsequently, the Arabs decided they saw Jerusalem as an important city.
"one night, his followers believed that, as he slept beside the Kaaba (a cuboid building in Mecca - one of the most sacred Muslim locations), Muhammad had a vision. The Archangel Gabriel awoke him and together they embarked on a Night Journey mounted on Buraq, a winged steed with a human face, to the unnamed "Furthest Sanctuary"." This furthest sanctuary is believed to be the Temple Mount and part of the sacred Muslim locations.
"After Muhammad's death, the Muslim desired to build the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount. The Rock was the site of Adam's paradise, Abraham's altar, the place where David and Solomon planned their Temple later visited by Muhammad on his Night Journey. Abd al-Malik rebuilt the Jewish Temple for the true revelation of God, Islam." When you consider the Jewish position that Jesus was not the messiah and the Islamic position that Jesus was a prophet just as Muhammad and all praise and glory goes to God - then building the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount makes sense. The Muslims just thought they were improving on the Temple with the Dome of the Rock. The Rock is the Foundation Stone - the stone that was beneath the Ark of the Covenant.
The crusaders tried to unseat Islam from Jerusalem. It would be a natural decision to try to oust the people that built a mosque over the site of the temple. The book goes through multiple visits by the crusaders and their somewhat limited success to restore Jerusalem to Christian rule. Past the crusaders you have attempts by Napoleon and other European (and Russian) leaders to influence Jerusalem. Unfortunately for them, Jerusalem is always a side bar for other events in Europe and sufficient resources are never available for total control of the city.
Through this time, as noted previously, the Jewish population was not a significant influence as to what is going on in Jerusalem. It isn't until after the first World War that a migration of European Jews begins into Palestine. The Russians and the British start to lay the foundation for the modern geography of Israel and Arab lands. Stalin was a defender and proponent of the Jewish state. The British controlled the city for some time until the mandate for the current country. The two state option was on the table from the beginning. The Arabs fought against it and began what we see today in bombings and assassinations. Many of the Arab leaders we know in current times cut their teeth in these early wars - for example - Arafat and Fatah were created during this time.
The bottom line during this period is that the entire Arab region attacked the young state of Israel. Israel was able to defend itself and create buffers of land around the original state. I was in the military in the early 1980's and witnessed in person the Israeli military spirit and the backwardness of the Arab military while stationed in the Sinai desert.
I went into the book with a desire to learn more and have an equitable view. This book is written very much by a defender of the Jewish population - so there is a slant. However, it is clear that the Arab world has received an opportunity to live in peace alongside the Jewish population in Palestine. No "one" people have the rights to Palestine - Jews and Arabs have lived there for thousands of years. The Arabs have chosen to wage a constant battle with the Israeli's. Peace will not come until the Arab world decides it will live in peace.
It also becomes painfully obvious as you go through the history, that Jerusalem is an international city. There is much discussion of treating it almost like a Vatican with a totally independent authority that oversees it. This is an interesting concept.
This is a good read if you really enjoy historical surveys - it is not a light read.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
The Liberator - Alex Kershaw
After Les Miserables I needed a book I could run through a little quicker. The Liberator by Alex Kershaw has been on my list and it was a good fit. This book came on my radar when the Wall Street Journal reviewed it in their daily op-ed section. I get a lot of books off the Wall Street Journal and the Economist reviews. This caught my eye because I recalled hearing this story in person twenty years ago in a hospital in Enid, Oklahoma.
The gentlemen telling me the story was Sam Vogel who had been in World War II with the 45th Division. We were in the waiting area of the hospital, sadly standing by as a family member was passing away. I asked Sam about his service in the war. Maybe since he knew I served he decided to share. Over the next hour or two Sam shares this amazing story of shipping out of NYC on a ship to Africa. In Africa his group trained for a beach landing in Sicily, captured the island then made a beach landing in Italy. His group fought its way from the beaches of southern Italy. They then made another beach landing in southern France. From southern France they entered Germany and fought their way towards Berlin. Unfortunately, they were tasked with liberating Dachau and their drive stalled near Munich as they dealt with the grim realities of the prison camp. Needless to say I was simply stunned. He's entire discussion was a, just doing what we needed to do, tone.
Anyhow, the Liberator is actually the story of the 45th Division going through the fight that Sam told me about. How crazy is that. So I picked the book up for a read. It's an easy read so if you are a WWII buff you need to pick it up. Some quick input on Kershaw's writing and research - average at best.
The story follows a gentlemen, Felix Sparks, who was a country kid that grew up in Miami, Arizona. The 45th Division was comprised of units from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Spark's unit was the 157th Infantry Regiment based out of Arizona. Sparks is a typical young man fighting his way through the great depression. The military ends up being his out of poverty and route to opportunity. After going through the war he ends up being a lawyer in Colorado.
As you read the story it brings back the crazy sacrifice that all of these men made. The cold reality is if you were in an front line infantry unit during the war your odds of not being a casualty of some sort was very low. Sparks (an officer) goes through two battles where he loses almost every one of his men. The battle conditions are unimaginable to say the least. Once they finally get to the point that they feel the war is ending they walk into Dachau without any preparation for what they would see.
Sparks group was simply overwhelmed and actually did not respond in the most professional way. They just didn't have the training to deal with the gross abuse of life they saw in the camp.
A nice quick read and a good nod to Sam for his service. If you have a travel day grab this book and read it. You will appreciate all of our military for the role they serve in not only protecting our freedom but the freedom of everyone throughout the world.
The gentlemen telling me the story was Sam Vogel who had been in World War II with the 45th Division. We were in the waiting area of the hospital, sadly standing by as a family member was passing away. I asked Sam about his service in the war. Maybe since he knew I served he decided to share. Over the next hour or two Sam shares this amazing story of shipping out of NYC on a ship to Africa. In Africa his group trained for a beach landing in Sicily, captured the island then made a beach landing in Italy. His group fought its way from the beaches of southern Italy. They then made another beach landing in southern France. From southern France they entered Germany and fought their way towards Berlin. Unfortunately, they were tasked with liberating Dachau and their drive stalled near Munich as they dealt with the grim realities of the prison camp. Needless to say I was simply stunned. He's entire discussion was a, just doing what we needed to do, tone.
Anyhow, the Liberator is actually the story of the 45th Division going through the fight that Sam told me about. How crazy is that. So I picked the book up for a read. It's an easy read so if you are a WWII buff you need to pick it up. Some quick input on Kershaw's writing and research - average at best.
The story follows a gentlemen, Felix Sparks, who was a country kid that grew up in Miami, Arizona. The 45th Division was comprised of units from Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Spark's unit was the 157th Infantry Regiment based out of Arizona. Sparks is a typical young man fighting his way through the great depression. The military ends up being his out of poverty and route to opportunity. After going through the war he ends up being a lawyer in Colorado.
As you read the story it brings back the crazy sacrifice that all of these men made. The cold reality is if you were in an front line infantry unit during the war your odds of not being a casualty of some sort was very low. Sparks (an officer) goes through two battles where he loses almost every one of his men. The battle conditions are unimaginable to say the least. Once they finally get to the point that they feel the war is ending they walk into Dachau without any preparation for what they would see.
Sparks group was simply overwhelmed and actually did not respond in the most professional way. They just didn't have the training to deal with the gross abuse of life they saw in the camp.
A nice quick read and a good nod to Sam for his service. If you have a travel day grab this book and read it. You will appreciate all of our military for the role they serve in not only protecting our freedom but the freedom of everyone throughout the world.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
Les Miserables
What an amazing read. You owe it to yourself to take the time to read this book written about the dawn of the freedom of the ordinary human in the early 1800's. I tend to be hard on the French but after reading this I have a better feel for the spirit of the French people.
