Read: Books, January 2025

I don’t know anyone who could do what these people did. WWII, the Japanese took Rangoon, forcing the British into a hasty retreat. China is working with the Allied Forces, and someone needs to find a way to get a bunch of stuff from Point A to Point B. Assam, India to Kunming, China. Guess what? There is a bunch of serious shit in between these two points, and the pilots and military machine have a go anyway. You can’t believe how many died of disease, starvation, or a fireball of aviation fuel as their plane exploded while trying to fly through the high mountains. The Burma Hump my friends. The Burma Hump. Caroline Alexander brings us “Skies of Thunder: The Deadly WWII Mission Over the Roof of the World.” Yesterday, I complained that I don’t go to Starbucks because their coffee sucks and it’s never strong enough. I would have died day one during this WWII campaign. We just don’t make em like we used to.

If you don’t know Kevin Fedarko, read “The Emerald Mile.” It’s one of my all-time favorite adventure books. His follow-up is “A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon.” Turns out, you can walk the length of the canyon. It ain’t easy. Only a handful of people have done it in the modern era. The Native Americans, well, they did it for centuries before Gortex and outdoor industry influencers came on the scene. (The locust of the modern era.) I found the adventure to be the least interesting part of this book, but I expected that going in. The geology is incredible. The history is incredible, and the foreboding foreshadowing of the park’s future is what leaves a mark. You know the story, especially after what happened on January 20th. The wild spaces are now up for sale and it’s only a matter of time before the destruction begins. I would say “Go now,” and I think that’s good advice seeing as about 90% of you never leave your car when visiting the park. Otherwise, the trails would be like the 405 freeway in LA.

Yes, this is a series on Amazon Prime, and yes I’ve seen it. I suggested it to my wife who oddly enough said “Okay.” She loved it too. The origin story of the British SAS, considered by many to be the most advanced Special Operations group in the world. They were born from misfits loitering in North Africa during WWII. What I love about this book is what I love about the first book I listed here. “How could these guys have pulled this off?” And I also loved the fact the founders of the SAS were military men, but the most UNmilitary of men. They were all outcasts. Total outcasts. But together they formed the basis of the teams that went on to turn the tide against Rommel in N. Africa and ultimately against the Italians and Germans in Sicily and Italy itself. The stories of survival are almost comical in their level of absurdity. By air, land, and sea, they fought and died and continued. Ben Macintyre’s “Rogue Heroes: The History of the SAS, Britain’s Secret Special Forces Unit That Sabotaged the Nazis and Changed the Nature of War.” is also loaded with some fantastic historical photographs.

Well, if you had any doubt about the direction our new leader would turn, the pardon of the January 6th felons should be enough to let you know that all bets are off. The White Nationalists have just been given the go-ahead. I loved this book, and I believe the people who are most appropriate for reading this little gem are republican voters. I find republican voters are the folks who know the least amount about what their leaders are doing and saying. I know that sounds odd, but in the age of biased media, they seem to not be getting the story. Elle Reeve brings us “Black Pill: How I Witnessed the Darkest Corners of the Internet Come to Life, Poison Society, and Capture American Politics.”

The main idea here is this. Take what happens in the depths of 4chan, 8chan, and the subsequent minefield of QAnon and see if you can translate that to the real world. In short, the Jews, black and brown people, and women, who by the way are only here to be subjugated. The Jews, of course, the same tired trope of all White Nationalist Groups. Black and brown people, inferior to the “living in the basement, can’t get a girlfriend, hiding behind their VPN,” gaggle of incels. Young, white, male losers. And women, as I mentioned before, are here to be subjugated to whatever ends the aforementioned males determine.

The trial run was in Charlottesville, where these groups got a rude awakening to what happens when you go public. Turns out, there are not as many of you as you hoped, and when your face ends up on the front page of every paper, your white polo, khaki pants, and tiki torch don’t sell well. You tend to lose your job, friends, family, and any hope of reentering the public domain. The interesting part for me is where we go from here. All these groups view Trump as one of them, but they consider themselves even more racist, hateful, and vengeful. But, they know he will enable them, as he is already doing. I also think this is an interesting read for anyone who wants to know more about how a journalist gets access to folks like these.

Ernest Scheyder’s “The War Below: Lithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power Our Lives” is a fascinating book that reads as much like an adventure story as a straight, nonfictional take on the modern hunt for metals, and how those metals impact our lives and planet. But let me say something first. A personal take. I don’t think EVs are a smart way to go. I think EV buses and public transit are a smart way to go, combined with a much more robust cycling infrastructure, but replacing our gas vehicles with EVs isn’t smart. And after reading this book, I feel even more sure of this opinion.

You can’t drive an EV and wear Patagonia and think you are saving the world. It’s like influencers taking selfies at Black Lives Matter marches and thinking they are “doing something.” Please. Just think about this. Can’t have your overpriced EV without mining. That’s it. In a nutshell. And show me a mine that isn’t destructive to the planet. And show me a mining company that isn’t corrupt. Maybe there is one out there but I’ve yet to see it. Antafogasta rented a 5.5 million dollar mansion in DC for Ivanka and Jared. And you Dems, don’t go thinking you are above the law. Biden played both sides of this issue.

Again, the new administration, based on what happened during the first term, is going to go full tilt on the mining leases. Trump looks down on anyone who is country, anyone who lives rural, and he looks down on anyone who isn’t, well, him. So, Native American claims to the land will be crushed, signed over, and exploited. Environmental groups will be targeted, and the most pristine areas will purposely be infringed. Hate is a powerful tool. (Like a copper mine right next to Boundary Waters.)

But don’t go thinking this is a political book. The author takes great pains to cover all angles, and I thought his research and his personal history of field work were stellar. (He’s a Reuters guy. I was a stringer for Reuters way back in the day.) He goes and he covers and he researches. For years. I found the science fascinating, and I did not find this book depressing for those of you who won’t go near anything that talks about reality and science. Maybe my original goal of being a geologist is tainting my view. I want to go and see these places. Burn some series carbon and ride the great wave to our asphyxiating end. Just kidding!

If we want our fancy gadgets and supercars, well, we gotta go mine the Hell out of the planet. These main elements, and the rare Earth group, aren’t everywhere, which means this is now a political issue, a military issue and things are only going to get more complicated. The takeaway is to know where your materials come from. Whether that be your diamond ring, your mobile phone, or your Tesla.