“The Battle of New Orleans” versus “Black Hawk Down”

BOOK REVIEW: “The Battle of New Orleans” by Robert V. Remini, and “Black Hawk Down” by Mark Bowden (A country at war/contrast and comparison) By Francine Saint Marie)

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I believe it’s fair to judge a nation by how it treats its world neighbors, and how well it respects the boundaries of others.

In the early 1800’s, despite America’s successful bid for independence from the English Empire two decades prior, Britain was still seizing US merchant ships on the ocean, indenturing US seamen to fight in its war against Napoleon, inciting Indian attacks on the US frontier, and refusing to evacuate its forces from forts located on America’s northernmost district–all in clear violation of the 1783 Treaty of Paris, which they had signed with the United States at the conclusion of the Revolutionary War.

To make matters worse, repeated diplomatic efforts by the US to resolve these offenses peacefully were treated by the British with open disdain, who overall still regarded the US as its rightful colony and its representatives and citizens as mere rebellious serfs and recalcitrants.

It was a recipe for armed confrontation.

In 1812, when the American Congress hesitantly issued its formal declaration of war against the British empire, it did so against the mightiest, most experienced and highly-trained military force in the world, a force that even Napoleon Bonaparte, himself, would prove unable to defeat. And so began a series of crushing blows by British troops as they marched south from their refortified northern strongholds, conquering every American position in their path, and even, to our humiliation and horror, burning down the U.S. capitol in Washington, including the White House.

In 1814, with an additional estimated force of 10,000 soldiers, the British introduced a second front for the embattled Americans to defend, entering the Gulf of Mexico with the aim of sacking America’s port city jewel New Orleans and, from there, marching northward to reunite its two armies, hoping to cut the United States in half in the process, and to reclaim for the British crown its former colonies and spoils.

To those ends, they stationed their army and navy on the east bank of the Mississippi, in the swamps just ten miles from the city of New Orleans itself. There they were to confront head on a rag-tag defending foe of only about 4,000 U.S. “soldiers” strong–army regulars, militia men, free slaves, pirates, frontiersmen, sharpshooters, unarmed citizens from the town–and one extremely determined but relatively untried U.S. general by the name of Andrew “Stonewall” Jackson.

On January 8, 1814, the British launched their major offensive, advancing toward what they believed was a virtually unprotected city, and, thus, the bloody Battle of New Orleans begun.

So…

“We fired our guns and the British kept a coming;
There wasn’t quite as many as there was awhile ago;
We fired once more and they began a running;
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.”

Or to put it in more modern terms, we kicked their ass and sent them home, delivering to England all the hubris necessary for normalizing and equalizing relations between our two countries, and guaranteeing forever thereafter the lasting peace and alliance both nations have come to enjoy, and, indeed, take for granted.

Today, nearly two-hundred years later, it is now the United States, with the largest and most technologically advanced war machine on the planet, who is the world’s supreme military force. But, as witnessed in 1993 by the bloody siege of our Special-Op forces in the third-world streets and alleyways of Mogadishu, Somalia, hubris is not reserved for only kings and tyrants; it may just be a full-metal jacket, one size fits all!

The Battle of New Orleans and Black Hawk Down: I give 4.5 stars to both of these fascinating and intricate war accounts by Remini and Bowden (respectively) only because each author employs a similar two-steps-forward, one-step-back approach that lurches and lunges in places and that, as a writer myself, I don’t think works as well in non-fiction as it does in fictional storytelling. The knowledge of these masterful authors, however, and the details in each of their books are simply astonishing, and they skillfully put you where no movie, no matter how large its special effects budget, could ever go: right in the middle of the battlefield. If, like me, you have a penchant for history told with a bold truth-and-nothing-but-the-truth literary style, then I highly recommend these two books. Read them side by side, as I did, to get the big, big, picture!

–Francine Saint Marie

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(NEXT POST: Book Review “Battle of New Orleans Vs. Black Hawk Down“)

Happy birthday, Colette!

Born on January 28th in a small village in Burgundy France, it is the birthday today of the great twentieth-century novelist, Colette, to whom I dedicated my entire trilogy. So, how old is she now? Absolutely ageless, mais oui. And when did she die, you ask? Never–c’est vrai!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, COLETTE !

Happy (belated) birthday, Robert Burns!

I’ve been so caught up in preparations for my new novel, PERSUASION, and with recent cataclysmic world events, that the Bard’s 251st birthday yesterday completely slipped my mind! Inexcusable, considering what a prominent role Robert Burns plays as matchmaker throughout the first book in my Trilogy. Happy birthday, Rabbie Burns–bottoms up! Click the cover there to find the best new English translation of some seriously naughty Burns’ rhymes, in every imaginable e-book format. (Yes, cover layout was designed by Yours Truly.)

