UNCOMMON VALOR: A STORY of RACE, PATRIOTISM, and GLORY in the FINAL BATTLES of the CIVIL WAR by Melvin Claxton and Mark Puls

Published in 2005 by John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

The Emancipation Proclamation was effective on January 1, 1863 - it included a provision that former slaves were to "be received into the armed service of the United States". The Union Army was a little slow to enact this provision, but by 1864 there were plenty of African American Union soldiers ready to go into the field. Uncommon Valor follows one of those units during the Petersburg campaign of 1864-1865.

This history primarily follows Christian Fleetwood, an African American Baltimore clerk. Fleetwood was born free, but living in a slave state was a constant reminder of his second class status. He had been considering joining the army for a long while, trying to determine if it would be a blow for freedom, or just choosing to support one oppressive regime in order to fight an even more oppressive regime. If that was the case, he might as well sit it out and let both sides clobber one another.

Sgt. Major Christian Fleetwood (1840-1914)
in the year 1900. 

After eight months of indecision, Fleetwood joined up. Using Fleetwood's autobiography, the authors tell the story of his training, his concerns about unequal pay, and his frustrations with inconsequential assignments. He was frustrated with their lack of action - he was sure it was because the higher-ups feared that they would not fight well. 

Eventually, though, they were given more and more assignments, including probes into the outer defenses of the capital of the Confederacy itself. 

In the summer of 1864, General Grant determined that he would push Lee's army continuously until he destroyed it or Lee surrendered. Lee had to defend Richmond at all costs, so it was starting to become a static line, almost like a World War I line of trenches. 

Grant ordered a quick attack on Petersburg, a large train junction town more than 20 miles south of Richmond. The theory was that if the Union took Petersburg and stop the trains bringing in supplies, it could quickly starve out Lee's army. 

Fleetwood wanted action - now he had it. He would serve in multiple engagements and eventually earn the Congressional Medal of Honor for his part in the Battle of New Market Heights.

All of these battles and maneuvers are pretty well-described, but maps, even poor ones, would have been helpful. I am always a fan of lots of maps in my Civil War histories - it just helps the reader understand things so much better.

Besides the maps, this book really needed a section that discussed what the main people mentioned in the book did after the war. It didn't need a lot of detail, but something would have been nice.

I rate this history 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: UNCOMMON VALOR: A STORY of RACE, PATRIOTISM, and GLORY in the FINAL BATTLES of the CIVIL WAR by Melvin Claxton and Mark Puls.

EXIT STAGE LEFT: THE SNAGGLEPUSS CHRONICLES (graphic novel) Written by Mark Russell. Illustrated by Mike Feehan

Published by DC Comics in 2018.

Part of the Hannah-Barbera Beyond series.

2019 GLAAD Media Award winner for Outstanding Comic Book

Synopsis:

DC Comics and Hanna-Barbera set out to reimagine some of their late 1950s to 1970s Saturday morning television cartoons, including The Jetsons, The Flintstones, Scooby Doo, Wacky Races, and Space Ghost. Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles is the last installment of the series.

The graphic novel is set in the Red Scare/McCarthyism era. Congressional subcommittees are looking for Communists in all fields, but they are particularly concerned about Communist entertainers who may be negatively influencing Americans.

Snagglepuss is a very successful New York City playwright. He lives in a world where humans and anthropomorphic animals interact as equals. He moved to New York from Mississippi years ago, but he still speaks in a Southern accent and often uses pithy folksy aphorisms. He is married to an actress, but that is a sham marriage. In reality, Snagglepuss is gay.

Snagglepuss has already appeared before the Congressional sub-committee and he did well. He defended the concept of Freedom of Speech and gave them a verbal tongue lashing that they will never forget. 

But, now the sub-committee is digging deeper into the personal lives of the people it questions, including looking into their sexual preferences. Getting outed could easily destroy the career of any actor, producer, or writer... 

Other Hanna-Barbera characters that appear in this graphic novel include Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, Augie Doggie, Peter Pottamus, and a very creepy-looking Squiddly Diddly.

My Review:

Imagining Snagglepuss as gay and working in the theatre does not take a lot of actual imagination. I had never really thought about it before I ran across this graphic novel, but it tracked pretty well.

There is a great quote in this graphic novel said by Snagglepuss:

"Sometimes we become so preoccupied with the plot of life that we forget - it's only the characters who matter."

