Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Circling the Sun, by Paula McClain


People
Couples and Lovers
Beryl (Clutterbuck) Markham
Charles – father
Clara – mother
Dickie – brother

Harry Kirkpatrick – Clara’s second husband (met in Nairobi and moved to London with Dickie when Beryl was five)
Ivan and Alex – sons

Emma Orchardson – housekeeper

Doris “Dos” Waterman – friend, bunkmate at boarding school

Jock Purves – Beryl’s first husband

Kibii – native friend (became arup Ruta as an adult)
Kimaru – wife
Asis - son

Jim Elkington – neighbor
Paddy – pet lion

Mansfield Markham – second husband
Gervase – son – stayed in London with Mansfield
Sir Charles Markham - brother
Mrs. O’Hea – Markham’s mother
Colonel O’Hea – second husband
Casmere “Boy” Long – first affair, ranch manager for Delamere
Genessee – wife

Lord and Lady Delamere (“D”)

Denys Finch Hatton

Berkeley Cole

Cockie Birkbeck – Blix, second husband
Ben – husband
Ginger Mayer – Ben’s lover and second wife

Bror “Blix” Blixen – Cockie, second wife
Karen “Tania” – wife (affair with Denys)

Frank Greswolde - benefactor



 For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from the paperback edition.

  1. When Beryl’s mother left for England with Dickie, why didn’t she take Beryl with her?  Why did she never contact Beryl?
  2. Do you think someone should have told Beryl about her mother and why she left at some point in her teens? 
  3. Do you think her father was wrong to let her grow up so wild?  Was there anything different he could have done?
  4. When Beryl was thinking about her marriage on page 84, she wondered which is better preparation for marriage (or any union) – love or practicality?  How important is each one?
  5. When she married Jock, what other options did she have at the time?  Did you agree with her father and Emma’s advice?  What were your thoughts when Beryl and Jock returned from their honeymoon and her father and Emma were still in Kenya?
  6. On page 130 in a conversation with Karen, Beryl says that she wants to be on her own to, “Make your own choices or mistakes, without anyone telling you what you can and can’t do.”   Karen states, “Society does that...I’m not sure anyone gets what they want.  Not really.”   Do you agree?   How difficult is it to go against what “society” expects?
  7. What did you think of Clara’s behavior in chapter 26 when she returns to Kenya and expects Beryl to take care of her.  She never says anything about leaving Beryl when she was five and never contacting her.  Also, what did you think of the way she was parenting Ivan and Alex?
  8. In chapter 41 Beryl saw Clara again at one of the races after not hearing from her for a year.  They only had a brief conversation and then Clara left again.  Why do you think she maintains such limited contact with Beryl?
  9. What did you think about D firing Beryl after he was assaulted by Jock?  Why did he do that?  Could he have done anything else?
  10. In chapter 42, were you surprised that Blix was marrying Cockie?  Was there any hint of that earlier in the book?  (If so, I missed it!)
  11. Which of the people in Beryl’s life treated her fairly or unfairly?  What do you think was each person’s motivation?  Should or could Beryl have been able to understand and avoid what happened in each problem she encountered?
  12. Could Beryl have achieved what she did if her childhood and early adult life had been more conventional?
  13. Did you like the writing style?  What about how the book begun and ended, with the flight across the ocean.  Did that set the stage for you reading?
*****
First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com, wordassociation.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Click on the upper right link.

Saturday, May 13, 2017

The Gatekeepers, by Chris Whipple


REVIEW: I felt this book was well worth my valuable reading time and gave me a better understanding of the political process in Washington.    I am not a “political junkie.”  Rather I was interested in this book from an historical perspective.  Much of this information is very current and, especially in today’s culture, it is difficult to approach any political subject without bias.  (Just as it is difficult for the reader to read without bias.)  Except for a few instances, I thought this author presented the facts without making overt value judgements.  Even with the numerous names, most of which were familiar to me, the storyline was easy to follow except for the transition from Howard Baker Jr. to Ken Duberstein (chapter 5).  I totally missed that and did not realize my mistake until later when Duberstein was referred to as a previous Chief of Staff.  The book was very interesting, although not necessarily gripping like an engrossing fiction novel.  I received a complimentary copy of this book for my review. 