Victor Hugo outlines what was going on from the revolution in 1789 through the Napoleonic wars and finally through the restoration of the French Royalty. He tells the story through a man sent to the galleys as a teenager for stealing a loaf of bread for his siblings. The character - Jean Valjean - spends twenty years in the galleys until he is finally paroled. He leaves hardened but crosses paths with a Bishop that shows him unconditional love. Jean Valjean then moves on with a "less of me, more of others" life. The story is peppered with characters that reflect the tragedy of life in a world with limited opportunities. Hugo goes into the detail of each of the characters lives and the events that surround their situation. The reader is staggered as you realize just how horrible the living conditions were for ordinary citizens. The reader also gets insight as to the life of the idealistic young bourgeois - and the failed efforts to make a difference for the common citizen.
This is a long book and there times when it benefits you to skim. However, the book reminds you of how rich the writing was from this period. Books would not make it through edit today that go into the detail of each event that Hugo goes through. This level of detail is what makes the book. The insight as to what it was like to be a prisoner chained to a wall, the details of the battle of Waterloo, the events that form the individuals that are key to the book. Some of the greatest literature was written during the 1800's. This was certainly a different time.
Jean Valjean pours the remaining portion of his life into a young girl. His selfless devotion to her to fulfill a promise sees the book to its end - don't miss it.
Victor Hugo outlines what was going on from the revolution in 1789 through the Napoleonic wars and finally through the restoration of the French Royalty. He tells the story through a man sent to the galleys as a teenager for stealing a loaf of bread for his siblings. The character - Jean Valjean - spends twenty years in the galleys until he is finally paroled. He leaves hardened but crosses paths with a Bishop that shows him unconditional love. Jean Valjean then moves on with a "less of me, more of others" life. The story is peppered with characters that reflect the tragedy of life in a world with limited opportunities. Hugo goes into the detail of each of the characters lives and the events that surround their situation. The reader is staggered as you realize just how horrible the living conditions were for ordinary citizens. The reader also gets insight as to the life of the idealistic young bourgeois - and the failed efforts to make a difference for the common citizen.
This is a long book and there times when it benefits you to skim. However, the book reminds you of how rich the writing was from this period. Books would not make it through edit today that go into the detail of each event that Hugo goes through. This level of detail is what makes the book. The insight as to what it was like to be a prisoner chained to a wall, the details of the battle of Waterloo, the events that form the individuals that are key to the book. Some of the greatest literature was written during the 1800's. This was certainly a different time.
Jean Valjean pours the remaining portion of his life into a young girl. His selfless devotion to her to fulfill a promise sees the book to its end - don't miss it.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Kissinger Sheds a Clear Light on China
On China - Henry Kissenger
Wow - this is a must read for anyone working in Asia or wanting to know more of the Chinese culture. I have tried multiple reads into the Chinese mindset/history and have not had a lot of success. My favorite prior to this book was Pearl Buck's - The Good Earth.
What can you get from this read? The book begins with a clear survey of China from the beginning of its recorded history. The biggest takeaway being the Chinese thought that they are the central (middle) kingdom and everything outside of China is the outer region. More importantly, China has not had a history of being expansionist - unique for a potential world power.
The history of China is a consolidation of smaller kingdoms to a point of a large peaceful kingdom ruled by the Yellow Emporer. The famous opening of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a fourteenth century epic novel treausured by centuries of Chinese (including Mao, who is said to have poured over it almost obsessively in his youth), evokes this coninuous rhythm: "The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. Thus it has ever been." Once the rythm of consolidation occurred then the manipulation of foriegn threat could be used to preserve the kingdom from outsiders. A common thread throughout China's history has been using foriegners (barbarians against barbarians) against each other to ward off interest in attacking China (keeping the barbarians weak).
This policy worked well until the reality of China's demise in military arms and tactics came home with the British coming into Peking and demanding terms. The result of their falling behind militarily was the release of Hong Kong and Macau and the allowance of trade into controlled zones in China to western powers (which would be very familiar to anyone doing business in China since the late 1980's).
China meandered along until the Revolution. The outcome of the revolution was the fracture of the country having the prior government (led by Chaiang Kai-shek) running to Formosa (Taiwan), and Mao controlling the mainland from Beijing. Mao focused on revamping China through two main thrusts, the "Great Leap Forward" and the "Cultural Revolution".
The Great Leap Forward represented China's first attempt at planned economies and collectivism. The attempt to pull the country out of an agrarian society to an industrialized society. Just as the Soviets experienced, this was a disaster and led to extreme shortages in grain and famines which claimed millions. As we will discuss later the Chinese learned from this experience.
The Cultural Revolution was an attempt by Mao to totally disrupt the heirachy of the party and he allowed the country to go into constant chaos. Many leaders were sent to re-education camps - if they were lucky. Gangs literally ran the streets of China disrupting everything. This was a reflection of Mao thinking that harmony (Confucionasim) led to a lack of development so constant disruption had to be introduced to allow China to be more productive. There were a lot of negatives to this policy and one key one was the outside world didn't know how to engage a country that allowed this internal policy.
The Korean and Vietnamese wars were discussed and primarily there was concern by China that the United States sought a policy of hegemony (an attempt to rule an area with subordinate states). A divide began to occur between China and the Soviets and this allowed an opening to begin discussions with China. China was able to see that the U.S. saw Korea and Vietnam as expansionist activity by the Soviets - and China subsequently had their own issues with Vietnam and the neighboring states. President Nixon was ready to close the Vietnam war and the opening of China to the West began. Of course, true to China's nature, China saw a way to take advantage of two barbarians (the U.S. and Soviets) and focus inwards againg on their economic issues.
Zhou was the (short-term) predessessor to Mao and introduced the "Four Modernizations" platform: agriculture; industry; national defense; and science and technology. Deng Xiaoping replaced Zhou in short order but he continued the focus of the Four Modernizations but with an interesting twist - instead of trying to achieve the goals with a planned economy - he allowed the people to invest.
Kissinger's quote/my emphasis "For the only time in my experience with Chinese leaders, philosphical and practical disagreements were made explicit. Hua described an economic program to spur production by traditional Soviet methods, emphasizing heavy industry, improvemetns in agricultural productions based on communes, increased mechanization, and use of fertilizers within the framework of a ubiquitous Five-Year Plan. Deng rejected all these orthodoxies. The people, he said, needed to be given a stake in what they produced. Consumer goods had to have priority over heavy industry, the ingenuity of Chinese farmers had to be liberated, the Communist Party needed to become less intrusive, and government would have to be decentralized." WOW.
I like to think of Deng Xiaoping as the George Washington of China. What we are seeing today is the direct result of his vision to disconnect the political China with the economic China. You can be assured he had his detractors - but he held to his concept and fought for it to his last days. When Gorbachev came to China and shared his vision to allow the Soviet Union to change the political framework before the economic framework of the country China saw him as "misguided" - and the outcome prooved that out as the Soviet states went into a virtual free fall.
As you can tell this book has impacted me greatly. There are a lot of other things that come out of the book that are interesting facts but the biggest read I get is I'm not certain our current political stance with China (tilting towards adversarial) is in our best interest. Out of all of the great powers, China may be the best to coexist. As in all industries the top two survive, so it shall always be with great powers. Maybe the U.S. and China should strive to be the two.
Wow - this is a must read for anyone working in Asia or wanting to know more of the Chinese culture. I have tried multiple reads into the Chinese mindset/history and have not had a lot of success. My favorite prior to this book was Pearl Buck's - The Good Earth.
What can you get from this read? The book begins with a clear survey of China from the beginning of its recorded history. The biggest takeaway being the Chinese thought that they are the central (middle) kingdom and everything outside of China is the outer region. More importantly, China has not had a history of being expansionist - unique for a potential world power.
The history of China is a consolidation of smaller kingdoms to a point of a large peaceful kingdom ruled by the Yellow Emporer. The famous opening of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a fourteenth century epic novel treausured by centuries of Chinese (including Mao, who is said to have poured over it almost obsessively in his youth), evokes this coninuous rhythm: "The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. Thus it has ever been." Once the rythm of consolidation occurred then the manipulation of foriegn threat could be used to preserve the kingdom from outsiders. A common thread throughout China's history has been using foriegners (barbarians against barbarians) against each other to ward off interest in attacking China (keeping the barbarians weak).
