MOST INTERESTING ESSAYS 12/4/25: THEORY & TRUTH, MEMORY & INTELLIGENCE, PSYCHIATRY, WRITING, EGYPT IN 2019, LIVE OR DIE, GARDEN OF EDEN, SOCIAL DYSFUNCTION, DEATH ROW, RIGHT & WRONG, FRANTZ FANON, TRUTHINESS, CONSPIRACY, LIBERALITY, LIFE IS LIQUID, BECOMING god-LIKE, TIPPING POINT, VANISHING WORLD
Darznik’s novel is based on a woman who believed and acted on a conviction that men and women are created equal.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
Song of a Captive Bird
By: Jasmin Darznik
Narrated By: Mozhan Marno
Jasmin Darznik (Iranian born American author with a BA from the University of California and a PhD in English literature from Princeton.)
“…Captive Bird” is classified as a novel. However, it is loosely based on the life of Iranian poet, Forugh Farrokhzad, who defied the traditions of mid-twentieth century Iranian culture. Today’s Iranian culture would undoubtedly be as anti-Farrokhzad as the 1950’s culture in which she lived.
Forugh Farrokhzad
Iranian poet and painter born in Tehran in 1934, died at age 32 from a car accident in 1967.
If even a small part of Darznik’s novel is based on true events, Forugh Farrokhzad was an extraordinary human being who symbolized the truth of sexual equality. In one of the most patriarchal countries in the world, Ms. Farrokhzad rebelled against a conservative and myopic view of women’s rights.
Jasmin Darznik characterizes Farrokhzad as a trailblazer who believed and lived a life of sexual equality.
The story Darznik tells is of a human being choosing to livelife in whatever way her mind and emotions led. Darznik’s heroine fought the restrictions of women’s inequality in a country riven with militant patriarchy. Farrokhzad’s history is one of rebellion against her father, a colonel in the Iranian army, and the societal taboos of Iran, many of which are resurrected in today’s Iranian government.
Darznik’s story is of a woman who acts like a free man, chooses her sexual partners, leaves her husband and only child, and seeks fame as a poet in a land renowned for poetry.
Like a man or any human being, Farrokhzad has sexual desires and ambitions to be something more than a footnote in history. Like husbands who leave their children through divorce or separation, Farrokhzad leaves her son. It is the same habit of many absent fathers who may love their children, but choose, like Farrokhzad, to pursue life beyond being a mother or father.
The world is beginning to understand women and men are 99.9 percent the same with fractional differences for conception, and strength.
The desire for sex, money, power and/or prestige are the same for all human beings. What is remarkable about Farrokhzad life is that she seems to have recognized that belief in one of the most patriarchal countries in the world. The way Farrokhzad lived her life, as reflected by the author, shows why men and women should be treated equally.
What is not mentioned in Darsnik’s novel is that Farrkhzad was also an artist.
This is a painting done by Farrokhzad despite her principal feminist reputation as a poet in the conservative culture of Iran in the 1950s.
The author’s story suggests Farrokhzad’s father commits her to an asylum after estrangement from her family and her rejection of female inequality. In the asylum, Farrokhzad is heavily sedated and subjected to shock treatments that make her catatonic. She is rescued with her father’s decision to allow her to leave the asylum in the care of a rich Iranian woman. This benefactress is a fellow traveler in Farrokhzad’s belief about women. Farrokhzad eventually recovers from her catatonia and continues her liberated life.
Though the dates Farrokhzad’s real life do not match historical events in Iran, Darznik captures the essence of a remarkable Iranian woman.
The shah of Iran, Mohammad Pahlavi is deposed in 1979. The author conflates the history of the oil industry’s unfair monopolization by Great Britain, the King’s departure and Farrokhzad’s storied life. She tragically dies in a car accident in 1967 at the age of 32. (Some suggest the car accident is suspicious.)
Darznik’s novel is a compelling argument for sexual equality. It is based on a woman who believed and acted on a conviction that men and women are created equal. The author’s story is particularly impactful because the woman she alludes to is born in a country that is among the most patriarchal in the world.
Our tour of the Baltic countries reveals evidence of Stalin’s brutality and the fear it created in the Baltic countries between 1945 and 1990-91. The same fate may be in store for Ukraine if Putin’s invasion succeeds.
Travel
Written by Chet Yarbrough
It’s been a while since our last trip out of America because of Covid. Poland, the Baltics, and Finland were my first choice because of their troubled history with Russia. The depth and breadth of these five countries’ history is a reminder of what is at stake with the invasion of Ukraine.
In traveling to Poland, the Baltics, and Finland, one’s understanding of political suppression becomes crystal clear. In contrast to the Baltics and Finland, Poland is the most often invaded of the five countries. The Mongol empire invades Poland in the 13th century, the Swedish Monarchy in the 17th, Russia, Prussia, and Austria partition Poland in the 18th, and in two world wars Russia and Germany vie for Poland’s land in the 20th. It is little wonder that Poland chooses to be a haven for Ukrainians when Russia invades Ukraine in the 21st century. Poland understands the hardship of invasion and suppression by a foreign power.
Poland’s sovereignty has been challenged by many invasions, beginning with the Mongol empire in the 13th century.
Genghis Khan (1162-1227.)
Traveling across Poland makes one understand why it has been invaded so many times. Poland’s lush countryside is a reminder of Ukraine’s agricultural reputation as the breadbasket of Europe.
To invaders, the wealth of Ukraine is like the wealth of Poland. Poland’s elaborate salt mine at Wieliczka was established in the 13th century. It played a crucial role in Poland’s economy when salt was referred to as “white gold”. Adding to Poland’s agricultural value is its industrial growth and its obvious economic prosperity; not to mention its strategic location as pathway to East and West European countries.
