In the Garden of Beasts

Erik Larson's latest non-fiction is a beautiful piece of work that chronicles the family of William Dodd, American ambassador to Germany in Berlin during the time of the Nazi uprising to power.  This book does a good job describing the infatuation people had the Nazi regime.  It allows you to get an inside look at what it would have been like to live in Nazi Berlin.

It is hauntingly grasping to realize that people so easily closed their eyes to what the dictatorship truly was and how willing people were to hate others for the idea that they were a elite race.  Media was censored and controlled to give the impression that Nazi was the right way and people bought it because it was the only option where they were given pride and confidence.  In a post Great War depression, where Germany was left in shambles its people believed it was the only way.  Hitler gave them something to believe in.

The beginning of the book allows you to see Germany though the eyes of the characters in the book itself and you see how easy it was to enjoy the opulence of the Nazi party, but as the book continues our characters little by little gain a true sense of what the Nazi truly was and how oppressive and violent they were.  By the time the characters noticed along with many of the citizens, they were too terrorized by the violence around them to do anything about it.

History has not seen a more horrific time, but "In the Garden of Beasts" gives you an insight into how this could possibly have happened.  A perfect storm; of citizens wanting to believe in themselves and doing anything to feel national pride, violent persecution of anything anti Nazi or Aryan, and manipulation of the media to create propaganda that closed the worlds eyes to the disgusting acts of the Nazi and their fuhrer, Adolf Hitler paved the way for the Nazi rise and the murders of millions.    

It is excellent and a reminder to all of the dangers of an oppressive government that does not allow its people to ask questions and speak for themselves.  Dangers that, in this book, seem scarily difficult to notice.  This book is a must read, for anyone who enjoys history or human nature.  Erik Larson, is a great author and has been given plenty of praise for "Devil in the White City", but should only get only more with "In the Garden of Beast".

“Whiskey River” One of the Best

Historical fiction can be great entertainment pieces, but some time loose their relevance when it comes to actual historical truth. They do however seem to paint a great picture of what it would be like to live in a different time and place. Whiskey River does just that.

This book puts the reader directly into Detroit during prohibition. Loren Estlemen directs bootlegging gangsters, bull cops, bustling blind pigs, writers, newsies, and the general public flawlessly.

He tells a story of a larger than life individual battling for alpha position amongst cold blooded mobsters and killers to distribute his alcohol in a time when it was illegal. This story is narrated from the view of a newspaper writer who has earned his way into the inner circle and underworld of the alcohol trade.

If you like historical fiction, prohibition, gangsters, Detroit, hell if you just like a good story, read Whiskey River. You will love it.

ALL TIME BADGERS

Badger basketball has a big matchup today. They take on the Ohio State Buckeyes, so I thought that I would create an ALL BADGER team. Take a look and by all means argue and suggest your opinions.


Coaches: 1. Bo Ryan 2. Dick Bennett


ALL BADGER (1st team)
C: Rashard Griffith
F: Michael Finley
F: Alando Tucker
G: Devin Harris
G: Kirk Penny

ALL BADGER (2nd team)
C: Mike Wilkinson
F: Tracy Webster
F: Sean Mason
G: Mike Kelly
G: Wes Mathews

ALL BADGER (Defensive team)
C: Greg Stiemsma
F: Mike Wilkinson
F: Joe Krabenhoft
G: Mike Kelly
G: Michael Flowers

ALL BADGER (Honorable mention)
C: Paul Grant/ Sam Okey/Jon Leuher
F: Sean Daugherty/Andy Kowsky
F: Marcus Landry/Mark Vershaw
G: Ty Calderwood/Michael Flowers
G: Rick Olson/Travon Hughes/Jordan Taylor

Best 3 pt. shooter: John Bryant
Best Dunker: Andy Kowsky
Worst Player: Dave Mader

Coon Huntin'

As I moved back to Arizona after a summer spent in Wisconsin I brought a cherished item with me, something that has always brought back thoughts of good times. This item is an old raccoon hunting trophy. I know it sounds kind of silly to most people, but most people do not understand the joy that it represents.

My father was and avid coon hunter all throughout my childhood. He would go out at night just him and a good dog, totally at peace. We all have a hobby that lets us be ourselves and enjoy life to the fullest. For me it is a baseball game. To dad it was coon hunting. This excitement rubbed off on us kids as well, especially my sister, it was a bond that the two will always have, but to us all, we could see the joy that it brought to dad. This excitement grew even further when he was introduced to Emmy, a blue tick coon hound and eventually his best friend. From that moment the thrill of the hunt was fueled through Emmy's abilities to track and tree. Dad was truly happy in those days; he had it all, a great family, a great hobby, and an unbelievable great friend, in Emmy.

Dad and Emmy started going to coon hunting competitions. Emmy was good and so was dad. Some nights they would win trophies and some nights they would not, but coming from a son who thought the world of his father the excitement of the possibility was always thrilling.

One night dad was leaving for a competing and of course I was excited for dad and Emmy. So after dad left I decided to go out to the living room and wait for him to get home so I could greet them and see what prize and stories they collected during the night. Being a little boy about first or second grade I didn't make it too far into the night and I fell asleep on the couch. While sleeping dad entered and he had won first place with, what I thought at the time, was the biggest trophy I had ever seen. Dad seeing that I had fallen asleep in the process of greeting him he placed the award atop the entertainment stand directly across from where I was sleeping. When I awoke, it was one of the greatest things that I had ever seen. I rushed into my dad's room, woke him up, and wanted to know all of the stories that he had to offer. Dad woke and told me the stories.

Dad eventually grew his family and Emmy eventually grew old. Dad cried when Emmy passed because he lost his best friend. She was always there for him. When Mom left he could always share that hobby that he and Emmy both loved. When we kids were giving him a hard time he could always calm with the night and a howl. Whatever happened at work he new that Emmy would be at home excited as ever to see him arrive. She meant the world to the family, but I and no one else in the world will ever know the relationship that Dad and Emmy shared.

This summer I was home and dad was in the process of moving. He offered me the trophy; the trophy that I will always link to that memory, the trophy that will always remind me of Emmy, the trophy that represents dad and the love that he shares with everyone he knows, the trophy that will forever represent my family at its greatest moment. It is now on my mantle and will be with me for some time, because of the memory that it brings.


Thank you and I love you dad.