Day 1 (DDRD 1,222): March 7, 2021
...which is also Day 40 for Volume III. I only had a dozen pages left of III, which I finished early in the a.m., and that just wasn't going to be enough Churchill for me for the day, so I went ahead and started Volume IV. I think this is my first Official Daily Devotional Reading Crossover in the (almost) four years I've been doing this. Woo-hoo!
This looks (and feels) to be the biggest Volume yet. A quick check: yep, it's 917 pages long including the Index, and there are xxii pages preceding the text of the book, so I'm calling it 939 pages long. That's hefty. If I hold to the 20 pages per day which has been my usual since I started this series, that means I'll be with this Volume for 47 days...which would put me at April 20th for a finish date. That's a lot...but the longest reading journey begins with a single word, so here I go.
And...read the xxii Introductory pages and to page 10 of the text. Looks like we're going to be spending a lot of time in the Pacific Theater...though I checked the Index, and we do get to Stalingrad around page 650 or so.
As for the Pacific Theater...well, I guess it's about time for me to watch Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima, isn't it? As it happens, they've both been sitting on my dining room table for a month or so....
Day 2 (DDRD 1,223): March 8, 2021
Read to page 30. I was wrong about the Pacific Theater shift--we're back in North Africa with Rommel kicking everybody's ass. Wow --1942, and the Germans are still winning. Imagine how grim things must have looked to the Allies back then.
Day 3 (DDRD 1,224): March 9, 2021
Read to page 50. Spoke too soon last time--we're back in the Pacific. And Australia is really Pissed Off at the Brits. I guess we're going to be quick switching between the two fronts.
Day 4 (DDRD 1,225): March 10, 2021
Read to page 70.
Here's a good bit to chew on:
"There is no worse mistake in public leadership than to hold out false hopes soon to be swept away. The British people can face peril or misfortune with fortitude and buoyancy, but they bitterly resent being deceived or finding that those responsible for their affairs are themselves dwelling in a fool's paradise."
I posted the first sentence of that on Twitter under the comment "That was then, this is now."
I also liked this bit of Churchill admonition:
"...no one need be mealy- mouthed in debate, and no one should be chicken-hearted in voting."
And all I can say is if only.
Day 5 (DDRD 1,226): March 11, 2021
Read to page 90.
So...Rommel is kicking ass in Africa, and the Japanese are kicking ass in Singapore...and I just had to wonder...how did these two relatively small nations get the manpower to do all of this damage? So I took a look. According to Wikipedia, Germany had about 80 million people in 1939, and Japan had about 70 million. So...a lot more than I would have thought, actually. Great Britain was only about 46 million, and the U.S.ofA. 131 million. Pretty easy to see why the US's entry into the war was a game changer, then. But how the hell did they pack so many people into Germany and Japan?
Day 6 (DDRD 1,227): March 12, 2021
Read to page 110.
Day 7 (DDRD 1,228): March 13, 2021
Read to page 130. Also started watching Greyhound (2020) with Tom Hanks. Also, I was surprised to learn, written by Tom Hanks. And also also, as I was surprised to learn, based on The Good Shepherd by C. S. Forester. Anyway...by coincidence, this setting for this movie in early 1942, Atlantic Ocean, U.S. ship escorting British ships to England, danger of attack by groups of submarines who use jamming signals to disrupt the Yanks' radar. And guess what I just finished reading about in The Hinge of Fate? Churchill writes about early 1942, Atlantic Ocean, U.S. ship escorting British ships to England, danger of attack by groups of submarines who use jamming signals to disrupt the Yanks' radar. So that was well-timed. And Churchill's writing is vivid and exciting (and highly recommended), but I've got to admit that watching Tom Hanks bark out orders while the ocean bitch slaps him is a bit more exciting and vivid. (Only halfway through the movie at this point, but I'm pretty sure it will end up being highly recommended as well.)
Day 8 (DDRD 1,229): March 14, 2021
Read to page 150.
I'm thinking hard about this illustration--
Day 9 (DDRD 1,230): March 15, 2021
Read to page 170.
I'd been thinking about a video I saw on the DC comic book story arc Generations, and how in it the host had kept pronouncing the name of one of the heroes, Kamandi, as CuhMUNdi. I knew that was wrong, because in the story's first issue (way back in October 1972, and yes, I was there, as a matter of fact) we were told that Kamandi was named after the bunker in which he and his grandfather lived, Command D. And as I was doing my Daily Devotional Reading today, my mind drifted a bit and I started thinking about all of that, and when I came back to focus on the book I was reading this paragraph:
So there's that.
Day 10 (DDRD 1,231): March 16, 2021
Read to page 190.