Beyond its wealth, Poland’s culture birthed the great composer, Frederic Chopin and renowned Pope, John Paul II.
The atrocity of the Holocaust is made real and unforgettable to visitors of the Auschwitz’ death camp in Poland. One shutters with a view of work camps, gas chambers, shoes and clothes of over a million people gassed by the Germans at Auschwitz. Upon liberation of Auschwitz, the German commander is hung from the U-shaped posts erected at the camp. How could this mass murder have happened? Tragically, mass murder is happening today.
Man’s inhumanity to man is evidenced in Ukraine, Myanmar, Yemen, Ethiopia, Israel, and Gaza. No country in the world that wages war, either defensively or offensively, is without innocent blood on their hands.
After this brief exposure to Poland, we fly to Lithuania. Here we find the atrocity of Stalin’s Russia as the tyrant of the Baltics after WWII. One’s ignorance of the history of Russia’s tyrannical rule is concretely revealed by a woman who is a survivor of Stalin’s takeover of the Baltics in 1945. A version of her story is told in “Between Shades of Gray” which was recommended by our guide on this trip.
The subject of “Between Shades of Gray” is a young girl and her brother’s survival during Stalin’s invasion of the Baltics. Much of what is written in Ruta Sepetys’ book is a reflection of what this spry octogenarian survivor explains happened to her and her family in 1945. Her name is Lina Vilkas.
Ms. Vilkas explains this is a replica of the rail car used to transport Lithuanians to work camps in Siberia.
One hole in the floor of a similar box car is a toilet for its overcrowded Lithuanian’ prisoners.
The Baltics were ruled by Russia until the early 1990s. Lithuanian independence is declared in 1990: Estonia and Latvia independence in 1991. After touring Lithuania, the cruelty of imprisonment, torture, and murder of Baltic residents is revealed in a tour of jail torture cells, and work farms. The tour evidence is reinforced by vituperative comments by home-hosted’ survivors of Russia’s 45-year dictatorial rule. The fear of reprisal and murder kept most Lithuanians in line. The hate and distrust of Russians seems palpable in the Baltics. Even Gorbachev is viewed by our guide as a mere functionary, not liberator of the Baltics. Forgetting may come with time, but forgiveness seems unlikely.
These pictures are of one of the Russian prisons in which Lithuanian citizens were held. The lower left shows a rubber floored room in which prisoners who were losing their mind were detained. The chamber to its right is a killing chamber where prisoners received a bullet to the back of the head. The bucket above these two pictures is a toilet for a cell, only emptied after smells must have permeated the hallways. Constant surveillance, torture, and demonstrated murders kept Baltic prisoners in line and the general public in fear.
To lighten our tour’s mood, these distressful reminders of Russian torture and murder, a brief trip is taken to a folklore and witches’ park in Neringa, Lithuania.
The most remarkable thing about travelling through the Baltics while listening to guides and economy lecturers is how industrially successful the Baltics have been since their liberation in the 1990s. Taxes are represented as more burdensome than in America, but residents appear benefitted from that tax burden when one sees how prosperous the Baltics appear to short-term visitors. Few homeless people are seen in the city. The cobble stone streets are constantly being repaired; new development is seen everywhere; luxury goods are seen in stores throughout the city.
The fear felt when Russia ruled the Baltics seems gone. Fear seems replaced by optimism for the Baltic’s future as members of the European Union. However, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine represents an ever-present concern to the Baltics new way of life. One wonders if that threat might lead to a military response from the Baltics like that of North Korea’s alleged troop deployment in Russia’s war in Ukraine. That seems doubtful but no one away from armed and deadly conflict can know.
Taking a bus to Neringa, Lithuanian, our guide takes us to a beach on the Baltic Sea. Here, we search for amber, a fossilized tree resin that ranges in color from yellow, to brown, green, blue, or black. Amber is a jeweler and hobbyist collectors dream, found primarily around the Baltic Sea. Few tourists leave the Baltics without a piece of amber to remind them of the trip.
Baltic Sea amber search.
Next, we head to Rukundziai, Lithuania to visit an abandoned and preserved missile base. Later we visit the countryside: a tourist attraction called the “Hill of Crosses”, a cultural heritage site that honors friends and family that have died. Thousands of crosses have been placed to commemorate those who have passed. The jumble of crosses is immense.
We are on our way to Riga, the capital of Latvia. Here, we visit a massive public market held in five former blimp hangars, reassembled in the heart of Latvia. Every spice and consumer product one can think of seems on display. Flowers are everywhere. Like Lithuania, Riga is a modern city with a well-known University. We spend part of the day in the city but head to the country for a visit to a goat farm. Like Poland and Lithuania, Latvia impresses travelers with its industry, farming, and economic growth.
Our final stop in the Baltics is Tallinn, Estonia which will be our port of debarkation to Finland. We visit Peter the Great’s summer home, a massive property which has become a national Russian and West European’ art museum. The Palace was not completed before the King died but its grounds are a sight to behold. Though Peter the Great was a 17th century Russian Czar, he was an enlightened monarch who had interests in science, technology and natural science. From the perspective of Estonian citizens, he brought interest in improving general education for the young.
We depart Estonia by ferry. Our ship is crowded with tourist buses, transport vehicles and citizens from all over the world. The two-hour crossing is a pleasure, accompanied with food, refreshments, and spectacular Baltic Sea views.
What one recognizes on this trip is the great concern the three Baltic countries have of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
We take a ten-story ferry across the Baltics to visit Finland.