This policy worked well until the reality of China's demise in military arms and tactics came home with the British coming into Peking and demanding terms. The result of their falling behind militarily was the release of Hong Kong and Macau and the allowance of trade into controlled zones in China to western powers (which would be very familiar to anyone doing business in China since the late 1980's).
China meandered along until the Revolution. The outcome of the revolution was the fracture of the country having the prior government (led by Chaiang Kai-shek) running to Formosa (Taiwan), and Mao controlling the mainland from Beijing. Mao focused on revamping China through two main thrusts, the "Great Leap Forward" and the "Cultural Revolution".
The Great Leap Forward represented China's first attempt at planned economies and collectivism. The attempt to pull the country out of an agrarian society to an industrialized society. Just as the Soviets experienced, this was a disaster and led to extreme shortages in grain and famines which claimed millions. As we will discuss later the Chinese learned from this experience.
The Cultural Revolution was an attempt by Mao to totally disrupt the heirachy of the party and he allowed the country to go into constant chaos. Many leaders were sent to re-education camps - if they were lucky. Gangs literally ran the streets of China disrupting everything. This was a reflection of Mao thinking that harmony (Confucionasim) led to a lack of development so constant disruption had to be introduced to allow China to be more productive. There were a lot of negatives to this policy and one key one was the outside world didn't know how to engage a country that allowed this internal policy.
The Korean and Vietnamese wars were discussed and primarily there was concern by China that the United States sought a policy of hegemony (an attempt to rule an area with subordinate states). A divide began to occur between China and the Soviets and this allowed an opening to begin discussions with China. China was able to see that the U.S. saw Korea and Vietnam as expansionist activity by the Soviets - and China subsequently had their own issues with Vietnam and the neighboring states. President Nixon was ready to close the Vietnam war and the opening of China to the West began. Of course, true to China's nature, China saw a way to take advantage of two barbarians (the U.S. and Soviets) and focus inwards againg on their economic issues.
Zhou was the (short-term) predessessor to Mao and introduced the "Four Modernizations" platform: agriculture; industry; national defense; and science and technology. Deng Xiaoping replaced Zhou in short order but he continued the focus of the Four Modernizations but with an interesting twist - instead of trying to achieve the goals with a planned economy - he allowed the people to invest.
Kissinger's quote/my emphasis "For the only time in my experience with Chinese leaders, philosphical and practical disagreements were made explicit. Hua described an economic program to spur production by traditional Soviet methods, emphasizing heavy industry, improvemetns in agricultural productions based on communes, increased mechanization, and use of fertilizers within the framework of a ubiquitous Five-Year Plan. Deng rejected all these orthodoxies. The people, he said, needed to be given a stake in what they produced. Consumer goods had to have priority over heavy industry, the ingenuity of Chinese farmers had to be liberated, the Communist Party needed to become less intrusive, and government would have to be decentralized." WOW.
I like to think of Deng Xiaoping as the George Washington of China. What we are seeing today is the direct result of his vision to disconnect the political China with the economic China. You can be assured he had his detractors - but he held to his concept and fought for it to his last days. When Gorbachev came to China and shared his vision to allow the Soviet Union to change the political framework before the economic framework of the country China saw him as "misguided" - and the outcome prooved that out as the Soviet states went into a virtual free fall.
As you can tell this book has impacted me greatly. There are a lot of other things that come out of the book that are interesting facts but the biggest read I get is I'm not certain our current political stance with China (tilting towards adversarial) is in our best interest. Out of all of the great powers, China may be the best to coexist. As in all industries the top two survive, so it shall always be with great powers. Maybe the U.S. and China should strive to be the two.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Peter The Great - Robert K. Massie
I appreciate friends who prod me to blog. I have read a ton of books and need to catch up. A friend from New Jersey knew I am a history junkie so he told me I had to read Robert K. Massie's Peter the Great. This book is an easy read and a great add to anyone interested in Russian history.
So what did I get out of this book? Peter was a leader - a transformative leader. Unfortunately, leaders can't always be the boy next door. Peter was all in and willed Russia out of the fog of history. He had an amazing curiosity that drove him forward - always.
His signature is his attempt to build a naval force and bring Western knowledge to Russia. Most of his life's work evolves out of these primary focuses.
His first stop on this path was building a small fleet of barges to take an army down the Volga and over to the Don to raid the land of the Turks, fighting Tatars along the way. The reason Peter used the river route is because he had originally tried marching armies down the steppe only to have the Tatars burn the steppe depriving the horses of forage and driving the army back. The Tatars were regular raiders on Russian outer settlements taking peasants as slaves and selling them in the Crimea. The barge concept eventually lead to success. This was critical to gain the confidence of the Russian people - Peter then turned north.
Eventually Peter settled St. Petersburg which gave Russia an northern port. From here he had seaworthy ships built and used them to advance Russia's influence in western Europe and in Finland and Sweden. St. Petersburg is a city the Peter willed out of the marshes - literally almost built one log at a time. Only someone with his primal focus could have settled a town there. This is a city that I must see one day.
A funny story of Peter's disconnect with reality was when he tried to go on a fact finding trip to the West but didn't want anyone it was him. Peter was almost a giant in his time so everyone knew who he was and word spread fast that he was heading to the next town. He kept the sharade up through the entire trip even though he had crowds following him.
As brutish as Peter was - and he was very much so, you have to take away that great/transforming leadership requires this type of focus and drive. How else do you, as one man, influence not only your own backward country to great changes, but also strike fear in all of Europe?
So, an easy read and great insight into the Russian mindset. If you have further interest in Russia consider some of these other great books - Russka ( a history of Russia from the beginning of its history to the Revolution) and The Great Upheaval (A comparison of the US, French and potential Russian Revolutions - great insight into Catherine the Great).
So what did I get out of this book? Peter was a leader - a transformative leader. Unfortunately, leaders can't always be the boy next door. Peter was all in and willed Russia out of the fog of history. He had an amazing curiosity that drove him forward - always.
His signature is his attempt to build a naval force and bring Western knowledge to Russia. Most of his life's work evolves out of these primary focuses.
His first stop on this path was building a small fleet of barges to take an army down the Volga and over to the Don to raid the land of the Turks, fighting Tatars along the way. The reason Peter used the river route is because he had originally tried marching armies down the steppe only to have the Tatars burn the steppe depriving the horses of forage and driving the army back. The Tatars were regular raiders on Russian outer settlements taking peasants as slaves and selling them in the Crimea. The barge concept eventually lead to success. This was critical to gain the confidence of the Russian people - Peter then turned north.
Eventually Peter settled St. Petersburg which gave Russia an northern port. From here he had seaworthy ships built and used them to advance Russia's influence in western Europe and in Finland and Sweden. St. Petersburg is a city the Peter willed out of the marshes - literally almost built one log at a time. Only someone with his primal focus could have settled a town there. This is a city that I must see one day.
A funny story of Peter's disconnect with reality was when he tried to go on a fact finding trip to the West but didn't want anyone it was him. Peter was almost a giant in his time so everyone knew who he was and word spread fast that he was heading to the next town. He kept the sharade up through the entire trip even though he had crowds following him.
As brutish as Peter was - and he was very much so, you have to take away that great/transforming leadership requires this type of focus and drive. How else do you, as one man, influence not only your own backward country to great changes, but also strike fear in all of Europe?
So, an easy read and great insight into the Russian mindset. If you have further interest in Russia consider some of these other great books - Russka ( a history of Russia from the beginning of its history to the Revolution) and The Great Upheaval (A comparison of the US, French and potential Russian Revolutions - great insight into Catherine the Great).
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Life and Fate - Vasily Grossman
Life and Fate - Vasily Grossman
Vasily Grossman was a reporter embedded with he Russian Army during WWII. He spent a significant amount of his time in Stalingrad. He uses this experience to write an epic saga similar to the style of War and Peace following several families through the war.
This book gives great insight as to the Russian mind - how collectivism and the purges of 1937 influenced how Russians thought. Stalin was fully in control and had the ability to influence the masses through a trip to a work camp in Siberia or a chance phone call.
