05/1/15

10 books to celebrate the socialist holiday of May Day

By: Benjamin Weingarten
TheBlaze

May 1 marks what is known as May Day, a celebration of international workers chosen by the socialists and Communists of the Second International to recognize the Haymarket affair in Chicago’s Haymarket Square of May 1886.

In order to ring in the holiday, we thought it apt to share 10 books on socialism and Communism and their impact on mankind.

1) The Marx-Engels Reader by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

This book contains the core works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, which provide the intellectual basis for socialism and Communism.

2) The Road to Serfdom by F.A. Hayek

One of the most powerful arguments against all forms of collectivism, Hayek’s “The Road to Serfdom” is in many ways the foil to Marx and Engels, showing the disasters of central planning, and illustrating how finding a “middle path” with statism inevitably drags a people all the way there. We would also recommend Frédéric Bastiat’s “The Law” and Ludwig von Mises’ “Human Action,” among countless other titles.

3) The Black Book of Communism: Crimes, Terror, Repression by Various authors

The definitive compendium of atrocities committed worldwide under Communism from Stalin’s Russia to Mao’s China and everywhere in between, prior to the 21st century.

4) The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Isaevich Solzhenitsyn

“The Gulag Archipelago” gave the West a comprehensive look into the dehumanizing slavery of the concentration camps known as the gulags of the Soviet Union.

5) Against All Hope: A Memoir of Life in Castro’s Gulag by Armando Valladares

For those wondering what life was and to a degree still is like under Castro’s Cuba, Valladares’ “Against All Hope” shows the tyranny of the Communist regime and the unimaginably cruel treatment of its political prisoners. We excerpted one of the most sobering portions of Valladares’ book here.

6) Witness by Whittaker Chambers

An American Communist turned staunch conservative, Chambers’ “Witness” was one of the key texts in the ideological battle against Communism of the Cold War. “Witness” is incidentally one of TheBlaze’s Buck Sexton’s three favorite biographies.

7) Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak

As we have written about previously, “Doctor Zhivago” was viewed as so important in discrediting the Russian Revolution of 1917 that the CIA used it as part of a plot to undermine the Communist cause, flooding the Soviet Union with copies of it during the throes of the Cold War.

8) Disinformation by Ion Pacepa and Prof. Ronald Rychlak

We have written about “Disinformation” numerous times at TheBlaze Books, but suffice it to say if you want to understand how Communists have successfully waged ideological warfare and its great impact on society to this day, you need to read this book.

9) Stalin’s Secret Agents by M. Stanton Evans and Herbert Romerstein

The late M. Stanton Evans and Herbert Romerstein show just how effective the Communists were in infiltrating the highest levels of power during the President Franklin Delano Roosevelt era, based upon their study of recently released shocking intelligence documents. You will also want to check out Evans’ “Blacklisted by History: The Untold Story of Senator Joe McCarthy and His Fight Against America’s Enemies.”

10) American Betrayal by Diana West

Building on the efforts of M. Stanton Evans and others, Diana West’s “American Betrayal” — of which we have written favorably in the past — seeks to explain how it could be that there is a government-wide effort in her view to whitewash jihadism, along with a willful blindness to and even complicity with jihadist elements at the highest levels of our political system.

West finds this precedent — along with remarkable parallels — in President Roosevelt’s sympathy with and willful blindness towards the Communist threat during the World War II era. West boldly documents how damaging this was to the nation. ”American Betrayal” is an eye-opening piece of revisionist history — and we do not mean that in a pejorative sense — that has caused an unprecedented level of controversy among conservative anti-Communists.

Ms. West shared with us her own reading recommendations on these topics here.

10a) Dupes by Paul Kengor

Author Paul Kengor – he of “11 Principles of a Reagan Conservative” (reviewed here and more here) — has written the book on the manipulation of progressives in America by socialists and Communists from the early 20th century to present. This is a chilling but crucial must read that will change the way you view our nation’s history.

Note: The link to the book in this post will give you an option to elect to donate a percentage of the proceeds from the sale to a charity of your choice. Mercury One, the charity founded by TheBlaze’s Glenn Beck, is one of the options. Donations to Mercury One go towards efforts such as disaster relief, support for education, support for Israel and support for veterans and our military. You can read more about Amazon Smile and Mercury One here.

03/14/15

Kings and Emperors – A Book Review

By: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton


Purchase at MacMillan Publishers or Amazon.com

What a well-written and thrilling book! Kings and Emperors is the 21st book in the Alan Lewrie series by Dewey Lambdin. Now I will have to buy all of them. A good series is something I covet and relish. It’s better than Christmas. 😉

DEWEY LAMBDIN is the author of twenty previous Alan Lewrie novels. A member of the US Naval Institute and a Friend of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England, he spends his free time working and sailing. He makes his home in Nashville, Tennessee, but would much prefer Margaritaville or Murrells Inlet. Just my kind of author and scoundrel.

A brief summary from Amazon.com:

Captain Alan Lewrie, Royal Navy, is still in Gibraltar, his schemes for raids along the coast of southern Spain shot to a halt. He is reduced to commanding a clutch of harbor defense gunboats in the bay while his ship, HMS Sapphire, slowly grounds herself on a reef of beef bones! Until Napoleon Bonaparte’s invasion of peaceful Portugal and his so-called collaborative march into Spain change everything, freeing Sapphire to roam against the King’s enemies once more!