Helsinki is a modern 21st century city, Finland’s capitol. We visit a state-of-the-art library that serves the public with everything from sound studios to AI model makers to classes to private reading/discussion rooms. Finland’s reputation as the happiest country in the world starts with a state-of-the art education system. On a field trip, our 16-person group visits a state subsidized farm in the country. It is a large farm with a short growing season that is supplemented by horse and farm animal stabling during the winter. It is surprisingly managed by a young couple, one of which is a descendant of the original owners. Management seems somewhat lay-back by American farming standards. It appears the farm could not exist without Finland’s government subsidy. The young couple seem underqualified farmers–more like hosts to a culture that would not survive without government help.
As is well known, Finland has a long border with Russia. In defense of their country, the Finns allied themselves with the Nazis during WWII. They are reported to have protected Finnish Jews from the Nazis, but fear of Russian encroachment was judged to require a devil’s bargain during WWII. In a previous trip to Finland, a guide explains a tenuous relationship with Russians that allows easy travel between countries because of their long border with Russia. The Finns are respectful but undoubtedly with watchful eyes. Finland refuses to be intimidated by Russia. By the same token, Russia appears disinclined to interfere with Finnish governance.
Many citizens feel they could be the next target of aggression by Russian oligarchs being led by today’s reincarnation of a Stalin in Vladimer Putin clothes.
The story of Holodomor and today’s Ukraine invasion show the depth of Russian government venality. Our tour of the Baltic countries reveals evidence of Stalin’s brutality and the fear it created in the Baltic countries between 1945 and 1990-91. The same fate may be in store for Ukraine if Putin’s invasion succeeds.
One hopes for more Leifer’s in this world of human tragedy.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
Tablets Shattered (The End of an American Jewish Century and the Future of Jewish Life)
By: Joshua Leifer
Narrated By: Eli Schiff
Joshua Leifer (Author, journalist and scholar who explores the past and present of American Jewry, Leifer pursues a PhD at Yale on the history of modern moral and social thought.)
Joshua Leifer reflects on the Americanization of Jewish ethnicity in modern times. Leifer offers his personal view of modern events in Israel, including the terror of October 7th, 2023, and its aftermath.
In the last month, my wife and I journeyed to Poland, the Baltics, and Finland.
On the trip, we visited Auschwitz, the terror of Soviet occupation of the Baltics, and the tenuous relationship of Finland and Russia. More will be shared in a future review.
The holocaust is made present to anyone who chooses to visit Auschwitz.
This is a monument to the Holocaust, located in Germany.
Leifer’s book is not about Auschwitz’s atrocity but about a diminishment of Jewish identity. One who reads or listens to Leifer’s view of Jewish ethnicity will look at Judaism in a different way. Regardless of one’s personal beliefs, Leifer argues Judaism is losing its way from what he believes is a fundamental tenet of the Jewish religion. That tenet is that Judaism will always be a minority within cultures of the world and, as a minority, Leiger argues it is critically important for followers to return to its Judaic roots. Leifer implies Americanization of Judaism is a social influence that threatens the Tablets of the Covenant, i.e., the Ten Commandments.
Leifer explains that Israel will continue to grow as an independent nation with an exodus of Jewish believers from America and the world. Leifer suggests that exodus is evident in the diminishing number of American Jews who have chosen to leave America to become Israeli citizens. His hope is that in Jews return to a nation of their own with a renewed belief and adherence to the Ten Commandments.
I am the Lord your God: You shall have no other gods before Me.
You shall not make for yourself a graven image: No idols or images.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Honor your father and your mother.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet: Do not desire your neighbor’s house, wife, or possessions.
Of particular note is the Haredim who adhere to traditional Jewish law and customs.
There is an underlying accusation in Leifer’s book that America reinforced want for money, power, and prestige that changed the nature of Judaism.
However, human nature is a failing in all cultures. The truth is that all forms of government and culture seduce human beings to violate the Ten Commandments: not only Jewish followers. Human nature is an equal opportunity exploiter of society and people.
Leifer does have a point in that any ethnicity that truly follows the ten commandments is better than one that ignores them.
The fault in Leifer’s belief is that the ten commandments will or can be universally accepted by any culture or ethnicity. Human nature can be improved upon, but one doubts it can be erased by either religious or secular teaching of the Commandments.
Leifer hopes for a two-state solution in Israel. That seems a laudable and achievable goal, but human nature remains the same. With statehood, both Israeli and Palestinian societies may become better but there will always be the threat of Commandment violation because of human nature. One hopes for more Leifer’s in this world of human tragedy.
Tariffs to restrict foreign production is shooting citizens in the foot by artificially increasing the cost of living.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
Edge of Chaos: Why Democracy Is Failing to Deliver Economic Growth – and How to Fix It
By: Dambisa Moyo
Narrated By: Pamala Tyson
Dambisa Moyo (Zambian-born economist and author with a BS and MBA from Harvard, former World Bank consultant to Europe, Central Asia and Africa.)
“Edge of Chaos” is a revelatory and intelligent analysis of economic rewards and risks of democracies and dictatorships. Fundamentally, Moyo argues failures of government economies are related to societal instability and short-term government economic policies that are disproportionately influenced by monied interests and kleptocratic political leaders. Rich corporations and kleptocratic leaders distort economic opportunity, create chaos while producing and exacerbating economic inequality. She argues America is at the edge of chaos because of a flawed democratic election system that is biased toward short-term rather than long term economic policy.
Moyo identifies the Gini index of income inequality to show that there is little difference between the rich and poor in China and the United States despite their government leaders’ differences.
China is a dictatorship while America is a form of democracy. They are nearly the same on the Gini index scale of citizen inequality while South Africa, Zambia and Brazil are at the bottom. Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Belarus and most of the Scandinavian countries show the lowest differences in citizen’ economic inequality. Mayo argues the difference has little to do with their forms of government except in relation to their government policies. In her opinion, China and the United States could improve their citizen’s Gini index position if their government policies would focus on income equality.
Both China and America have relative stability but with different forms of government.