If you enjoy Russian history or have an interest in this period then this book is a great read. For anyone that doesn't have an interest in Russia the book might be dry.
You walk away feeling for the Russian citizen. For the most part they are a victim of a situation out of their control.
From Stalingrad... "The Germans were simply unable to believe that all their attacks were being borne by a handful of men. They thought the Soviet reserves were being brought up in order to reinforce the defence. The true strategists of the Soviet offensive were the soldiers with their backs to the Volga (who would have been shot if they ran) who fought off Paulus's divisions. The remorseless cunning of History, however, lay still more deeply hidden. Freedom engendered the Russian victory. Freedom was the apparent aim of the war. But the sly fingers of History changed this: freedom became simply a way of waging the war, a means to an end."
Vasily Grossman was a reporter embedded with he Russian Army during WWII. He spent a significant amount of his time in Stalingrad. He uses this experience to write an epic saga similar to the style of War and Peace following several families through the war.
This book gives great insight as to the Russian mind - how collectivism and the purges of 1937 influenced how Russians thought. Stalin was fully in control and had the ability to influence the masses through a trip to a work camp in Siberia or a chance phone call.
If you enjoy Russian history or have an interest in this period then this book is a great read. For anyone that doesn't have an interest in Russia the book might be dry.
You walk away feeling for the Russian citizen. For the most part they are a victim of a situation out of their control.
From Stalingrad... "The Germans were simply unable to believe that all their attacks were being borne by a handful of men. They thought the Soviet reserves were being brought up in order to reinforce the defence. The true strategists of the Soviet offensive were the soldiers with their backs to the Volga (who would have been shot if they ran) who fought off Paulus's divisions. The remorseless cunning of History, however, lay still more deeply hidden. Freedom engendered the Russian victory. Freedom was the apparent aim of the war. But the sly fingers of History changed this: freedom became simply a way of waging the war, a means to an end."
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Decision Points - George W. Bush
Picked this book up during a dirty Santa party - traded it for a Justin Beiber book believe it or not.
My opinions were mixed for president Bush (43). He struck me as a man of integrity but he often came across as intellectually lazy. After reading this book a few things struck me:
1. He was overwhelmed with significant events - often with some overlapping.
2. He had more events of reaching across the aisle than I remembered - especially early in his presidency.
3. His integrity did not waiver throughout his decision making process - true leadership. His explanations and final outcome of stem cell research is riveting.
4. He could have placed the prior and post presidents in a negative light and chose to show them in a positive light.
5. My thoughts that he surrounded himself with some bad advisers was proven true but not to the extent I suspected. I still don't believe vp Cheney and Rumsfeld gave him the advice that he needed. I place the issues in Iraq after the initial invasion on Rumsfeld and his desire to show a soft military footprint. I believe Cheney presented a harder edge to the communication out of presidency than was necessary.
Something else struck me that I had not thought of previously. President Bush was first a business person. He peppers this autobiography with accountability and metrics - this is unusual in politics. Situation after situation shows he relied on information that could be measured and people who would stand up and be accountable for their areas of responsibility. The No Child Left Behind program is a perfect example of this type of thinking.
Before I read the book I was a skeptic of his presidency - after reading it I think maybe time will shine a positive light on his tenure.
My opinions were mixed for president Bush (43). He struck me as a man of integrity but he often came across as intellectually lazy. After reading this book a few things struck me:
1. He was overwhelmed with significant events - often with some overlapping.
2. He had more events of reaching across the aisle than I remembered - especially early in his presidency.
3. His integrity did not waiver throughout his decision making process - true leadership. His explanations and final outcome of stem cell research is riveting.
4. He could have placed the prior and post presidents in a negative light and chose to show them in a positive light.
5. My thoughts that he surrounded himself with some bad advisers was proven true but not to the extent I suspected. I still don't believe vp Cheney and Rumsfeld gave him the advice that he needed. I place the issues in Iraq after the initial invasion on Rumsfeld and his desire to show a soft military footprint. I believe Cheney presented a harder edge to the communication out of presidency than was necessary.
Something else struck me that I had not thought of previously. President Bush was first a business person. He peppers this autobiography with accountability and metrics - this is unusual in politics. Situation after situation shows he relied on information that could be measured and people who would stand up and be accountable for their areas of responsibility. The No Child Left Behind program is a perfect example of this type of thinking.
Before I read the book I was a skeptic of his presidency - after reading it I think maybe time will shine a positive light on his tenure.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Out of Africa - wish I could have stayed
Out of Africa (Modern Library)
by Isak Dinesen
Great read. Hemingway said it was one of the best books written on Africa. I can't attest to that but it was a great read. Isak puts the charm in charming with her direct writing style. You wish you could spend a month with her and just enjoy her life. This book was written from a different time than the modern world.
This book makes me want to rent the movie again.
by Isak Dinesen
Great read. Hemingway said it was one of the best books written on Africa. I can't attest to that but it was a great read. Isak puts the charm in charming with her direct writing style. You wish you could spend a month with her and just enjoy her life. This book was written from a different time than the modern world.
This book makes me want to rent the movie again.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Red Plenty - Wow!
Just finished Red Plenty by Francis Spufford. This book focuses on the Soviet dreams from 1940 to 1970. Leaders span Stalin, Krushchev and Brezhnev. Why did I read this book? It addresses the economy of the Soviet Union and is an insightful read into Russian history during this period. I like economics and history so it fits. Not a lot of finance insight but this was to be expected.
The large picture nugget that was given to me from this book is the insight that Marx did not intend for the the Revolution to occur in a backwards society - as Russia was at the time of their revolution. Marx referred to a revolution in a developed industrial society similar to England, Germany or the United States. The workers would simply take over the machine and out the intellectuals that were stealing labor (this makes Atlas Shrugs such an interesting read). The result is Russia took on a very complex problem. How to build a socialist society from an agrarian economy to an industrial economy. As the book reads through you see this was a significant oversight by the initial instigators.
To further complicate the ability to transition, Stalin removed the liberal arts (and related instructors to the gulags) from the universities creating vocational engineering and science programs at the universities to focus on developing industry. A brain drain ensued pushing the theoretical modeling abilities back a generation.
Linear programming was introduce to centralized planning giving the hope that supply an demand could be attacked through computer programming iterations. True supply and demand is not as simple as algebraic applications and requires calculus to determine optimization. While the Soviets were trying to pin down supply and demand through algebra, the West allowed for natural optimization through open markets. Red Plenty tracks how the system used paper folders to determine the demand and available supply of over 300 commodities required to run the economy - to the extent there was one man in a room wheeling between folders updating each for a change in resource requirements.
The book then goes into the black market and how it operated. An example was given of a factory that could not meet its demands and determined if they had an upgraded piece of equipment they could meet the demand. There was not a possibility of ordering a new piece of equipment since they already had one that was an older version. They decided to run a bulldozer through the plant as an accident causing an emergency need for the new piece of equipment - vs. just letting the authorities know that modeled demand was not deliverable with the older version of the equipment. Meanwhile, the black market operators stole key pieces that put together the machinery that was needed to fill demand from another factory trying to increase its production. Etc, etc.
So what's the take away from all of this. Human nature doesn't change regardless of political or economic structure. The key is how does information become transparent as soon as possible allowing markets to react efficiently. A free market allows for the quickest exchange of information between rational investors. As people, we are not necessarily better than others - we are just in a market that allows for a more transparent exchange of information.
We have had our share of failures in the West. While Stalin was murdering millions and causing millions more to suffer in severe poverty, the United States was in a great depression with millions suffering severe poverty. We have recently seen Wall Street deal makers and trusted investment managers hiding information from regulatory oversight. The result is millions at the age of retirement seeing their wealth reduced or wiped out. Transparency of information is critical to the success of any organization - large or small.
Let's ask ourselves about our own organizations. Do we allow information to flow freely? Is accountability transparent? Can executives really see what is going on in their organizations? Challenge yourself. We are only as good as what we know. While we smirk when we think of the planned economy, we may be sitting on our own little fantasy.