The weakness in this graphic novel is that it tries way too hard to incorporate so much of the Cold War into the plot that it just got confusing. There are nuclear tests, Nixon and Kruschev debating, an Iowa farmer throwing ears of corn at Kruschev, and an ongoing debate about national security. 

I am not arguing that these things were not a part of the anti-gay movement in the 1950s, but it distracted from the main plotline too much. It was too far away from the story of Snagglepuss and Huckleberry Hound. To go back to the quote I thought was so great, the graphic novel got so preoccupied with the Cold War tie-in that it forgot about the characters.

If I were part of the discussion with how to make this an effective graphic novel, I would have dealt with more with the "morals" argument and less with the Cold War argument. It would have been more relevant to nowadays with all of the book bans and boycotts over LGBTQ+ issues.

The nice thing about this graphic novel is that it ties in to the actual Hanna-Barbera TV shows that feature these characters and makes sense, as if the readers that remembers those classic shows is a part of Snagglepuss's world.

I rate this graphic novel 4 stars out of 5. Interesting read, thought-provoking, but flawed. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles.

THANKS a THOUSAND: A GRATITUDE JOURNEY (audiobook) by A.J. Jacobs

Published by Simon and Schuster Audio / TED

Read by A.J. Jacobs.

Duration: 3 hours, 12 minutes.

Unabridged.

A.J. Jacobs had been doing some reading and thinking about the concept of gratitude when it occurred to him that he really should be grateful for a lot of things that no one every expresses any gratitude for. He settled on his morning cup of coffee that he buys at a the corner coffee shop. 

On his quest to thank a thousand people for his daily cup of coffee, he starts with the clerk, the barista, and the management of the small coffee chain. He moves on to the people that make the cup lids, the cups, and even the metal of the coffee makers. Eventually, he gets to the guy that chooses the coffee beans that make up his favorite brew. That guy takes him to the farm in Colombia that grows his favorite beans and the bemused and confused Colombians host them for a little get together. 

The whole book is mildly amusing and somewhat interesting, but is not riveting in any way. It's nice, but hardly memorable. 

I rate this audiobook 3 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Thanks a Thousand: A Gratitude Journey. 

THE SWEDISH EMPIRE: A HISTORY from BEGINNING to END (kindle) by Hourly History

Published in 2021 by Hourly History

Note: Hourly History specializes in short histories and biographies that take about an hour to read. Generally, I read them to learn more about topics that I would never read about in a full sized history. Topics like the Swedish Empire, for example.

As a history buff, I see references to the Swedish Empire from time to time - an empire of Lutherans coming out of the far north, fighting in several wars, and then retreating back to Sweden. I also recognized the name of one of its kings, Adolphus Gustavus because, let's face it, it's a heckuva name.

This short history does a pretty good job of explaining the pretty short history of the Swedish Empire (1611-1721). It explains how the Swedes raised troops, fought in wars against its neighbors, reforms that were undertaken by the king, the Swedes' brief foray into building a North American colony, and the end of the Swedish Empire.

I rate this e-book 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: The Swedish Empire: A History from Beginning to End.

FORGOTTEN TRAIL (National Parks Mystery, Book3) (audiobook) by Claire Kells

Published by Dreamscape Media in 2023.
Read by Cady Zuckerman.
Duration: 9 hours, 26 minutes.
Unabridged.

Synopsis:

Forgotten Trail is the third book featuring Felicity Harland of the Investigative Services Branch. If you are not familiar with the ISB, join the club - I had no idea that it was the "FBI" of the National Parks Service. If the local park can't deal with it, they call in the ISB. That always include murders.

Harland is partners with a park ranger nicknamed Hux. He is a big, strong guy. Harland is a short (but very tough and determined) lady. There is always of undercurrent of romantic attraction between the two, but there is caution about acting on this attraction for fear of messing up their friendship and very strong working relationship. Her dog rounds out the trio.

In this series, ISB is called out to a different park for each book. It lets the reader get a feel for a new park in every book. In this book, a brutal murder has taken place in a room at a brand new (and fictional) luxury hotel in the midst of its grand opening at Pinnacles National Park. Pinnacles only became a National Park in 2013 and its desert location offers a real change of pace from the previous two books.