Unquestionably, freedom is the sine non quo (indispensable ingredient) of America, but it is income inequality that causes the chaos Moyo alludes to in her book. That chaos is not overtly apparent in China because of dictatorship but one who has traveled to China feels there is a similar level of discontent, if not chaos, among its citizens over economic inequality.
Moyo’s solution for reducing America’s growing chaos seems difficult but not impossible to implement.
Dambisa Moyo’s solution revolves around the following 8 recommendations.
Make voting compulsory to increase voter participation more representative of the people.
Make election to the House of Representatives a six-year term like the Senate to encourage longer term economic goals but limit the number of terms one can be in office. (Eliminate career politicians.)
Increase the pay of politicians to what successful private sector leaders receive.
Establish policy making agencies that can focus on long-term policies without being threatened by near term election cycles.
Invest in the education of future leaders of the political system.
Encourage public officials to focus on economic diversification with an educated understanding of technological change in the world.
The wealth of the nation should be focused on reduction of economic inequality.
Strategies to manage natural resources should be developed to focus on sustainability.
Fair trade is where America is on the wrong side of history according to the author.
Adam Smith believed in fair trade.
Adam Smith argued for removing trade barriers like tariffs and quotas because of limited natural resources. He explains resources are more efficiently allocated, product production is increased, and economic growth is improved with free trade. As inferred by Moyo, American chaos is partly a result of ignoring Adam Smith’s prescient understanding of economics.
America democracy has journeyed a long way since 1776.
America’s fundamental success came from its emphasis on freedom within rules-of-law organized around the “checks and balances” of three distinct branches of government, i.e., the executive, congressional, and judicial branches. This is the strength of American Democracy that has offered stability. The inference made in “Edge of Chaos” is that America’s stability is at risk if it does not adapt to technological change wrought by A.I. and global interconnectivity.
Technology is changing the nature of American productivity from material products to service. With the help of A.I., America can begin to address many of the service needs of its citizens. From aid to the homeless, to education for service to others, to drug treatment of the addicted, to improved health care for all, the prosperity and income of Americans can be more equitably shared.
Global interconnectivity requires greater acceptance of fair trade as originally described by Adam Smith.
Today’s alleged protection of worker employment by using tariffs to restrict foreign production is shooting citizens in the foot by artificially increasing the cost of living. Re-education for service to the public by using A.I. to make citizens more human-centered offers an alternative to 21st century American chaos.
These are intelligent observations by a very young and well-educated author.
The neglect and brutal treatment of Lithuanian citizens by Russia during WWII is graphically depicted in “Between Shades of Gray”.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
Between Shades of Gray
By: Ruta Sepetys
Narrated By: Emily Klein
Ruta Sepetys (Author, Lithuanian American writer of fiction, daughter of a Lithuanian refugee.)
This is a novel that many Americans will choose not to read. It is so relentlessly brutal that one is inclined to stop listening to, or reading, the novel. Many Americans take freedom for granted. Sepetys’ story reveals how ignorant the generational free are about what it is like to exist in a nation ruled by an unrestricted authoritarian leader. Sepetys recreates a story from a young girl’s notes and drawings of a Lithuania family’s loss of freedom during Stalin’s authoritarian rule.
The weight of “…Shades of Gray” makes one’s heart go out to the many Ukrainians losing their freedom and lives at Vladimir Putin’s monomaniacal direction.
Sepetys makes one see and understand how fortunate Americans are to live in a democratic country. The broad outline of the story is about the rounding up of Lithuania citizens during WWII to be sent to work camps in Siberia under the control of the Russian NKVD, the precursor of today’s Russian SVR (Foreign Intelligence Service) and GRU (General Staff of the Armed Forces). At the beginning of WWII, Stalin orders the taking of the Baltic States into the U.S.S.R. by dismantling the in-place governments of the acquired countries. Any political opposition is to be arrested and deported to labor camps designed to serve the Russian economy.
Sepety’s novel is the story of one group of Lithuanians that are rounded up, sent to Siberia, and later moved to an even more hostile camp inside the Arctic Circle.
The essence of the story is based on a young girl’s notes and drawings about her experience. The neglect and brutal treatment of Lithuanian citizens by Russia during WWII is graphically depicted in “Between Shades of Gray”. The title alludes to the few Russian guards that surreptitiously aid the work camp prisoners. It is only gray because the help is often in return for cooperation or favor from the un-free.
How close is the world to its next world war? The character of today’s leaders seems as threatening as Stalin and as unpredictable as Churchill.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
The Stalin Affair (The Impossible Alliance That Won the War)
By: Giles Milton
Narrated By: Giles Milton
Giles Milton (Author, British writer and historian.)
Giles Milton offers a fascinating and well written account of the dynamics of the relationship between Churchill and Stalin with a brief analysis of Franklin Roosevelt that shows a difference of opinion about Stalin. There are some surprises in Milton’s history of the beginning and ending of WWII and the role of Joseph Stalin.
As is well known, Stalin and Hitler made a pact at the beginning of the war that made them allies with a plan to divide Europe between their two countries.
The pact falls apart when Hitler chooses to invade Russia on June 22, 1941. Germany made rapid progress and was nearing Moscow when winter struck, and Germany’s wheels of war were stuck in the mud. Stalin was psychologically paralyzed by Germany’s decision to turn against Russia. He hid in his dacha, his second home in the Russian countryside. A delegation of Russians went to the Stalin’s dacha and pleaded with him to direct the defense of Russia against Germany’s onslaught. Stalin is surprised that the delegation wanted him to return to the leadership of Russia in Milton’s telling of the story. One presumes that reluctance is because of Stalin’s mistake in believing Hitler could be a reliable ally in their mutual desire to expand their territories.
Milton’s history has a particular interest to me because of a planned personal visit to the Baltics next month.
