The Fourth Turning is Here revisits the theory of cyclical history first introduced in 1997 by Neil Howe and the late William Strauss. Their original work proposed that history moves in cycles of about 80 to 100 years, each cycle divided into four stages or “turnings”: High, Awakening, Unraveling, and Crisis. According to Howe, we are currently amid the Fourth Turning, a period of significant crisis that will transform society and potentially usher in a new era. The book offers an in-depth analysis of each turning, illustrating how they influence the behaviors and attitudes of generations. Howe meticulously examines historical patterns to show how previous crises have led to profound […]
Read more...Tag Archives: nonfiction
Immortal Chaplains
3.5 stars rounded up to 4. On January 23, 1943, troop ship, the SS Dorchester left New York city en route to Greenland as part of a convoy of three troop ships escorted by Coast Guard cutters. During the early morning hours of February 3, the German submarine U-223 torpedoed the vessel off Newfoundland. Over 900 souls were on board. Also aboard were four chaplains—Alexander Goode, John Washington, George Fox, and Clark Poling—representing different faiths, who comforted soldiers and sacrificed their own lives to save others when the Dorchester sank. In twenty-five minutes, one torpedo killed more than a quarter of the number of personnel lost during the entire attack on Pearl Harbor. […]
Read more...
A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
In 1741, during the War of Jenkins’ Ear, HMS Wager, a British man-of-war, was part of a squadron sent to capture a treasure-laden Spanish galleon. Separated from the fleet while rounding Cape Horn, the Wager wrecked and left its crew stranded on a desolate island off the coast of Patagonia. Facing starvation and harsh conditions, the crew splintered into rival factions. In a daring escape, 80 men sailed nearly 3,000 miles to Brazil. Six months later, another group of three survivors landed in Chile, in even worse condition. These men accused the Brazilian survivors of mutiny. The ensuing court martial revealed a harrowing tale of warring factions, murder, and cannibalism […]
Read more...
A Fever in the Heartland
A Fever in the Heartland is set against the backdrop of the Roaring Twenties when the Ku Klux Klan spread beyond the old Confederacy to the Heartland and the West. Their ranks included ministers, politicians, judges, policemen, bankers, and businessmen, all united in their belief in White supremacy. Aligned with the eugenics movement, the Klan even helped pass the nation’s first forced sterilization law. Timothy Egan’s meticulous research is clear, with dialogue and internal monologues drawn directly from court testimony, oral histories, autobiographies, letters, diaries, and newspaper quotes. The book reveals the frightening power and reach of the KKK during this era. The book’s characters are vivid, though they sometimes […]
Read more...