My review:

 For me, part of the charm of this book series is its locations in and around the unique National Park environments. The reader gets to learn about what makes them unique and vicariously experience the challenges offered by that park's geography and biosphere.

This book was mostly set in the ultra-modern high tech hotel. There was a lot of talk about security cameras and key cards vs. traditional keys vs. app-based room entry system. It was very pedestrian compared to the other two books.

The resolution of the actual mystery was overly contrived in my mind. 

Bottom line - I like the characters a lot, the mystery was so-so. I hope there are more books in the series. I would love to see get around to lots of different parks all over the country.

I rate this audibook 3 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Forgotten Trails by Claire Kells.

MONEY, LIES, and GOD: INSIDE the MOVEMENT to DESTROY AMERICAN DEMOCRACY (audiobook) by Katherine Stewart

Published in 2025 by Bloomsbury Publishing.
Read by Patricia Rodriguez.
Duration: 11 hours, 36 minutes.
Unabridged.

In Money, Lies, and God, Katherine Stewart takes a hard look at the intertwined worlds of MAGA, Christian Nationalists, big money backers (old money and new tech money), the Claremont Institute, White Replacement Theory folks, militias, and groups like Moms for Liberty. 

It looks like a lot to connect but, in reality, it's not too hard. Think of your stereotypical Christian Nationalist mega-church. They're going to be MAGA voters. They are exposed to materials produced by think tanks like the Claremont Institute or Focus on the Family that are financially supported by big money backers. Moms for Liberty will already be there, hyping up the dangers of public schools and certain reading materials. Some megachurches host faith and freedom conferences that are strong on the politics and feature a bit of Christianity.

The author, Katherine Stewart

I was distressed by the sheer quantity of Christian Nationalists out there. I am a lifelong Christian and this movement scares me. It is pseudo-Christian at best and it tarnishes the Christian faith.

What is a Christian Nationalist? It's not simply a patriotic Christian. It's a belief that it is not possible to be a good American unless you are a Christian. The federal government should declare the United States a Christian Nation and the federal government should actively advocate explicitly Christian values. Under all of this is the belief that the success of the United States is part of God’s plan (as though the USA is literally mentioned in the Bible).

Throw in a media and social media environment that reinforce the whole thing and you've got the recipe that makes your uncle sound like a crazy person at the Thanksgiving table. The key is, in his world he doesn't sound crazy - you do.

This is a powerful book. She weaves it all together wonderfully.

This was also a depressing book for me. My faith is being subverted by Christian Nationalism. My fellow Americans believe nonsense like children are relieving themselves in giant kitty litter boxes and they vote for people that agree with them.

Sigh.

I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: MONEY, LIES, and GOD: INSIDE the MOVEMENT to DESTROY AMERICAN DEMOCRACY by Katherine Stewart.

CHECHEN WARS: A HISTORY from BEGINNING to END (kindle) by Hourly History

Published in 2023 by Hourly History.

I chose to read this short history about Chechnya in order to be a bit more informed about Putin's wars in Chechnya and then apply that knowledge to the war in Ukraine. What I read does not inspire confidence.

Chechnya is an unfortunate victim of geography - it lies in a buffer zone between traditional great powers - the Russians, the Ottoman Turks, and the Persians. Even worse, they are on a natural land bridge between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea. Throw in a religious difference between Russia and the Chechens and you have even more trouble.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Chechnya made a serious effort at independence that ended up in multiple military incursions by the Russians and decades of on and off irregular warfare (think guerrilla warfare plus outright terrorism).

For their part, the Russians responded with their own forms of irregular warfare - assassinations, possible false flag operations, and more.

As I read this, the tit for tat back and forth actions just sort of blend together and in the end it was hard for this outsider to see which corrupt oligarchy The West should support. 

Back to what I referred to in the first paragraph - what can some knowledge of the Chechen Wars tell us about the war in Ukraine? To me it says that Russia has a very solid sense of what territories it believes legitimately belong to Russia and it will hang on to that territory, even if it comes with tremendous costs.

Considering that Ukraine is much closer in a cultural sense to Russia than Chechnya is, this bodes poorly for Ukraine. I'm not saying Ukraine should be abandoned (far from it!), but this is going to be a very long-term issue.

I rate this e-book 4 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: Chechen Wars: A History from Beginning to End.