In reading a book about the Baltics during WWII, there seems some confusion among the Baltic countries because their sovereignty is being usurped by Russia while the instigator of WWII is Germany. The guide on the trip suggests we read “between shades of gray”, a book written by Rusa Sepetys, a Lithuanian born American writer. Sepetys story is of Lithuania intellectuals being arrested by Stalin’s troops and carted off to Siberia. Brief mention of the Germans is mentioned but implies the Germans were not the enemy but an opposing force of the Russian attack on the Baltics. Having visited Finland last year, it is interesting to find the Finns allied themselves to Germany during WWII because of their fear of Russia’s aggression. Now, having read Sepetys novel of Russian aggression in early 1941, one begins to understand the complexity of which side of the war the Baltics chose to be on.
Ruta Sepetys (Lithuanian born American writer.)
It tells the story of Russia’s invasion of the Baltics soon after Hitler’s decision to attack Russia.
WWII in the Baltics is not Milton’s history, but Sepetys offers a footnote on its consequence in the Baltics.
Milton makes one feel they are in the room when decisions are made about the progress and ending of WWII. It is a fascinating story. Stalin is a villain in sheep’s clothing. His lust for power is unquenchable. Winston Chruchill is shown to be more aware of Stalin’s intent than Franklin Roosevelt. At Yalta, where the peace plan is agreed to and signed, Milton explains Roosevelt is feeble. The Yalta conference took place in February 1945. Roosevelt dies in April, two months later. Stalin’s ambition is the expansion of the U.S.S.R. and anything that gets in the way of that ambition is an obstacle to be overcome or removed.
Milton’s access to historical documents, reveals the many important roles of government leaders during WWII and after.
Of course, the most obviously impactful leaders are Churchill and Stalin, but the author notes the roles of lesser-known participants like Averell Harriman, Kathy Harriman, and Vyacheslav Molotov. There is also the role of Lavrentiy Beria, Stalin’s head of the NKVD (the Soviet secret police).
W. Averell Harriman (1891-1986, American politician, businessman, and diplomat.)
Averell Harriman, as the son of a wealthy railroad baron, becomes the founder of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., an investment company. He became one of the richest men in America.
Harriman is asked by Roosevelt to become the America’s diplomatic contact with Great Britain to manage the Lend-Lease Program before America enters the war. As a personal envoy, he strengthens the alliance between Britain and America. Later he becomes Ambassador to the Soviet Union after Hitler’s betrayal of Stalin. Milton touches on the married Harriman’s attraction to women and his extramarital affairs. However, Harriman was revered by Churchill, and later Stalin, for the aid he coordinated for both countries during the war.
Kathleen Harriman (1917-2011, died at age 93.)
A lesser-known role is of Harriman’s daughter, Kathy Harriman. In the first years of contact between her father and Stalin, Ms. Harriman smooths America’s relationship with the Russian administration.
Ms. Harriman leaned to speak Russian and aided her father in his diplomatic contact with Soviet officials. She became a correspondent for the International News Service and Newsweek during her time in Russia. In 1944, Ms. Harriman exposes the mass murder of 22,000 Polish officers by the NKVD, at the order of Stalin. She plays a role in the Yalta Conference in assisting the American delegation with logistics and management.
Milton makes a listener feel like they are in the room at a dinner table with Stalin and Churchill when they exchange harsh words about the creation of a western front to aid the Russian army in the fight with German soldiers.
Stalin demeans the British army for their early failures in the war when they were outnumbered and outgunned by the Germans. Churchill is deeply offended by the disparagement and is on the verge of canceling a dinner with Stalin before leaving Russia. His anger is quelled by Harriman. Churchill changes his tone with the Russian leader and mends their relationship over cigars and alcohol. However, there is little doubt about their continued acrimony and Churchill’s unshaken belief in Stalin’s intent to expand his empire.
Milton offers the same “in the room” understanding of what happens at the Yalta Conference.
Germany is divided into four occupation zones which ended up being East and West Germany. The groundwork for the United Nations is formed with the aid of promoting international cooperation and prevention of future conflicts. A zone of influence is created between Eastern European Countries which were added to the U.S.S.R., to expand a buffer zone between Russia and the Western Powers. This iron curtain results in the cold war. The table is set at Yalta for the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi and Japanese leaders and for future reparations to rebuild Europe.
“The Stalin Affair” is an excellent reminder of WWII that makes one think about what is happening today with Russia in Ukraine and Israel in Gaza. How close is the world to its next world war? The character of today’s leaders seems as threatening as Stalin and as unpredictable as Churchill.
No one can kill an idea. Ideas come from human beings who believe, rightly or wrongly, they are being victimized.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
Homeland (The War on Terror in American Life)
By: Richard Beck
Narrated By: Patrick Harrison
Richard Beck (Born in 1987, received a BA from Harvard in 2009, Masters Degree in music from the University of North Texas, and Doctorate in performance and pedagogy from University of Iowa.)
On September 11, 2001, Richard Beck was 14 years old, living in a suburb of Philadelphia. In remembering life before 9/11, Beck looks at that tragedy as a reminder of life and America’s struggle to become a free and independent nation. “Homeland” uses the tragedy of 9/11 as an introduction to what might be interpreted as American Cowboyism.
Beck suggests the myth of American cowboys exemplifies who and what American society has been and will always be.
His recollection of 9/11’s news coverage is a distortion of reality. The reaction of the fire department, rather than heroic, is characterized as a matter of clean-up and ducking from falling debris and bodies, not of climbing stairs or entering buildings engulphed in fire and nearing collapse. Beck suggests like the myth of cowboys ridding America of Indian savages, expanding, and conquering the West, that firemen and rescuers did little to save workers in the towers collapse.
