Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety (book review)

Whew! That was my reaction to reading Eric Schlosser’s detailed account of the USA’s nuclear weapons program over the years in his book “Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety” Schlosser tells of many near catastrophes where accidental nuclear explosions were narrowly avoided. Airplane crashes with fully armed nuclear bombs, accidents in missile silos, …

Trip Report: Tim and Anne’s Holland America Nieuw Statendam Western Caribbean Cruise (December 2019)

Here’s a trip report I wrote on Anne and my travel business site that I’m including here too. – Tim “One of the best ships we have sailed on!” was our opinion after sailing on Holland America’s newest ship, the Nieuw Statendam, in the Western Caribbean in December 2019. While we enjoyed our last Holland America cruise Eurodam in 2017, the …

The Fall of Richard Nixon: A Reporter Remembers Watergate (book review)

“I have never heard or seen such outrageous, vicious, distorted reporting in twenty-seven years of public life.” – The President “I believe the time has come to bring that investigation and the other investigations of this matter to an end. ‘One year of xxx is enough!’” – The President “My research assistant had canvassed prominent constitutional scholars, and the consensus …

Target 100: the World’s Simplest Weight-Loss Program in 6 Easy Steps (book review)

“Another diet book?” That was my initial impression when coming across Liz Josefsberg’s “Target 100: the World’s Simplest Weight-Loss Program in 6 Easy Steps”. I’ve been on various diets over the years and I had settled on Weight Watchers as being the most effective for me. Still I struggle with maintaining a healthy weight, and the author’s simple approach appealed …

13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do (book review)

What caught my eye when I was considering reading Amy Morin’s “13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do” was (1) the title and (2) these chapter headings: CHAPTER 1 THEY DON’T WASTE TIME FEELING SORRY FOR THEMSELVESCHAPTER 2 THEY DON’T GIVE AWAY THEIR POWERCHAPTER 3 THEY DON’T SHY AWAY FROM CHANGECHAPTER 4 THEY DON’T FOCUS ON THINGS THEY CAN’T CONTROLCHAPTER …

Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions (book review)

With the 50th anniversary of the successful Apollo 11 moon landing this summer I have been watching every documentary and reading books on this historic event. I’ve always been fascinated by the space program (I reviewed the book American Moonshot on this blog earlier this year). Yet the best material I have found on the Apollo program and the moon …