The large picture nugget that was given to me from this book is the insight that Marx did not intend for the the Revolution to occur in a backwards society - as Russia was at the time of their revolution. Marx referred to a revolution in a developed industrial society similar to England, Germany or the United States. The workers would simply take over the machine and out the intellectuals that were stealing labor (this makes Atlas Shrugs such an interesting read). The result is Russia took on a very complex problem. How to build a socialist society from an agrarian economy to an industrial economy. As the book reads through you see this was a significant oversight by the initial instigators.
To further complicate the ability to transition, Stalin removed the liberal arts (and related instructors to the gulags) from the universities creating vocational engineering and science programs at the universities to focus on developing industry. A brain drain ensued pushing the theoretical modeling abilities back a generation.
Linear programming was introduce to centralized planning giving the hope that supply an demand could be attacked through computer programming iterations. True supply and demand is not as simple as algebraic applications and requires calculus to determine optimization. While the Soviets were trying to pin down supply and demand through algebra, the West allowed for natural optimization through open markets. Red Plenty tracks how the system used paper folders to determine the demand and available supply of over 300 commodities required to run the economy - to the extent there was one man in a room wheeling between folders updating each for a change in resource requirements.
The book then goes into the black market and how it operated. An example was given of a factory that could not meet its demands and determined if they had an upgraded piece of equipment they could meet the demand. There was not a possibility of ordering a new piece of equipment since they already had one that was an older version. They decided to run a bulldozer through the plant as an accident causing an emergency need for the new piece of equipment - vs. just letting the authorities know that modeled demand was not deliverable with the older version of the equipment. Meanwhile, the black market operators stole key pieces that put together the machinery that was needed to fill demand from another factory trying to increase its production. Etc, etc.
So what's the take away from all of this. Human nature doesn't change regardless of political or economic structure. The key is how does information become transparent as soon as possible allowing markets to react efficiently. A free market allows for the quickest exchange of information between rational investors. As people, we are not necessarily better than others - we are just in a market that allows for a more transparent exchange of information.
We have had our share of failures in the West. While Stalin was murdering millions and causing millions more to suffer in severe poverty, the United States was in a great depression with millions suffering severe poverty. We have recently seen Wall Street deal makers and trusted investment managers hiding information from regulatory oversight. The result is millions at the age of retirement seeing their wealth reduced or wiped out. Transparency of information is critical to the success of any organization - large or small.
Let's ask ourselves about our own organizations. Do we allow information to flow freely? Is accountability transparent? Can executives really see what is going on in their organizations? Challenge yourself. We are only as good as what we know. While we smirk when we think of the planned economy, we may be sitting on our own little fantasy.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
A Farewell to Arms
Just finished Hemingway's first book - "A Farewell to Arms". Hemingway taps into his experience as an ambulance driver to create a story of one on the Italian front. "The Lieutenant" gets hit by a trench mortar and sent to a hospital in the rear wear he meets his girl (Catherine). She is a nurse that takes care of him. They fall in love but he has to go back to the front. Shortly after arriving the Italian army is forced to retreat. During the retreat the Lieutenant gets cut off from the main retreat and is behind enemy lines. Eventually he is able to find his way back to the main body of the retreat but finds out the Italians are shooting all of the officers. The Lieutenant jumps into the river to escape being shot in the head - Farewell to Arms.
The Lieutenant finds his girl (who is with child) back in Milan. He knows he will be reported so he and Catherine row a boat across a great lake to Switzerland where they are politely arrested but allowed to live freely in the country. They spend a winter in romantic wonder awaiting the birth of their child. The story ends with the child being stillborn and Catherine losing her life shortly after the birth - a different Farewell to Arms.
The books is a great read. It gives you a unique insight into the war during that time and is a great romance - guy romance.
My next book is a Hemingway suggestion - "Out of Africa". I will tell you of the hills outside of Mombasa.
The Lieutenant finds his girl (who is with child) back in Milan. He knows he will be reported so he and Catherine row a boat across a great lake to Switzerland where they are politely arrested but allowed to live freely in the country. They spend a winter in romantic wonder awaiting the birth of their child. The story ends with the child being stillborn and Catherine losing her life shortly after the birth - a different Farewell to Arms.
The books is a great read. It gives you a unique insight into the war during that time and is a great romance - guy romance.
My next book is a Hemingway suggestion - "Out of Africa". I will tell you of the hills outside of Mombasa.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Red Plenty
Ran across this book review in the Economist this week. "Red Plenty" is an interesting economic survey inside the Soviet Union. One might ask me why I would want to read about the Soviet economy post collapse?? The author posed an interesting thought. It is difficult to understand things clearly when you are inside the model. If the economic model is all you know then all your thoughts and attempts to solutions become framed by your situation.
It is going to be interesting to read this book and see how thousands of people thrashed about trying to resolve economic issues inside of this static framework. Is our workplace often such a closed economic system? Do you have a Nikita Khrushchev in the corner office?
This reminds me of a story about Stalin and the building of the Kremlin. When I visited Red Square the gentlemen showing me around mentioned that Stalin had several architects work on the plans for the main building. Two architects presented their different plans to Stalin at the same time. One building design was on one side of the desk and another building design was on the other side. Stalin said to go build it. Everyone was afraid to tell him it was two different buildings. So if you look at the building today, they built one building with one elevation on the left and another elevation on the right.
I will give you a full report when I am finished. As a side note - I found very few copies of this book in United States.
It is going to be interesting to read this book and see how thousands of people thrashed about trying to resolve economic issues inside of this static framework. Is our workplace often such a closed economic system? Do you have a Nikita Khrushchev in the corner office?
This reminds me of a story about Stalin and the building of the Kremlin. When I visited Red Square the gentlemen showing me around mentioned that Stalin had several architects work on the plans for the main building. Two architects presented their different plans to Stalin at the same time. One building design was on one side of the desk and another building design was on the other side. Stalin said to go build it. Everyone was afraid to tell him it was two different buildings. So if you look at the building today, they built one building with one elevation on the left and another elevation on the right.
I will give you a full report when I am finished. As a side note - I found very few copies of this book in United States.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
A Different Time
Those who know me well know I enjoy reading Ernest Hemingway. I am going through a reread cycle on his books and decided to start with "A Moveable Feast". Why did I pick this first? I believe to really understand Hemingway you have to read this book. It is a collection of short stories about his time in Paris during the 1920's. The stories introduce different people that he spent time with during this part of his life. It can be off color at times so don't read it if you are easily offended.
I think the overarching thing I like about reading during this period of time is how slow everything was. Life was simple yet fulfilling. In our time it seems like we are constantly trying to cram everything into every second or we don't feel like we are fulfilled - not Hemingway in the 1920's.
The stories focus on the life of Ernest and his first wife Hadley. They live a simple life in one of the poor quarters of Paris. They actually lived on top of a saw mill. Ernest's days consist of rising, walking to a cafe through the city, writing through the morning, taking a relaxed lunch and then spending an early evening with friends in the cafe's. There is a lot of drinking, but, it is Ernest Hemingway.
The people in this book influenced Hemingway's young life and the experiences produced his first book "The Sun Also Rises" (which I am reading now). "The Sun Also Rises" captures this generation known as the lost generation. Hemingway spent a lot of time in the mountains in the winter and in Spain in the summer. The trips to Spain are highlighted in "The Sun Also Rises". The trips in the mountains are used in "Farewell to Arms" which is a love story set in the Italian Front where Hemingway served as an ambulance driver.
The best story in "A Moveable Feast" is the story about F. Scott Fitzgerald (Great Gatsby). Scott was a piece of work and was adversely affected by alcohol. Hemingway writes of a trip the two of them made from Lyon to Paris bringing Scott's Renault back. The Renault had been left in Lyon because his wife (later certified insane) didn't like the top so she had it sawed off. The rains started so Scott and his wife left the vehicle in Lyon and took the train to Paris. Hemingway and Scott went back down to retrieve it. The adventure back up to Paris is classic and gives great insight to the tragic personal phobias Scott had.