Beck’s history smacks of not being there but watching tv, reading echo chamber books, and listening to and watching news of the 9/11 tragedy.
Heroism is being there when the planes hit the towers, when smoke and debris were choking firefighters and police trying to cordon the area from surrounding businesses and people. This is the same fault Beck has of writing of unreasonably lionized frontiersmen and later leaders of America and the mistakes made by America’s leaders in the Civil War, Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan. Horrible things have happened in America’s history that have been caused by humans who are not gods but fallible, self-interested strivers for a better life. The meaning of life in America evolves just as it does in every country of the world. No society is proud of their failures, but failures are part of being human. Obviously, it is how we overcome failures that makes society.
Beck’s inference that Martin Luther King’s “…arc of the moral universe is long but bends towards justice” as a false observation breaks a listener’s heart.
Many would disagree because life for native Americans, women, non-white minorities, and the white majority have improved over the years since the founding of American democracy. This is not to say, there are not miles to go for America to realize equality-of-opportunity for all its citizens.
Beck uses the great tragedy of Gaza and Israel’s occupation and murder of innocents as a primary example of American Democracy’s failure.
There is little to argue that Israel is crossing a Rubicon of regret for their slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza. Palestine has as much right to exist as the nation of Israel.
America’s position has been to support Israel because they are a bastion against systems of government that have little to no interest in equality of opportunity for all. The author fails to appreciate America’s guilt for turning away Jewish immigrants fleeing Europe during WWII when six million Jewish people were slaughtered in concentration camps.
Beck’s history disregards and diminishes the history of Jewish ethnicity that has given so much to societies’ advance of science, literature, and political theory.
This is not to argue Israel is right in thinking that ridding Hamas or Hezbollah leaders can be accomplished with ethnic cleansing while murdering innocent bystanders. No one can kill an idea. Ideas come from human beings who believe, rightly or wrongly, they are being victimized. Israel is making the same mistake Nazi’s made when they began exterminating Jews in WWII.
Over 230 human beings remain political hostages in this unpredictable world.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
In the Shadows (True Stories of High-Stakes Negotiations to Free Americans Captured Abroad)
By: Mickey Bergman, Ellis Henican
Narrated By: Assaf Cohen, Mickey Bergman
Mickey Bergman (American Israeli.)Ellis Henican (American co-author, political analyst for Fox News Channel.)
Mickey Bergman tells a fascinating personal story about his life as a political hostage negotiator. He and a mysterious Lebanese friend he names “George” met at Georgetown University and became interested in political hostage negotiations. A precipitating event that led to their early friendship is the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier by a Palestinian Hamas faction in Lebanon. As a former Jewish military soldier, Bergman became friends with “George”, a Lebanese Muslim student at George Washington University. With similar beliefs about the unfairness and human tragedy of hostage taking for political purpose, they become partners in the release of the Israeli soldier from Hamas.
As a reminder of the of the October 7, 2023, kidnaping of over 100 Jewish hostages by Hamas, Israel has occupied Gaza and murdered an estimated 4o,000 Palestinians.
In the kidnaping of one Israeli soldier, Bergman explains that murder or kidnapping of 1 Israeli is viewed by some in the government and Israeli citizens as not 1–but six million and 1 atrocities.
A singular kidnaping, let alone the October 7th Hamas attack, gave warrant to some in Israel’s government to wage occupation and war on Gaza.
(This reasoning gives a sense of the current state of the Gaza war but also explains why hostage negotiation is such a complicated and lengthy process that can as easily end in failure as success.)
From Bergman’s friendship with “George”, he gathers interest in the pursuit of peace, regardless of social, religious, economic, or political difference. As a twenty something graduate, Bergman receives a call from the Clinton Global Initiative to join their organization after graduation. CGI was formed by former President Clinton and his family in 2005. Its stated purpose was to devise and implement solutions to world challenges like climate change, health equity, world economic growth, and peace among nations. It gave Bergman his first thoughts about what would become his mission in life, i.e., the liberation of hostages unjustly held by factions of countries or governments for political rather than criminal infraction. “In the Shadows” explains how suited Bergman is for the life he chooses. Raised in Israel, highly educated, experienced as a soldier, from a stable and loving family, Bergman understands the grief and joy of families dealing with and hoping for their mothers, fathers, sons or daughters release from a foreign prison.
Formed in 2005 to address world problems.
Bergman’s early experience as a go-between for the release of the Israeli soldier, with the help of his Lebanese friend from college, show how important non-governmental citizens can be in freeing political prisoners. Bergman and his friend’s families have important indirect contacts at high levels in the Israeli and Lebanese governments. The two young graduates create back-channel contacts to Jewish and Lebanese governments that eventually get Hamas to release the Israeli soldier. They found it a slow, tedious process of give and take allowing political points to be made by factions and governments while providing an opportunity to free a hostage who was only doing his government ordered job.
Bergman is everyman who wishes to be the best he can be within their natural gifts of birth, education, and experience.
Bergman is drawn into the circle of Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico who formed the Richard Center in 2011. Bergman learns how to become a more effective hostage negotiator. Richardson’s methodology in negotiation is a post-graduate course in effective international negotiation.
The Richard Center was formed in 2011 to focus on promoting international peace and dialogue; particularly to negotiate hostage and prisoner releases. The Richard Center continues its work today.
Bill Richardson (1947-2023, died at age 75, a former Governor of New Mexico, 9th US Secretary of Energy, US Ambassador to the UN, who was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for New Mexico.)
Richardson’s rules of negotiation:
Never close the door to your contacts.
Deflect attention from yourself with the people you take with you when you negotiate.
As leader of a mission, observe reactions of your opposing audience to associates’ arguments, i.e. the same arguments you discussed with your associates before the meeting.
Present a final pitch for hostage release based on what you have learned from the audiences’ reactions to your support staff’s arguments.
