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Clear and Present Dangers……Alan Paton
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2021 — “Take no prisoners.”
Book Reviews in Review: 2020
Here are my favorite five of the books I reviewed in 2020:
- Acknowledge the “Resistance” and fight it: every day, all the time, without fail.
- Be a professional…and all that it means.
- Honor the sacred mystery of the creative process — whether it is a muse, an angel or gravity.
The most famous American fighter pilot I never heard of–not Rickenbacker, Bong, Boyington, Yeager, McConnell, Olds–but the one who re-rewrote the book on tactics; developed the engineering models that led to the F-15, F-16, F-18 & the A-10; and he was the one who developed the OODA Loop (Observe-Orient-Decide-Act)–not some psychologist, but a damned fighter pilot. Probably not much of a surprise that he was hated by the guys with stars on their shoulders. Good. Ornery guys getting their way can be prickly–especially when they are right. (5 of 5 Stars)
Hmmm…and what would you have a couple of Navy SEALs write about in a book on leadership? The Ramadi war stories are to the point and engaging. Real world stuff there. Principals learned and applications to business situations might seem a bit repetitive, but it’s classic PowerPoint format: Tell me what you are going to tell me; Tell me; Summarize what I just told you. Remember, it is a business book.
As for those who claim the information is simply what everybody already knows about: “There is nothing more uncommon than common sense.” ~Frank Lloyd Wright (4 of 5 Stars)
Earl Scruggs & Steve Martin – Foggy Mountain Breakdown (Best
Clear and Present Dangers……Isaac Newton
New Years Day Flag
January 1, 2021 — Happy New Year!
Mountain – Theme For An Imaginary Western – Cincinnati Pop Festival – 13/June/70
When the wagons leave the city
For the forest and further on
Painted wagon of the morning
Dusty roads where they have gone
Sometimes travelin’ through the darkness
At the summer comin’ home
Foreign faces by the wayside
Look as if they hadn’t known
All the sand was in their eyes
And the desert that’s dry
In the country town
Where the life was found
Oh, the dancing and the singing
Oh, the music when they play
Oh, the fire that they saw there
On the grave of no return
Sometimes they found it
Sometimes they kept it
Often lost it on the way
Pawnee shadow to possess him
Sometimes ride inside of day
Oh, the sand was in their eyes
And the desert that’s dry
In this country town
Where the map was found
Oh, the sand was in their eye
And the desert that’s dry
In this country town
Where the wagons bound
Clear and Present Dangers……Sam Levison
Christmas Flag
December 25, 2020 — Merry Christmas