As kings are overthrown and popular uprisings break out all across Spain, Lewrie’s right back in the action, ferrying weapons to arm Spanish patriots, scouting within close gun range of the impregnable fort of Ceuta, escorting the advance units of British expeditionary armies to aid the Spanish, and even going ashore to witness the first battles between Sir Arthur Wellesley, later the Duke of Wellington, and Napoleon’s best Marshals, as the long Peninsular War that broke Imperial France begins to unfold.

From Cáadiz to La Coruñna, Lewrie and Sapphire will be there as history explodes!

Dewey Lambdin is an American nautical historical novelist. The Alan Lewrie naval adventure series is his best known work. It spans the American Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. Besides the Alan Lewrie series, he is also the author of What Lies Buried: a novel of Old Cape Fear. Lambdin has been writing since about 1988. How I missed his works is beyond me. I have been under the weather lately and this is a wonderful tonic for what ails you.

The other novels in the series are:

  • The King’s Coat (1989)
  • The French Admiral (1990)
  • The King’s Commission (1991)
  • The King’s Privateer (1992)
  • The Gun Ketch (1993)
  • H.M.S. Cockerel (1995)
  • A King’s Commander (1997)
  • Jester’s Fortune (1999)
  • King’s Captain (2000)
  • Sea of Grey (2002)
  • Havoc’s Sword (2003)
  • The Captain’s Vengeance (2004)
  • A King’s Trade (2006)
  • Troubled Waters (2008)
  • The Baltic Gambit (2009)
  • King, Ship, and Sword (2010)
  • The Invasion Year (2011)
  • Reefs and Shoals (2012)
  • Hostile Shores (2013)
  • The King’s Marauder (2014)

I’m a sucker for historical, adventure/military novels. I was thrilled when I got the book and enjoyed every single word of it. I warn you, the series is addicting. Here is an excerpt – Chapter 1 of the book… The Alan Lewrie naval adventure series should grace everyone’s bookshelves or Kindle device. Loads of fun and adventure await you with a very good read – pick up your copy here.

02/7/15

Sad Puppies 3 – Sad Puppy Squad!

My ode to Larry Correia and Sad Puppies… It’s that time of year again. THE PUPPIES MUST BE UNSADDENED! Re: The Hugo Wars – it’s too late to register… but you can buy Larry’s books and have the ride of your life and join the fight next year. Larry’s books are among my favorites – Monster Hunters unite! (This lowly commie hunter has joined forces with Monster Hunter International and I feel right at home.) 😉

Sad Puppies 3: The Ensaddening.

By: Larry Correia – Monster Hunter International
Hat Tip: Keith Glass

sad_puppies_3_patch

It is that time of year again. If you’d like to nominate good books, stories, and related works for the Hugos so that the biggest award in sci-fi/fantasy isn’t just a Social Justice Warrior circle jerk, you need to get yourself a supporting membership to Sasquan before the end of January.

https://sasquan.swoc.us/sasquan/reg.php

Supporting memberships are $40. If you registered last year as part of Sad Puppies 2, you are still eligible to nominate this year.

Because I’ve been swamped with Sons of the Black Sword and a new Warmachine novel, I’ve not had a chance to prepare any new Heart Felt Plea cartoons (and I am a remarkably slow and untalented artist) so let’s recycle some old ones!

color-sp-1

So please watch this very special commercial that we prepared last year, which in no way was ripped off of Sarah McLachlan’s sad puppy video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzGKlOkQsxY

Last year’s Sad Puppies campaign accomplished it’s goals of raising awareness about Puppy Related Sadness, but the struggle continues…

color-sp-2

Now our SP3 spokesmanatee would like to share a few thoughts about why it is so important that you help to combat the scourge of PRS…

wendell2 (2)

Thank you, Wendell. That was so profound I may have shed a single manly tear.

This year we will be expanding the suggested slate to include several other authors, artists, and creators who are usually locked out by the SJW voting block. The men and women of Sad Puppies want to get more fans involved, even if they’re the *wrong* kind of fans. We want people to vote based on what they loved and enjoyed, not on what sends the approved message or checks the right box.

You need to register now in order to be able to participate, but your actual nominations are not due for some time. In the comments feel free to suggest other eligible works that you think we should take a look at.

And please tell your friends. Help spread the word, because only you can stop PRS.

EDIT: For those just joining us who missed last year’s controversy, here is a recap of what happened when a bunch of barbaric outsiders got nominated:  http://monsterhunternation.com/2014/04/24/an-explanation-about-the-hugo-awards-controversy/

EDIT 2: Hello to the GamerGate readers who’re stopping by because of Nero’s plug. To clarify, normally all supporting members get a packet of ebooks consisting of all of the nominated works, so they can read them before judging. So the membership is $40, but you normally get way more than $40 worth of reading material (and if we get our way, it won’t all suck!).

See: The Hugo Wars: How Sci-fi’s Most Prestigious Awards Became a Political Battleground