Richardson is shown by Bergman to be a master of negotiation and a great teacher of the art. You will not always win the argument, but you will have used the most persuasive details based on seeing and hearing the oppositions’ reactions to associates’ arguments.
Brittany Griner (released in Russia 2022)Danny Fenster (released in Myanmar 2021)Otto Warmbier (released 2o17 in N. Korea, died 2017)Trevor Reed (Released in Russia 2022)Paul Whelan (Released in Russia 2024)Kenneth Bae (Released in N. Korea 2014)
“In the Shadows” tells the hostage stories of Brittney Griner, Danny Fenster, Otto Warmbier, Trevor Reed, Paul Whelan, and Kenneth Bae.
Bergman does a great job of explaining how difficult, dangerous, and often unsuccessful hostage negotiations can be. The release of Griner is heartwarming. The death of Warmbier is heart breaking. The delay of Paul Whelan’s release is frustrating and indicative of the complexity of hostage negotiation.
The many stories Bergman tells are interspersed with hardship in his own life that show how human and vulnerable we are despite our intelligence, experience, and education. Over 230 human beings remain political hostages in this unpredictable world. Though Governor Richardson recently died, Bergman carries on with the Richardson Center for Global Engagement.
Without checks and balances, autocratic beliefs inevitably lead to conflict and mutually assured destruction, Donald Trump notwithstanding.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
From Cold War to Hot Peace (An American Ambassador in Putin’s Russia)
By: Michael McFaul
Narrated By: L. J. Ganser
Michael McFaul (Author, American academic and diplomat, ambassador to Russia 2012-2014, former Professor of International Studies at Stanford.)
Not since George Kennan’s brief time as Ambassador to Russia in 1952 has an American ambassador been denied access to Russia. Michael McFaul became the second in 2016. McFaul joins the pre- and post-Obama election to become Obama’s ambassador to Russia from 2012 to 2o14. McFaul writes this book to explain his experience in the Obama administration, his understanding of Russia, and his tenure as Ambassador to Russia.
Interestingly, Condoleezza Rice recommends McFaul should join Obama because she was sure he, rather than McCain, would become the next President of the United States.
McFaul follows Rice’s recommendation and joins Obama’s campaign. Mcfaul’s grasp of Russian foreign affairs is insightful and relevant based on his personal experience. McFaul lived in Russia for a period of time when Gorbachev and Yeltsin attempted to liberalize Russia’s autocratic government. McFaul’s time living in Russia, his understanding of Russian language, and his study of Russian history at Stanford make his opinion in “From Cold War to Hot Peace” important.
Gorbachev’ biography shows he experienced the autocratic rule of Stalin’s U.S.S.R. as a young boy and found the courage to open the door to citizen’ freedom.
Mikhail Gorbachev was 22 when Stalin died. His ideal was to maintain the U.S.S.R. but with a system of government that rejected totalitarianism while freeing its citizens to improve their way of life. However, the shock of newfound freedom appeared an economic change too difficult and unfairly remunerative for the U.S.S.R. to survive as one hegemon.
A fundamental ingredient of independence is freedom.
When countries controlled by the U.S.S.R. were offered freedom, they looked to forms of democracy rather than autocracy. Gorbachev’s inability to accelerate economic growth to improve the lives of his country’s citizens doomed his goal to create a freer society within the U.S.S.R. Compounding his failure, Boris Yeltsin usurps Gorbachev’s power by arguing he has a better way of accelerating Russia’s economy to keep the U.S.S.R. together.
Boris Yeltsin talked the talk of democratic government but because of his inability to coopt the underlying authoritarian habits of former KGB operatives, he lost control of the government.
Yeltsin’s rise undermined the influence of Gorbachev, encouraged the departure of U.S.S.R.’ member countries, and gave an opening to Vladimir Putin, a former KGB officer. The KGB changed to the FSB in 1991 (along with Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service) to become the right and left hand of Putin’s power and influence in the new Russia.
Fifteen countries leave the U.S.S.R. in 1991.
Estonia: August 20, 1991
Latvia: August 21, 1991
Lithuania: March 11, 1990
Armenia: September 21, 1991
Azerbaijan: October 18, 1991
Belarus: August 25, 1991
Georgia: April 9, 1991
Kazakhstan: December 16, 1991
Kyrgyzstan: August 31, 1991
Moldova: August 27, 1991
Russia: December 12, 1991
Tajikistan: September 9, 1991
Turkmenistan: October 27, 1991
Ukraine: August 24, 1991
Uzbekistan: September 1, 1991
Gorbachev effectively ended the cold war, but McFaul argues the cold war turned into a “…Hot Peace”. Gorbachev was the last leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. His effort to democratize Russia fails even though he fully champions Valdimir Putin to become president of Russia in 2000.
Putin took control of Russia as Prime Minister under Yeltsin in 1999. He later effectively became President of Russia for life.
McFall explains Obama became President of the United States in 2o09. Obama revised America’s relationship with Russia with what became known as the U.S./Russia “Reset” policy.
Obama’s “Reset” policy had some early positive effects. The relationship between America and Russia arguably improved despite their significant political differences. When they disagreed, they agreed to disagree. There were halting steps toward nuclear bomb limitation and greater cooperation on America’s actions in Afghanistan when the Taliban had shown support for Osama bin Laden after 9/11.
Putin rose to the presidency in 2011 and has remained effectively in control of Russia since 1999. Though not argued by McFaul, Putin’s intimate understanding of Russia’s secret service has given him the power to exercise dictatorial control over Russia. The history of U.S.S.R. since the 1917 revolution has been maintained by a secret service used to jail, torture, and murder any opposition to leadership of Russia. Today, that autocratic leader is Putin. There seems little reason to believe kleptocratic control of a massive secret service apparatus will be overcome without revolution. Every Russian knows of the threat the secret service has to any opposition to Putin who controls and has an intimate relationship and understanding of the organizational capabilities of the former KGB.
