Ferguson

American on Purpose: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot
$25.99
I enjoy watching Ferguson and wanted to know more about him. Hearing his story in his own voice is just the right touch.

The War of the World
$20.00
The best thing about this book is its extremely varied 600+ page synthesis of (mostly) the early 20th century which includes such things as detailed analyses of the context and origins of WW1, the rise of communist-Bolshevism and the Russian Revolution, the inter-war rise of fascism including in Spain (Franco), Germany (Hitler) and Italy (Mussollini); the 1930s depression, the European descent into WW2 (including a detailed analysis of the policies of appeasement), and the rise of Japanese imperialism and the war of the Asia-Pacific to 1945.

There are some real gems in this book, including the Battle of the kitchen appliances and technology in displays between the West and the USSR during the cold war (won by the West) including a Soviet flying car- "a Soviet Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", the increase in sexual relations between Germans and invaded/occupied countries as the war expanded despite all the rhetoric of keeping the nation's blood `pure', the Moscow audience's derisive laughter in Schindlers List where at the end the Russian soldier states "You are being liberated by the forces of the Soviet Union" , the Japanese dreams of a greater `Co-Prosperity sphere' in Asia which "began as a racist utopia and ended as a cross between an abattoir, a plantation and a brothel", and the ironic fact that Stalin mistrusted everybody throughout his entire career except the most unscrupulous and biggest liar of all-Hitler.

There is however, rather less on the second half of the 20th century, with only very brief overviews on e.g. the Korean `dirty' war, the Cuban missile crisis, the Vietnam conflict, the killing fields of Cambodia, the downfall of the Iron curtain and break up of the USSR in the 1980s-1990s, various communist revolutions in the Third World in the latter 20th century, and the Balkan Crises in the 1990s.

Ferguson does have his idiosyncrasies, for example the emphasis he places on various economic factors and the fragmenting of former empires in explaining much of the 1st half of 20th century history, in addition to the more usual explanations including ideologies of race and racial struggle, and internal ethnic conflict.

The selection of colour propaganda posters and photographs is excellent, including Western, Russian, Chinese, Nazi, and Japanese, but just a little too few to satisfy ones appetite. There are also some very useful interspersed graphs of data- typical examples being battlefield deaths as percentage of world population (WW2 being way out in front), and percentages of Germany's territorial losses after the Treaty of Versailles.

I found the overview broad, detailed, but just a touch fatalistic at times, he often says something like `this followed this because of this, and not much else could have occurred or been done about it'- rather than emphasising irony and the part that dumb luck often plays in history. This might be a bit harsh, but in his emphasis on financial matters and empire reforms/changes he does give an impression that history's outcomes are more or less inevitable at times.

The book is quite fragmented, so much so that you can select different parts to read that suit ones personal interests, but this also partly reflects the fragmented history of the world in the early 20th century. A good example is the Japanese `incidents' and invasion of China in the 1930s, these really had very little to do with what was going on in Europe at the same time, even though the arguments put forward by the Japanese were surprisingly similar to those of Nazi Germany (living space, racial superiority, co-operative administration/liberation as propaganda for ruthless exploitation, lack of necessary raw materials-particularly oil etc etc).

Overall a good read, with just enough colour and irony to keep one entertained -I just wish there was more on the second half of the 20th century, rather than just briefly discussed towards the end. A sequel is therefore required.

This book is broader in scope, but not better than, 'The Age of Social Catastrophe' by Robert Gellately which focuses on Lenin, Hitler and Stalin- but Gellately's book doesn't include eg Japan and the Asia-Pacific wars, which is one advantage of this book.

Between the Bridge and the River
$24.95
I thought, since I enjoy Craig's television show, that I would also like his novel. I was wrong. I LOVED IT! The book, not unlike Craig Ferguson, is quirky and intelligently funny. I can't wait for his next novel (having already read the autobiography). I would tell him to concentrate on writing only, except that would mean not seeing him 5 nights a week. Do not hesitate to get this book!American on Purpose LP: The Improbable Adventures of an Unlikely Patriot

The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World
$16.00
Well written. Full of insights about financial history. I did not appreciate that the fate of the south in the Civil War was cast with the fall of New Orleans and the subsequent collapse of their monetary system. Lot of information about this kind of stuff and understandable by a financial tyro.

Compton Broders