by Richard Subber | Oct 31, 2022 | American history, Book reviews, Books, History
the navies were second priority…
Book review:
Under Two Flags:
The American Navy in the Civil War
by William M. Fowler Jr.
New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1990
352 pp.
I imagine most Civil War buffs will learn something by reading Under Two Flags.
Most standard histories don’t emphasize the naval elements of the Civil War fighting. Both Northern and Southern leaders thought the navies were important, and so they were.
Stephen Mallory, naval secretary of the Confederate States, had a job no one would have wanted in 1860. He came up short in most respects, because the Confederacy just couldn’t afford to build and maintain a potent navy.
Gideon Welles, his Northern counterpart, had only a somewhat easier job.
The naval commanders never managed to convince their respective commanders-in-chief that the navies were as vital as the armies in the Civil War conflict.
The sailors on both sides were brave men, but Fowler gives them second billing.
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Book review. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2022 All rights reserved.
Common Sense by Thomas Paine (comments)
it wasn’t strictly business, but…
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Above all: Poems of dawn and more with 73 free verse poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
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by Richard Subber | Oct 24, 2022 | My poetry, Poetry
…interruption of the night.
Aurora
A sharp spark of dawn intrudes on the dark,
it limns the sentry line of trees
that mutely guard the wetlands,
it draws the eye but has no style,
is not sun, and scarcely bright,
yet augurs interruption of the night.
May 2, 2020
Published in Sep-Oct 2022 issue of Creative Inspirations
My poem “Aurora” was published in my fifth collection of 53 poems, My first name was rain: A dreamery of poems. You can buy it on Amazon (paperback and Kindle), or get it free in Kindle Unlimited (search for “Richard Carl Subber”).
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My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2022 All rights reserved.
“…fragmentary blue…”
a hue for you, thanks, Bob
Robert Frost, old reliable
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Writing Rainbows: Poems for Grown-Ups with 59 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.
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by Richard Subber | Oct 12, 2022 | Human Nature, Language, My poetry, Poetry
…the vanishing point…
Love has a name
She imagined bliss in the dark
on the cool sand.
He numbly spoke his part
in a lovers’ quarrel.
She offered him so many futures together,
paired, and shared.
She offered one exotic future
in her ruby world.
She heard the lovers’ music,
not knowing that he danced
to familiar rhythms
without hearing the tune
that chimed in her heart.
She offered him their futures,
but he ensnared that single one
that would make them one,
he could not release it
to her nurture and her joyful care,
he stole the ruby future and ran away.
He left a lonely rose
and a note with two words
that she could not accept,
and he rushed to the vanishing point
on his horizon.
She held his note, signed with his “G”…
she stared at her empty horizon,
with barely hot tears,
she shuddered in the first searing sadness,
knowing that she had never spoken his name.
Feb 26, 2021
Inspired by The Good Karma Hospital, a 2017 TV series that ran for three seasons. In the last episode, Dr. Ruby Walker learns that her love affair with Dr. Gabriel Varma isn’t a love affair, and is only another example of Dr. Varma’s pathetic inability to make a commitment.
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My poetry. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2022 All rights reserved.
American Character: A History of the Epic Struggle…
Colin Woodard makes it easier to understand…(book review)
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As with another eye: Poems of exactitude with 55 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
Your comments are welcome—tell me what you’re thinking.
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by Richard Subber | Oct 5, 2022 | American history, Book reviews, Books, History, Politics
a casual look at Civil War history
Book review:
A History of the People of the United States
During Lincoln’s Administration
by John Bach McMaster
New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1927
693 pp.
This is an intriguing historical excursion into American history from the vantage point of 1927.
McMaster’s style is notably less than academic—his very casual quotation style is a distraction.
Basically, he offers a sometimes superficial political perspective on the origins, conduct, and denouement of the American Civil War.
A well-informed reader can skim A History without undue loss.
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Book review. Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2022 All rights reserved.
Old Friends (book review)
Tracy Kidder tells truth about old age…
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As with another eye: Poems of exactitude with 55 free verse and haiku poems,
and the rest of my poetry books are for sale on Amazon (paperback and Kindle)
and free in Kindle Unlimited, search Amazon for “Richard Carl Subber”
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