Gorbachev’s legacy is hope for a better form of government in Russia. Change is possible just as Gorbachev’s history as the secretary of the Communist Party from 1985 to 1991 proved.
One is inclined to believe change will come to Russia from a disaffected communist party leader who rises in the party and taps discontented Russians looking for change. If all one’s life is lived and raised in Russia, a Russian born change-agent like Gorbachev may, once again, be born
As one completes McFaul’s book, the threat of masculine blindness in world leaders is made clear. Leadership entails a power that corrupts leaders who think they know what is best for their citizens. Autocracies concentrate that power in singular human beings. Without checks and balances, autocratic beliefs inevitably lead to conflict and mutually assured destruction, Donald Trump notwithstanding.
There are many reasons why America continues to prosper despite elections of inept political leaders.
Books of Interest Website: chetyarbrough.blog
America’s Deadliest Election (The Cautionary Tale of the Most Violent Election in American History)
By: Dana Bash, David Fisher
Narrated By: Dana Bash
DANA BASHDAVID FISHER
Dana Bash is an American journalist and news anchor for CNN. David Fisher is an accomplished author who has written twenty New York Times bestsellers.
“America’s Deadliest Election” reaches back to 1868 in Louisiana to tell the story of Henry C. Warmoth who was elected governor and later, a Congressional representative of Louisiana. Warmoth’s election in Louisiana reminds one of Donald Trump’s election in 2017. Warmoth manages to become the 23rd Governor of Louisiana in 1868. His election at the young age of 26 made him one of the youngest governors in U.S. history. Of course, age is not the reason one might compare Trump’s election to Warmoth’s, but it is Warmoth’s unrestrained rhetoric and purposeful lies that got him elected.
Henry C. Warmoth (1842-1931, died at age 89. He was the Reconstruction governor of Louisiana and later Louisian State Representative.)
In Louisiana a large unrepresented minority were black Americans. Warmoth’s term ended with allegations of corruption and dishonesty but his rhetoric for disenfranchised blacks gave him the governorship and later a position as Louisian State Representative in congress. His political career extended through 10 years of Civil War Reconstruction and corruption.
Depiction of a US Army Officer Meeting with African Americans in Louisiana after the Emancipation Proclamation.
As a wealthy American, Trump and many rich business leaders and industrialists believe lower taxes and less government regulation improves opportunity and raises the living standards of the poor. Many wealthy Americans believe John F. Kennedy’s 1963 line that “a rising tide lifts all boats”. History shows a different picture, i.e. with lower taxes, the rich got richer, the middle class remained middle class, and the poor increased. America is nearing the point where it will have its first trillionaires while this richest country in the world has an increasing number of poor and a burgeoning homeless crisis.
In modern times, Trump’s rhetoric disingenuously appeals to blue-collar workers but with an underlying appeal to the rich who believe in “trickle down” economics.
Freedom allows American citizens to lie as well as tell the truth. The problem with truth is “truth is in the eye of the beholder” or what Timothy Leary called a human’s “reality tunnel”. Warmoth and Trump had their own “reality tunnels” with the objective of getting them elected. Their objective is to gain power, money, or prestige. Both Warmoth and Trump are willing to lie to themselves and others to gain their objective.
In American democracy, freedom is the holy grail of its success.
As pointed out in “The Economist” earlier this week, Democracy is messy. Democracies like France, Great Britain, and the European Union are struggling to find their way in the 21st century. Representative government is difficult because voters cannot know if candidates for office are telling a follower only what they want to hear or if what is said is what the candidate believes. Additionally, voters cannot be sure an elected person is capable or willing to walk the talk after their election.
Recent Presidential elections in America before Biden replaces Trump.
Many Blacks had never been able to vote but Warmoth (a former Union Civil War’ veteran) became instrumental in supporting the 15th amendment that prohibited states from denying the vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude. For the first time in America, Blacks could vote. Naturally, Blacks voted for Warmoth despite his reputation for corruption. However, Warmoth’s support and actions create a split between his Republican followers and slavery proponent Democrats that remind listeners of today’s political party intransigence.
An irony of the story of Governor Warmoth is that he is clearly a scofflaw, but his lawlessness helped bring black Americans into the electoral process.
Warmoth was a criminal. He speculated in state bond and treasury notes which were a conflict of interest for a governor. He profited from a partnership given by a newspaper that had a contract for state printing. Warmoth created what was called the “State Returning Board” that had the authority to discard legitimate votes to keep Louisiana Republicans in power. One might suggest President Trump had similar conflicts of interest.
The authors explain what made Warmoth a crook. It was for the reward of money and power.
Inept and unethical practices are mitigated by the foresight of the framers of the Constitution. The acts of legislators since the beginning of America’s creation have bent the arc of history toward freedom and equality. Balance of power between branches of government, election of honest and ethical leaders, media that exposes political rhetoric for its understanding of truth and lies have helped Americans to live free and prosper. America is blessed with natural resources that have made America become a great Democratic success.
There are many reasons why American Democracy continues to prosper despite elections of inept and unethical political leaders.
The last chapters of Bash’s and Fisher’s book show what can happen when there is a sharp split between Democrats and Republicans that roils the American democratic process. What this history shows is that we have been at this crossroad before, and America pulled itself together. Warmoth was not the ideal representative of American Democracy, but he played a part in history that began the movement for Black freedom in the South and their right to vote.
Trump reminds one of Warmoth’s history. One hopes the split between political parties will be mended by the election of a President that can heal the vituperative factionalism of the Democratic and Republican parties in 2025.
REVIEWS AND VIEWS OF LIFE 