There was a mention of Gandhi. Mostly just that there was a fear that if his faction came to power and India became free of British rule that they might seek to become neutral with respect to Japan, which could endanger the Allies (since India was providing a large number of troops to The Cause). I didn't really get the sense that Churchill thought of Gandhi as anything more than a politician...and not one that Churchill had a great deal of admiration for.
Here's a thing FDR said to Churchill about the Press which I thought was apropos for today:
"Neither one of us is much plagued by the news stories, which, on the whole, are not so bad. But literally we are both menaced by the so-called interpretative comment by a handful or two of gentlemen who cannot get politics out of their heads in the worst crisis, who have little background and less knowledge, and who undertake to lead public opinion on that basis."
That probably deserves a Tweet.
Day 11 (DDRD 1,232): March 17, 2021
Read to page 210.
Day 12 (DDRD 1,233): March 18, 2021
Read to page 230.
Here's an interesting thing to think about:
After describing a battle which occurred on June 6th, 1942--six months, almost to the day, after Pearl Harbor--Churchill reflects on the factors which enabled the American forces to be victorious in several key Pacific battles. One of those factors is identified as being that "The American intelligence system succeeded in penetrating the enemy's most closely guarded secrets well in advance of events." (226) Hmm. I guess they made huge strides in decoding messages in six months, then.
Day 13 (DDRD 1,234): March 19, 2021
Read to page 250.
Churchill talks about a device (called "Gee") which uses radio pulses to determine an aircraft's position. He notes with implicit enthusiasm that "it could fix [an aircraft's] position within a mile." (250) Wow. We've come a little ways since then. Like 5,279.75 feet.
Day 14 (DDRD 1,235): March 20, 2021
Read to page 270.
Day 15 (DDRD 1,236): March 21, 2021
Read to page 291.
Day 16 (DDRD 1,237): March 22, 2021
Read to page 310.
Day 17 (DDRD 1,238): March 23, 2021
Read to page 330.
Day 18 (DDRD 1,239): March 24, 2021
Read to page 350.
Day 19 (DDRD 1,240): March 25, 2021
Read to page 370. Which means I start Book II: Africa Redeemed tomorrow.
Day 20 (DDRD 1,241): March 26, 2021
Read to page 390.
Day 21 (DDRD 1,242): March 27, 2021
Read to page 410.
Day 22 (DDRD 1,243): March 28, 2021
Read to page 430.
Day 23 (DDRD 1,244): March 29, 2021
Read to page 451.
Truth be told, though I'm still enjoying this book quite a bit, I just haven't had the spirit to write about it since my friend Louis died. I'm hoping to get back to it any minute now...but my lack of commentary shouldn't be seen as lack of involvement or interest in the book, which remains excellent. In fact, just having the "obligation" to read 20 pages a day is quite a boon to me...though it undoubtedly sounds silly, it gives me a sense of purpose beyond the daily chores of maintaining existence. It's just that words have failed me. It's like Ophelia says about the flowers after her father's death: "I would give you some violets, but they withered all when my father died." I would give you more words, but they withered all when my friend died. In fact, I haven't even had the words to say that until today.
Day 24 (DDRD 1,245): March 30, 2021
Read to page 470. Churchill visits Egypt. It's been awhile since we heard anything about the Pacific Theater.
Day 25 (DDRD 1,246): March 31, 2021
Read to page 492.
Churchill refers to Mark Clark and Bedell Smith as the American Eagle and the American Bulldog. He then notes that if you check their pictures you will understand why. So I did. And I do.
Day 26 (DDRD 1,247): April 1, 2021
Read to page 510.
Churchill was talking about all the defeats that Britain had suffered in the first years of the war, and how it was surprising that he hadn't been dismissed from his post. He also noted that if he had been dismissed, when the fortunes of Britain began to rise, all of the success would been a would have been ascribed to his successors . He concludes by saying, "All this shows how much luck there is in human affairs, and how little we should worry about anything except doing our best." (494)
Yep.
Day 27 (DDRD 1,248): April 2, 2021
Read to page 530.
Do these lines--
"I am not unduly disturbed about our respective responses or lack of responses from Moscow. I have decided they do not use speech for the same purposes as we do." (FDR to Churchill 28 October 1942)
--make you think of any particular political party?
Yeah, me, too.
Day 28 (DDRD 1,249): April 3, 2021
Read to page 550. Churchill tells us that in a major battle (vs. Rommel) in North Africa, 80 tons of bombs were dropped on an area that was a total of 6 square miles in 2 1/2 hours. That's a lot of cheddar.