If you enjoy and easy read and have an interest in Paris during the 20's - read this book.
I think the overarching thing I like about reading during this period of time is how slow everything was. Life was simple yet fulfilling. In our time it seems like we are constantly trying to cram everything into every second or we don't feel like we are fulfilled - not Hemingway in the 1920's.
The stories focus on the life of Ernest and his first wife Hadley. They live a simple life in one of the poor quarters of Paris. They actually lived on top of a saw mill. Ernest's days consist of rising, walking to a cafe through the city, writing through the morning, taking a relaxed lunch and then spending an early evening with friends in the cafe's. There is a lot of drinking, but, it is Ernest Hemingway.
The people in this book influenced Hemingway's young life and the experiences produced his first book "The Sun Also Rises" (which I am reading now). "The Sun Also Rises" captures this generation known as the lost generation. Hemingway spent a lot of time in the mountains in the winter and in Spain in the summer. The trips to Spain are highlighted in "The Sun Also Rises". The trips in the mountains are used in "Farewell to Arms" which is a love story set in the Italian Front where Hemingway served as an ambulance driver.
The best story in "A Moveable Feast" is the story about F. Scott Fitzgerald (Great Gatsby). Scott was a piece of work and was adversely affected by alcohol. Hemingway writes of a trip the two of them made from Lyon to Paris bringing Scott's Renault back. The Renault had been left in Lyon because his wife (later certified insane) didn't like the top so she had it sawed off. The rains started so Scott and his wife left the vehicle in Lyon and took the train to Paris. Hemingway and Scott went back down to retrieve it. The adventure back up to Paris is classic and gives great insight to the tragic personal phobias Scott had.
If you enjoy and easy read and have an interest in Paris during the 20's - read this book.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Atlas Shrugged
I started reading Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged over vacation. I had read in many places what an awesome book this is but it's a sizable book and I decided it was best saved for a break from the daily routine. I have not finished it yet but it is a staggering read.
The theme of the book is complete control of economies by governments (the "Looters"). The concept of reallocating wealth to those that are neediest vs. rewarding the producers. The industrialists and creators of ideas decide the way to battle this is to go on strike - disappear. The result is all global economies in a downward spiral.
I am a bigger fan of economics than politics. The concept of the book challenges your thoughts on the responsibility for society to find the balance between rewarding production and providing a safety net for the less fortunate (in this book that would be those who do not produce).
The one hole I see in Rand's thesis is she points out that only the upper classes are destroyed in revolution. However, there has not been a society built like the United States - built on freedom of thought and capitalization of ideas. Previous revolutions have occurred against the ruling classes - royalty by birth - not by production.
We shall see how Ms. Rand wraps it up. If you like to read - you need to read this book.
The theme of the book is complete control of economies by governments (the "Looters"). The concept of reallocating wealth to those that are neediest vs. rewarding the producers. The industrialists and creators of ideas decide the way to battle this is to go on strike - disappear. The result is all global economies in a downward spiral.
I am a bigger fan of economics than politics. The concept of the book challenges your thoughts on the responsibility for society to find the balance between rewarding production and providing a safety net for the less fortunate (in this book that would be those who do not produce).
The one hole I see in Rand's thesis is she points out that only the upper classes are destroyed in revolution. However, there has not been a society built like the United States - built on freedom of thought and capitalization of ideas. Previous revolutions have occurred against the ruling classes - royalty by birth - not by production.
We shall see how Ms. Rand wraps it up. If you like to read - you need to read this book.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
The Risk Pool
I went out to Northern California to visit my aunt who is working through cancer treatments. The gentlemen (Dave) that she lives with gave a book to me called "The Risk Pool" and let me know when he read it he thought about my childhood. Dave's a nice guy and I thanked him for the book adding it to the stack.
I finally pulled the book out and read it this month. The story is about a boy who grows up in the late 40's and 50's in upstate New York. His father comes back from the war and decides he is going to focus on himself, eventually leaving wife and son. The mother goes into a shell and the boy eventually goes to live with his father for a few years before going back to live with his mother. While the connection with specific facts does not match up to my childhood several of the general themes do.
The main thing that does not match up is that I never new my father. My mother did not marry him and I have never had contact with him. However, my mother did marry a man, Walt, who I spent time with from eight to fourteen. All young men want a father and I thought Walt would be the person that stepped in. There was one problem, Walt was an alcoholic. Walt's primary hang out was a bar. When I was younger the pattern was I would go with Walt somewhere with anticipation of a Father and Son outing and he would end up at a bar, at first it was the Villa. He would hand me all the change in his pocket and head in. I would go buy some candy and sit in the car, for hours. He would eventually come out. On Sundays, he played bar league softball and would take me with him - quality time. They all drank beer and I was supplied with an unlimited supply of Coke. After the game, he would go to the bar and I would sit in the car.
Eventually Mom and Walt became serious and decided to live together. We moved to Union City (East SF Bay Area) into an apartment. His bar in Union City was the Eight Ball. This is where my relationship with Walt, his friends and time at the bar begin to match up with the Risk Pool. I was allowed to go into the Eight Ball and hang out. Since Walt was there all day it worked for me. Similar to Ned in the book, I learned to play pool and could pretty much clean up all players and have an endless supply of Coke and free pool. The owner of the bar, Stan, would eventually come back to the pool room and let me know the adults were ready for me to go home and have dinner.
Similar to Ned, I was "Walt's kid" - he was "Sam's Kid". Walt did things that in relation to me that his friends did not approve of as did Sam. I grew up with, by default, this large group of characters at the bar. None of the people were "healthy" role models, let me see if I can remember some names. There was "Wild Bill", a guy that drank like crazy at night and the weekends but put together steel frames for skyscrapers in San Francisco during the day. He was a 49's fan by the way. There was "Hawiian Pete", allegedly from Hawaii he would bury a pig in a fire pit on occasion and they would all eat it. "Big Dan" was a huge guy with a handlebar mustache, he was married to another alcoholic that drove us down the wrong side of the road on several occasions. "Lucky" was a merchant marine that was in and out. He took us up in a plane once, not for sure how much drinking was going on there but I suspect anyone named Lucky didn't drink and fly. "Don the muffler man" worked at a muffler shop. This guy deserves a whole paragraph.
Don lived in the same apartments as us for some time. I spent time with the kids of some of these characters if they were close to my age. His son was Donnie (of course). Don's drink of choice was rum and coke and I don't believe I ever saw him without said drink in hand - even when driving. He had a AMC Javelin that was built for speed at all times. If Don went from one four way stop to another he would reach 100mph between each one and maybe would only stop at selected ones. I thought I was dead on multiple occasions in his car. As to his parenting style, his wife had a piece of paper on the wall titled "Donnie's Sh#% List". Anything Donnie did during the day that was inappropriate was written on the sheet. When Don came home, first thing Donnie received a spanking for each item. At the muffler shop, the entire bathroom was covered with Penthouse centerfolds - every square inch. But my favorite story is when Don became angry with the apartment manager one day. The apartment manager was on the bottom floor of the apartments with only a sidewalk separating his door from the parking lot. Don backs his Javelin all the way up to the door of the apartment to block it. He then proceeds to knock on the door, scream at the guy then get into the Javelin and absolutely smoke the tires all the way out of the parking lot. I believe that was the last month that family was there.
So these are the people that Walt introduced me to. In the book, Ned and Sam reconnect as Ned matures and there is an ongoing relationship. Sam continues his alcoholic ways and is in and out of Ned's life until he dies of lung cancer. Unfortunately, or at least I thought at the time, Walt left us when I was 14 and that was the last I saw of him. Drinking and the "bar" was the most important thing to Walt - always was.
So Dave put me back in touch with that part of my life. It's something I have always put behind me and never really considered it as a life that I would want to live. However, it is part of the fabric that weaved me. When I was younger there were many times it embarrassed me but as an adult I can look back and see it was really something that I was placed into. It's a sad life for the people that see their drinking friends as their true friends - regardless of the sophistication of the atmosphere. The real friend is the drink - the people are just there to make them feel better about themselves.