Chief of Staff
President

Others
H. R. Haldeman
·       Developed staff system followed by future administrations
·       Said, “President’s most valuable asset is his time” (page 22).
·       His main goal was Nixon’s place in history.
Richard Nixon

J. Edgar Hoover – FBI Director
Lied to Nixon about bugging during election

Roger Ailes
Donald Rumsfeld
John Mitchell
Charles Colson
John Ehrlichman
Howard Hunt
G. Gordan Liddy
Spiro Agnew – disgraced VP
Gerald Ford – 2nd VP
General Alexander Haig
Nixon to Ford transition


Donald Rumsfeld
  • Revamped Ford’s organization
  • Restricted access to Ford
Gerald Ford

Dick Cheney – Deputy Chief of Staff

David Hume Kennerly – official photographer

Henry Kissinger
Alan Greenspan
Nelson Rockefeller - VP
Dick Cheney
  • White House running extremely smoothly
Gerald Ford

Donald Rumsfeld to Pentagon
Kissinger demoted
James A. Baker III
Hamilton Jordan
  • At first was unofficial C of S
  • Officially appointed 2 ½ years into term
  • 1980 – resigned to run next campaign

Jimmy Carter

Jack Watson – in charge of transition from Ford

Jody Powell – friend, driver

Initial WH organization followed “spokes of the wheel” that did not work before
Jack Watson – last 1 ½ year
Jimmy Carter


James Baker
  • Longest term for C of S
  • Redefined position
Ronald Reagan

Nancy Reagan
Legislature Strategy Group (LSG)
Donald Regan
  • Hung up on Nancy
Ronald Reagan

Joan Quigley – Nancy’s astrologer
Howard Baker Jr.
Ronald Reagan

Ken Duberstein – Deputy C of S
Mikhail Gorbachev – new Soviet leader
Ken Duberstein
Ronald Reagan


John Sununu
George H. W. Bush

Andy Card – Deputy C of S
Samuel K. Skinner
George H. W. Bush

Bob Teeter – campaign chairman
James Baker
George H. W. Bush


Thomas F. “Mack” McLarty
  • Longtime friend of Bill Clinton



Bill Clinton

Hillary Clinton
Vincent Foster – White House counselor, committed suicide
Harry and Linda Bloodsworth-Thomason
Erskine Bowles – Office of Management and Budget
Leon Panetta



Bill Clinton

Erskine Bowles – deputy C of S
Dick Morris – secret advisor
Erskine Bowles
Bill Clinton

Monica Lewinsky
John Podesta – deputy C of S – in charge of managing Lewinsky “cells”
John Pedesto
Bill Clinton


Andrew Card
George W. Bush

Dick Cheney–VP, (former C of S)
Donald Rumsfeld – Secretary of Defense, (former C of S)
Condoleeza Rice – National Security Advisor, 2nd term was Secretary of State, became closest advisor
Brent Snowcroft – spoke out against war
Joshua Bolten
George W. Bush


Rahm Emanuel
Barack Obama

“The Wrap”
William Daley
Barack Obama

At end of tenure shared job with Pete Rouse
Jacob Lew
Barack Obama


Denis McDonough
  • Served for entire second term
  • Took responsibility for flawed ACA website
Barack Obama



 For Discussion:

NOTE: Page numbers are from the hardback edition.



  1. On page 111 (chapter 4) Margaret Tutwiler as quoted as saying, “The most successful managers are those that are secure enough to surround themselves with extremely strong-willed, talented people.”  Do you agree?
  2. James Baker (Ronald Reagan) talked about the tension between those who truly believed in ideals and those willing to compromise to get things done.  Do you think it is right to compromise your goals and beliefs for the sake of progress? 
  3. In the same vein, Reagan said, “’I’ll take eighty percent of what I want, and come back later for more.’”  Do you think this is a good way to get things done or should he have held out for everything he wanted?
  4. On page 223 (chapter 8), Andrew Card (George H. W. Bush) outlined three duties of the Chief of Staff (“care and feeding of the president; policy formulation, and marketing and selling.”)   How important do you think these are?  How well did each of the Chiefs of Staff do these jobs?
  5. In chapter 8 about George W. Bush and Andrew Card, the author writes about 9/11 and the beginning of the war against Iraq for many pages without mentioning Card.  Did you think the author got off track?  Did his own political views get in the way of his writing?
  6. On page 268 (chapter 9), Rahm Emanuel (Barack Obama) is quoted as saying about tension among advisors, “You’re supposed to have that.  If you don’t you’re not having the creative tension you need in a White House – that’s how you get kind of the intellectual energy and the political energy to get things done.”   Do you agree?  How necessary is it to have this tension during the decision-making process?
  7. What did you learn from this book that you can apply to your job? To your family life and organization?
  8. What did you read that relates to today’s politics?  Did this book help you understand the workings of Washington and/or the workings of the current political scene?
  9. How much do you think the author’s opinion colored the information in the book? 
  10. How important is it that the Chief of Staff be a Washington insider?  Do you think someone without Washington experience could do an effective job?
*****
First Semester Success: Learning Strategies and  Motivation for Your First Semester (or Any Semester) of College, by Dr. Arden B. Hamer, is available at amazon.com, wordassociation.com and barnesandnoble.com.  Click on  the upper right link.