Day 29 (DDRD 1,250): April 4, 2021
Read to page 570. Quite a bit about a fellow named François Darlan, who seems to have been quite a traitor and a collaborator with the Nazis...though there are moments when he seems to go another way. It's a bit confusing, but I think my conclusion is that he was a man devoid of honor who did whatever was most favorable to him. You know, like the Republicans.
Day 30 (DDRD 1,251): April 5, 2021
Read to page 591.
Churchill is speaking about this Vichy France here, but it seems like good advice in a much more general way: "...it would be very foolish not to try to understand what is passing in other people's minds, and what are the secret springs of action to which they respond." (575)
At the end of chapter 35, Churchill gives a bit of a eulogy for Darlan (boo, hiss), which concludes, "Let him rest in peace, and let us all be thankful we have never had to face the trials under which he broke." (580) Pretty generous, given the context.
And when I read this--
"...it would seem...that the sum of all American fears is to be multiplied by the sum of all British fears, faithfully contributed by each capital Service." (584)
--I was struck by the "sum of all" bit,
so I Googled around, and finally came up with this:“You may take the most gallant sailor, the most intrepid airman, or the most audacious soldier, put them at a table together—what do you get? The sum of their fears.” (16 November 1943)
I'm not sure if this is something I missed in The Hinge of Fate, haven't gotten to yet, or if it's from another volume of this work or from another work, but it is a Churchill, so that's nice.
Day 31 (DDRD 1,252): April 6, 2021
Read to page 610.
Day 32 (DDRD 1,253): April 7, 2021
Read to page 630.
Day 33 (DDRD 1,254): April 8, 2021
Read to page 650.
Day 34 (DDRD 1,255): April 9, 2021
Read to page 670.
Day 35 (DDRD 1,256): April 10, 2021
Read to page 690.
Churchill says "We have got to be hitler...and this is no time for quarrels and charges." He is referring to the fact that the Polish government has accused Russia of slaughtering 15,000 Polish officers and men in 1940, which had recently been revealed. Churchill even notes that Russia's claim that the Nazis did the deed (the territory was first held by Russian, then taken over by Germany) is unlikely.
15,000 murdered and their remains found in a mass grave. Seems like a bit more than a quarrel, doesn't it?
Day 36 (DDRD 1,257): April 11, 2021
Read to page 710.
Day 37 (DDRD 1,258): April 12, 2021
Read to page 730. And the text ends on page 743, so starting tomorrow it's Into The Appendices Universe once more. Speaking of, there was no textual "link" to the appendices, so no opportunity to flip over to them per se. There are 130 pages of appendices, so looks like one more week...which would put me just a little bit ahead of my predicted finish time of 47 days. Woo-hoo.
Here's a rule for you:
"When one wakes up after daylight one should breakfast; 5 hours after that, luncheon. 6 hours after luncheon, dinner." (727-728)
And you know, when I checked that against our eating times...6 am for breakfast, 11 am for lunch, 5 pm for dinner...guess what? A perfect Churchill. I found that a bit surprising, actually.
Day 38 (DDRD 1,259): April 13, 2021
Read to page 750.
Day 39 (DDRD 1,260): April 14, 2021
Read to page 775. Read a few extra because I now have fewer than 100 pages to go. So there's that.
And now, this: In a letter to the Minister of Aircraft Production, encouraging said Minister to address the shortage of aircraft, Churchill says, "Get at it and bite at it."
Day 40 (DDRD 1,261): April 15, 2021
Read to page 794. And a mere 80 pages to go.
Day 41 (DDRD 1,262): April 16, 2021
Read to page 814.
Some wisdom: "The maxim 'Nothing avails but perfection' may be spelt shorter: 'Paralysis'. (808)
Day 42 (DDRD 1,263): April 17, 2021
Read to page 834.
Day 43 (DDRD 1,264): April 18, 2021
Read to page 917. Which means I finished Volume IV. Not as impressive as it might appear (83 pages in one day!) since it was really just the usual 20 pages plus an extra 20 pages and then the Index. And the extra 20 pages were mostly lists of the boys in charge of government during these years. And by the way, the were ALL boys. Which is pretty amazing, isn't it? A dozen pages of the heads of state, and not a single woman.
Well.
On to Volume V, then.
DDR Day 1000 to Day 2000:
(1) Leviathan 63 days, 729 pages
(2) Stalingrad 27 days, 982 pages
(3) Life and Fate 26 days, 880 pages
(4) The Second World War 34 + 32 + 40 + 43 + ___ days, 4,379 pages Total: 6,970 pages...more than 1/2 of my first 1,000 DDR days
No comments:
Post a Comment