I finally pulled the book out and read it this month. The story is about a boy who grows up in the late 40's and 50's in upstate New York. His father comes back from the war and decides he is going to focus on himself, eventually leaving wife and son. The mother goes into a shell and the boy eventually goes to live with his father for a few years before going back to live with his mother. While the connection with specific facts does not match up to my childhood several of the general themes do.
The main thing that does not match up is that I never new my father. My mother did not marry him and I have never had contact with him. However, my mother did marry a man, Walt, who I spent time with from eight to fourteen. All young men want a father and I thought Walt would be the person that stepped in. There was one problem, Walt was an alcoholic. Walt's primary hang out was a bar. When I was younger the pattern was I would go with Walt somewhere with anticipation of a Father and Son outing and he would end up at a bar, at first it was the Villa. He would hand me all the change in his pocket and head in. I would go buy some candy and sit in the car, for hours. He would eventually come out. On Sundays, he played bar league softball and would take me with him - quality time. They all drank beer and I was supplied with an unlimited supply of Coke. After the game, he would go to the bar and I would sit in the car.
Eventually Mom and Walt became serious and decided to live together. We moved to Union City (East SF Bay Area) into an apartment. His bar in Union City was the Eight Ball. This is where my relationship with Walt, his friends and time at the bar begin to match up with the Risk Pool. I was allowed to go into the Eight Ball and hang out. Since Walt was there all day it worked for me. Similar to Ned in the book, I learned to play pool and could pretty much clean up all players and have an endless supply of Coke and free pool. The owner of the bar, Stan, would eventually come back to the pool room and let me know the adults were ready for me to go home and have dinner.
Similar to Ned, I was "Walt's kid" - he was "Sam's Kid". Walt did things that in relation to me that his friends did not approve of as did Sam. I grew up with, by default, this large group of characters at the bar. None of the people were "healthy" role models, let me see if I can remember some names. There was "Wild Bill", a guy that drank like crazy at night and the weekends but put together steel frames for skyscrapers in San Francisco during the day. He was a 49's fan by the way. There was "Hawiian Pete", allegedly from Hawaii he would bury a pig in a fire pit on occasion and they would all eat it. "Big Dan" was a huge guy with a handlebar mustache, he was married to another alcoholic that drove us down the wrong side of the road on several occasions. "Lucky" was a merchant marine that was in and out. He took us up in a plane once, not for sure how much drinking was going on there but I suspect anyone named Lucky didn't drink and fly. "Don the muffler man" worked at a muffler shop. This guy deserves a whole paragraph.
Don lived in the same apartments as us for some time. I spent time with the kids of some of these characters if they were close to my age. His son was Donnie (of course). Don's drink of choice was rum and coke and I don't believe I ever saw him without said drink in hand - even when driving. He had a AMC Javelin that was built for speed at all times. If Don went from one four way stop to another he would reach 100mph between each one and maybe would only stop at selected ones. I thought I was dead on multiple occasions in his car. As to his parenting style, his wife had a piece of paper on the wall titled "Donnie's Sh#% List". Anything Donnie did during the day that was inappropriate was written on the sheet. When Don came home, first thing Donnie received a spanking for each item. At the muffler shop, the entire bathroom was covered with Penthouse centerfolds - every square inch. But my favorite story is when Don became angry with the apartment manager one day. The apartment manager was on the bottom floor of the apartments with only a sidewalk separating his door from the parking lot. Don backs his Javelin all the way up to the door of the apartment to block it. He then proceeds to knock on the door, scream at the guy then get into the Javelin and absolutely smoke the tires all the way out of the parking lot. I believe that was the last month that family was there.
So these are the people that Walt introduced me to. In the book, Ned and Sam reconnect as Ned matures and there is an ongoing relationship. Sam continues his alcoholic ways and is in and out of Ned's life until he dies of lung cancer. Unfortunately, or at least I thought at the time, Walt left us when I was 14 and that was the last I saw of him. Drinking and the "bar" was the most important thing to Walt - always was.
So Dave put me back in touch with that part of my life. It's something I have always put behind me and never really considered it as a life that I would want to live. However, it is part of the fabric that weaved me. When I was younger there were many times it embarrassed me but as an adult I can look back and see it was really something that I was placed into. It's a sad life for the people that see their drinking friends as their true friends - regardless of the sophistication of the atmosphere. The real friend is the drink - the people are just there to make them feel better about themselves.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Mr. Buffet - Snowball and the Business of Life
Just finished Warren Buffet's biography ("The Snowball, Warren Buffet and the business of life") - thank you JP Morgan Chase. It was a great read and generally dead on what you would expect as Buffet enters his adult life. However, there are a few surprises and a few "reminders".
When Warren was young he was an interesting character. One thing that stands out is that he stole his sister's bike. You would never think of that as part of his personality but as things unfold you can see how it happened. From a very young age, and likely since birth, Warren was singularly focused on creating wealth. His behaviour lined up with this singular focus - at all times. One story that reinforces his early business maturity is reflected in the event where a businessman needed someone to liquidate a warehouse of dog food. The gentleman was located in Omaha and needed someone that was in Washington DC to clear the warehouse (Warren was living there at the time) and the only person he trusted was Warren - who was a teenager. Warren came through and cleared the inventory within a week.
Warren also sought out some of the greats in investing landing with Benjamin Graham ("Intelligent Investor"). We often like to make investing complex bought Warren sought investments that were straightforward - investments that could produce cash and had a safety margin.
I saved on quote from Buffet's book because it wraps up how I believe most investors should invest. "...stocks are things to own over time. Productivity will increase and stocks will increase with it. There are only a few things you can do wrong. One is to buy or sell at the wrong time. Paying high fees is another way to get killed The best way to avoid both of these is to buy low cost index funds, and buy over time. Be greedy when others are fearful, and fearful when others are greedy, but don't think you can outsmart the market." "If a cross-section of American industry is going to do well over time, then why try to pick the little beauties and think you can do better? Very few people should be active investors" (pg. 825). This method is wonderfully simple and eliminates stress. Unfortunately, some people feel only complicated advice or secretive methods have value.
Buffet also believed in concentrated risk and often purchased entire companies. He could do this because this is all he did and he surrounded himself with capable operators. Having said that, as you read the book you will see that Buffet made several decisions that were not good investments and caused him significant financial pain. His portfolio of decisions were accretive over time but not without pain.
Buffet's personal life was interesting. He had this interesting skill of avoiding any relational pain to the point of letting his wife leave Omaha and relocate to San Francisco permanently. The author doesn't come forward directly on what happened but the implication was she had interests outside of Warren but none were disclosed. Warren never addresses this personally but pretends all is well. Additionally, Warren actually has another woman move in to his home in Omaha to take care of him. Practically, Warren has two wives - one for the public and one for him domestically. When his first wife passes away he eventually marries the second.
The most significant thing that came out of this book, for me, is Warren's view on the transfer of wealth. Buffet world numbers are staggering for most of us but the concept is consistent. Buffet does not believe in transferring wealth through the generations and has left most of his money to the Gates Foundation. What is significant about this is that he did not leave his money to his own legacy but to somebody Else's. Warren will go to the grave without a perpetual legacy. The remaining portion of his legacy goes to his children's' foundations. I also believe that generational transfer of wealth is not healthy. The future generations of Carla and myself will only receive educational support. Any other wealth achieved, which at this point appears nominal, will be given back to society in some way.
If you like investing and business - you will enjoy this book.
When Warren was young he was an interesting character. One thing that stands out is that he stole his sister's bike. You would never think of that as part of his personality but as things unfold you can see how it happened. From a very young age, and likely since birth, Warren was singularly focused on creating wealth. His behaviour lined up with this singular focus - at all times. One story that reinforces his early business maturity is reflected in the event where a businessman needed someone to liquidate a warehouse of dog food. The gentleman was located in Omaha and needed someone that was in Washington DC to clear the warehouse (Warren was living there at the time) and the only person he trusted was Warren - who was a teenager. Warren came through and cleared the inventory within a week.
