Overview & Review of Fire by Sebastian Junger
Category: Books Genre: Non-Fiction
Author: Sebastian Junger
I thought it was just some fictitious book(it's not)... and the first part of his story (little did I know, there were different stories in that book) was pretty boring. It was all about Fire! Oh my gooseneck. Jumpers, fumes, forest fires... etc. etc.
Yeah, yeah the title was pretty much related.. I know.. it's Fire.. and literally about fire. -_-
I was expecting some kinda "story" in it... but the first part droned on and on about forest fires. How a couple of fire fighters were killed in a forest fire... and investigation says that it was all sudden.. blah blah. So, I stopped reading the book for a few days.
But then, since I bought it... and it's not good to judge a book when you have not finished it from cover to cover.. I decided to continue reading it.
The next part was about whales. I thought it was part of the first story... and I was confused at first because from fire to whales? -_- Confusing, really.
Finally, as I was reading the book... the characters, the events that took place was real. (di kasi ako nag research about the book.)
From whales to the war in Serbia.... to the conflict diamonds in Sierra Leone. (I even read the book.. with a map.. para ma-imagine ko talaga.. hehe.) From the diamonds to the logical warfare in Afghanistan.
I learned a lot. Really.
I learned diamonds are not exactly rare and should not be THAT expensive. The supply for the diamond was just controlled by some people.. and in that.. they increased it's price.
When the diamonds was discovered in Sierra Leone,and the whites heard about it.. they spread rumors to those "ignorant people" in Sierra Leone. In that rumor, they told the people in Sierra Leone that those stones are electric and they should not touch it, they should wait until a white man comes. *Wah, so mean!* Was that even right? *sigh*
I liked the story about the Afghan leader Ahmad Shah Massoud. He was never "power-hungry". He just wanted to serve his people and lead them away from all those people who wanted to wage war against them. Like the Soviets and the Taliban.
"A few years ago in Kabul, I thought the war was finished, and I started building a home in Panjshir. A room for my children, a room for me and my wife, and a big library for all my books. I've kept all the books. I've put them in boxes, hoping one day I'll be able to put them on the shelves and I'll be able to read them. But the house is still unfinished, and the books are still in their boxes. I don't know when I'll be able to read my books." - Massoud
Though he holds the post of vice-president in Rabanni's deposed governmenet, Massoud is a man with a few aspirations as a political leader, no apparent desire for power. Over and over he has rejected appeals from his friends and allies to take a more active role in the politics of his country. The Koran says that war is such a catastrophe it must be brought to an end as quickly as possible and by any means necessary. That, perhaps is why Massoud has devoted himself exclusively to waging war. - Sebastian Junger
Massoud's strategy has been studied by many soldiers in the Soviet. Massoud outwitted them for years.
One part, I found funny there was...about General Ratko Mladic the Serb's chief of staff who was indicted with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity by South African Judge Richard Goldstone. He was never caught. But they heard that Mladic spent his days on a Bosnian Serb military base, tending beehives and a herd of goats. Each goat has been named after a Western leader or UN commander.
Pretty funny. Hehe. -_-
Summary & REVIEW of The Cry of the Halidon by Robert Ludlum