Warren also sought out some of the greats in investing landing with Benjamin Graham ("Intelligent Investor"). We often like to make investing complex bought Warren sought investments that were straightforward - investments that could produce cash and had a safety margin.
I saved on quote from Buffet's book because it wraps up how I believe most investors should invest. "...stocks are things to own over time. Productivity will increase and stocks will increase with it. There are only a few things you can do wrong. One is to buy or sell at the wrong time. Paying high fees is another way to get killed The best way to avoid both of these is to buy low cost index funds, and buy over time. Be greedy when others are fearful, and fearful when others are greedy, but don't think you can outsmart the market." "If a cross-section of American industry is going to do well over time, then why try to pick the little beauties and think you can do better? Very few people should be active investors" (pg. 825). This method is wonderfully simple and eliminates stress. Unfortunately, some people feel only complicated advice or secretive methods have value.
Buffet also believed in concentrated risk and often purchased entire companies. He could do this because this is all he did and he surrounded himself with capable operators. Having said that, as you read the book you will see that Buffet made several decisions that were not good investments and caused him significant financial pain. His portfolio of decisions were accretive over time but not without pain.
Buffet's personal life was interesting. He had this interesting skill of avoiding any relational pain to the point of letting his wife leave Omaha and relocate to San Francisco permanently. The author doesn't come forward directly on what happened but the implication was she had interests outside of Warren but none were disclosed. Warren never addresses this personally but pretends all is well. Additionally, Warren actually has another woman move in to his home in Omaha to take care of him. Practically, Warren has two wives - one for the public and one for him domestically. When his first wife passes away he eventually marries the second.
The most significant thing that came out of this book, for me, is Warren's view on the transfer of wealth. Buffet world numbers are staggering for most of us but the concept is consistent. Buffet does not believe in transferring wealth through the generations and has left most of his money to the Gates Foundation. What is significant about this is that he did not leave his money to his own legacy but to somebody Else's. Warren will go to the grave without a perpetual legacy. The remaining portion of his legacy goes to his children's' foundations. I also believe that generational transfer of wealth is not healthy. The future generations of Carla and myself will only receive educational support. Any other wealth achieved, which at this point appears nominal, will be given back to society in some way.
If you like investing and business - you will enjoy this book.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
The Planned Economy - Comrade
A subtle shift has occurred, although I am not sure I am seeing it yet. The Federal Government has always encouraged certain investment behaviour through our tax system. However, we have always been free to choose to invest to our tax benefit or ignore the tax benefit. This last year we have seen the Federal Government decide how money should be invested in our economy in a significant way.
Consider:
* TARP - This was a good investment. The Federal Government likely tripled their investment. I am giving "W" credit.
* Shovel ready projects - seems to be a delay. However, we can argue that not many capitalists would invest in roads and bridges outside of the "despised" toll takers. Investment in roads and bridges is generally a government play.
* Weather proofing homes - ok, now we are getting into the planned economy. Given the choice to invest capital - read your taxes would be reduced, would we freely choose to improve the efficiency of our home energy use - not likely.
* Invest in health care - I thought that was what comes out of my pay stub every week regardless of how much money I make??
The current administration is in the beginning phase of how to best plan the economy for the upcoming year. Do we need to go there? Do we need to know how many blue Trabants need to be produced, how many green gym shorts, etc.??
Does the current administration believe that thousands of iterations of the marketplace making decisions is more intelligent then a group of intellectuals in Washington DC?
We will see - I believe the shift has begun - enjoy your gym shorts and please share your thoughts.
Consider:
* TARP - This was a good investment. The Federal Government likely tripled their investment. I am giving "W" credit.
* Shovel ready projects - seems to be a delay. However, we can argue that not many capitalists would invest in roads and bridges outside of the "despised" toll takers. Investment in roads and bridges is generally a government play.
* Weather proofing homes - ok, now we are getting into the planned economy. Given the choice to invest capital - read your taxes would be reduced, would we freely choose to improve the efficiency of our home energy use - not likely.
* Invest in health care - I thought that was what comes out of my pay stub every week regardless of how much money I make??
The current administration is in the beginning phase of how to best plan the economy for the upcoming year. Do we need to go there? Do we need to know how many blue Trabants need to be produced, how many green gym shorts, etc.??
Does the current administration believe that thousands of iterations of the marketplace making decisions is more intelligent then a group of intellectuals in Washington DC?
We will see - I believe the shift has begun - enjoy your gym shorts and please share your thoughts.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Tiger
Might as well spend a few minutes discussing Tiger since the buzz is everywhere. We all have inconsistency in our thoughts or actions vs. our image to some degree. I know this is something that I have always struggled with. The way others perceive you is rarely consistent with your true personality and actions.
However, Mr. Woods appears to have created a gap far wider than most can accomplish (sans Bernie Madoff). It is good to see the decision he has been made is to step away from the public spotlight and focus on his family and marriage. In the end, his efforts towards his family and marriage will be the greatest achievement of all. I hope Tiger can have do this and, in the end, come back professionaly to achieve his goals in golf.
Golf is a game that kicks so many talented individuals to the curb. We have seen one star after another either fail to live up to their billing or get there and quickly fade away. The fact that Tiger has had his issues and has still been able to focus at the level of greatness says something about his singular ability to focus.
Good luck Tiger - if you only save your family then you are a champion in my book.
However, Mr. Woods appears to have created a gap far wider than most can accomplish (sans Bernie Madoff). It is good to see the decision he has been made is to step away from the public spotlight and focus on his family and marriage. In the end, his efforts towards his family and marriage will be the greatest achievement of all. I hope Tiger can have do this and, in the end, come back professionaly to achieve his goals in golf.
Golf is a game that kicks so many talented individuals to the curb. We have seen one star after another either fail to live up to their billing or get there and quickly fade away. The fact that Tiger has had his issues and has still been able to focus at the level of greatness says something about his singular ability to focus.
Good luck Tiger - if you only save your family then you are a champion in my book.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Herr Drucker
The Economist had a nice write up in Schumpeter on Rembembering Drucker. Peter Drucker is my management hero and I have absorbed most of his writings. The article makes the point that Drucker hit the sweet spot between managment of the organization (people) and management of the organization through metrics (accountability). People allow the organization to have success - you can't grow without the right people. Metrics keep us accountable to each other. The right people, with the right metrics ALWAYS leads to success.
We have left Peter Drucker for people stealing cheese, getting on the right bus, blinking and all of that popcorn management. Drucker was involved in the beginning of management theory and as the Economist points out, management is not a progressive science. The trade offs of management and the human condition have not changed for thousands of years. Know what your people do and genuinely care about them as human beings. As the Hawthorne effect shows - do this and the lights come on.
We have left Peter Drucker for people stealing cheese, getting on the right bus, blinking and all of that popcorn management. Drucker was involved in the beginning of management theory and as the Economist points out, management is not a progressive science. The trade offs of management and the human condition have not changed for thousands of years. Know what your people do and genuinely care about them as human beings. As the Hawthorne effect shows - do this and the lights come on.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Travel Musings
The total deterioration of the US airline industry is difficult to live through. The airlines have drifted into an impossible model of competing for every fare at the sacrifice of the quality of the experience. Being placed into a seat with zero leg room (an I am not tall) and paying for a snack is almost to the point of laughable.
The US needs to decide if an investment in a rail grid is favorable to an investment in a regulated airline industry - pick one and invest. There is a portion of the population were being in NYC in three hours is not critical. Let's save flying for those willing to pay a premium to be somewhere fast. Let's have trains to get everyone else around who doesn't absolutely have to be there overnight....
The US needs to decide if an investment in a rail grid is favorable to an investment in a regulated airline industry - pick one and invest. There is a portion of the population were being in NYC in three hours is not critical. Let's save flying for those willing to pay a premium to be somewhere fast. Let's have trains to get everyone else around who doesn't absolutely have to be there overnight....
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