HAITI: Faults and Fault-lines

A 7.0 earthquake in Haiti on January 12th, a 6.0 earthquake in Guatemala on January 18th, a 6.1 earthquake in Haiti on January 20th…

So what the heck is going on?

Well, to put it mildly, the pressure is building on a network of fault-lines that lie beneath Haiti and the entire island it sits on, as well as a few other popular tourist traps in that region. Faults like the Enriquillo Plantain Garden and others, including quite possibly the Hess Escarpment and Nicaraguan Rise, are building and releasing pressure in the form of some rather serious earthquakes of late, events which that region has, all throughout its history, experienced from time to time.

So is the “big one” yet to come, or has it already arrived?

Nobody knows the answer to this for certain. Still, I continue to think it prudent to evacuate Port-au-Prince, RIGHT NOW.

If you can’t bring the Aid to the Haitians, bring the Haitians to the Aid!

Images of the massive destruction of Port-au-Prince and the desperate plight of its quake victims have finally made their way across the web and the universe–not since Pompeii, Dresden, Hiroshima…have we seen such an annihilation of a metropolitan center. It is evident that the city will remain uninhabitable for a very long period of time, even assuming that reconstruction begins immediately.

Reconstruction of the capital, however, is the least of Haiti’s worries right now, as reports stream in of the inability for international organizations and rescue teams to deliver the tons of aid and assistance that has already arrived in Haiti over the past few days, and that disaster-related disease and more tragedy loom on the horizon. Food, water, medicine, tents, and even emergency workers are encountering a bottleneck at the airport, and, thus, some aid has actually been turned away or its delivery delayed indefinitely, a problem exacerbated by an inadequate airstrip which has suffered some damage, an obliterated governing body, a decimated municipal infrastructure, and an inaccessible seaport all but crippled by the magnitude 7.0 earthquake.

But, notwithstanding these significant obstacles, the aid must still somehow be delivered, and before civility completely breaks down and more people die.

So, if we cannot bring the aid to to the Haitians, we have no choice but to bring the Haitians to the aid. Meaning, an organized exodus from Port-au-Prince of the quake’s most able-bodied survivors to the countryside must be undertaken today and their needs administered to off-site. Additionally, these same survivors must, quickly thereafter, be given the tools and instructions necessary to assist in their own rescue and reconstruction efforts, an approach which will not only hasten Haiti’s recovery considerably, but also provide the residents of Porte-au-Prince a stake in restoring law and order and comfort to their devastated communities and an historically meaningful role in the restoration of their culturally unique port city.

Many exports have pronounced Haitian relief efforts a “logistical nightmare” at best, and perhaps impossible, at worst. I believe, therefore, that the strategy of evacuating all those victims who are ambulatory and whose immediate needs can be quickly attended to, is much more practicable–indeed, completely doable–and the lesser of two evils.

If you agree, send out some e-mails suggesting a solution like this. The Haitian relief effort is floundering. And time, for the Haitian people, is running out.

I have 5000 FREE e-books I’m giving away…download YOURS now.

It’s mine. It’s from my Kindle bestselling shorts collection, Girl Trouble. And I can do with it what I want! So I’ve decided to give 5000 copies away for free. Download your free copy in virtually any e-book format you want and, if you like Dear Joan, then please also consider posting a rating of it on the site. It’s an authorized free-download, no strings attached, so just click on the cover to the left and get your freebie right now. (Because, after 5000, this promotion is history!)

What’s the Next Best Thing to FREE?

ONE NOVEL, ONE PENNY…today at Barnes & Noble. Just click on the penny to get book two of The Secret Trilogy for one red cent.

Let Them Eat Fruitcake!

(Juicy Morsels for December)

FIRST: I’ll be guest-blogging on Mel Keegan’s blogsites over the next few weeks. That’s coming up fast so be sure to look here for links to these posts once they’re published…

Guest-blogger (sweet) but who’s Mel Keegan, you may be asking? Mel’s the creator of the popular new GLBT Bookshelf wiki and, for those readers and writers who are still boycotting Amazon for their ham-fisted gay glichfest last April, he’s devised a simple and nifty way to shop them for GLBT titles via his Bookshelf and get Amazon to unwittingly contribute funds for the project at the same time! Just click on the fruit peels to the left and check out Mel’s wicked wiki for more details about this. It’s easy to participate.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

AND FOR THE HOLIDAYS: The Quintessential Fruitcake (Remember the brandy, people, ’cause it goes without saying, the best fruitcakes pack an everlasting bang!)

This recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/2 teaspoon baking powder; 1/4 teaspoon baking soda; 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg; 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice; 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves; 3/4 cup diced mixed candied fruits; 1/2 cup raisins or dates; 1/2 cup candied cherries quartered; 1/2 cup chopped nuts; 2 eggs; 1/2 cup brown sugar; 1/2 cup orange juice; 1/3 cup melted butter; 2 tablespoons light molasses. (Oven – 300 degrees)

1. Grease an 8″ x 4″ x 2″ loaf pan, lining both the sides and bottom with brown paper to prevent over-browning (grease the paper, too);
2. In a bowl combine your flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. Then add the fruits, peels, raisins and nuts, and mix well;
3. Separately, beat the eggs and stir in sugar, juice, butter and molasses until fully combined;
4. Stir this egg-blend into your fruit mixture and then pour the batter into the baking pan;
5. Bake for an hour and then loosely cover the pan with foil, allowing it to bake for another 1/2 hour before removing it from the oven to pan-cool;
6. Once cooled, remove the cake from the pan and wrap it in a brandy-moistened cheesecloth with foil around it.
7. Refrigerate for two weeks (or more) to mellow, re-moistening cheesecloth as frequently as needed.

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Books, baking, brandy, and blogs–such simple pleasures–ENJOY.

Peace Is a Prize You Can’t Win With Bullets

Peace is a prize you can’t win with bullets:

“Ngo Dinh Diem’s government stands for decency and honesty, while those [Viet Cong] conspiring to bring him down represent corruption.” Senator Mike Mansfield – Democrat, Montana (April 1955)

“It is fashionable in some quarters to say that the problems in Southeast Asia are primarily political and economic. I do not agree. The essence of the problem in Vietnam is military.” – U.S. General Earle K. Wheeler (November 1962)

“The South Vietnamese armed forces have now attained the experience, training and necessary equipment for victory…victory is in sight.” Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara (February 1963)

“By Christmas it will all be over.” U.S. General Paul D. Harkins (April 1963)

“Presently the military operations appear to be going better…we have also insisted on continuing the bombing…the President made some very impressive speeches in that direction.” Senator J. William Fulbright – Democrat, Arkansas (October 1965)

“The Viet Cong will just peter out.” U.S. General Maxwell D. Taylor (October 1965)

“By the end of 1967, there might be light at the end of the tunnel and everybody will get the feeling that things are much better.” Henry Cabot Lodge, U.S. Ambassador to Saigon (December 1966)

“I have never been more encouraged in my fours years in Vietnam.” U.S. General William C. Westmoreland (November 1967)

“I will say confidently that looking ahead just three years the war will be over…it will be over on a lasting basis that will promote lasting peace in the Pacific.” President Richard M. Nixon (October 1969)

“Peace is at hand…”Dr. Henry Kissinger (October 1972)

“I am absolutely convinced if Congress made available $772 million in military assistance by the time I asked–or sometime shortly thereafter–the South Vietnamese could stabilize the military situation in Vietnam today.” President Gerald Ford (April 1975)

Indefinite Leave

I just wanted to announce that I, too, will be packing up my balls and taking an indefinite leave from golfing so I can spend more time with Tiger’s family.

“Is Me Empress”

Panning Spam for Gold

As a writer (and a reader) I must confess I do open spam, especially those with titles like Is Me Empress. Help Out. These sordid little tales of murder and mayhem, intrigue and woe, of kings and princesses, of vast fortunes and empires lost or stolen–or held in abeyance somewhere in a distant land by villainous relatives and evildoers…it’s the stuff of great fiction, and, even if written in broken English (like the one from “Miss Empress Hassan” below) it’s still, in my opinion, first-rate prose. Albeit somewhat purple, I rank these highly entertaining pieces ‘Solid Gold’ and am undertaking to collect the best of them. So, if you’ve got any in your spam file that can rival Empress Hassan’s, by all means share it with me, or just click the “leave a comment” link at the bottom and post, post, post!

IS ME EMPRESS. HELP OUT. “Dear Friend, complement of the day, My dear I know this mail will come to you as a surprise since we haven’t discuses it before, but kindly bear with me at this moment. I have a special reason why I decided to contact you. My situation at hand is miserable but I trust in Almighty and hope you will be of my help. Meanwhile I want to let you know that i got your email id from your country chambers of commerce My name is empress Hassan Medical student i am 23years old girl and I held from Republic of Sudan the daughter of Late Mr Omar Hassan the owner of Brisco car dealer company, at the Khartoum in Sudan, He was killed alongside with my beloved mother and our family house burnt down by the rebels during the last crisis in my country when Janjaweed militias came to our house, You can read more about my country in the bbc news I am constrained to contact you because of the maltreatment which I am receiving from my step mother house. She planned to take away all my late father’s treasury and properties from me since the unexpected death of my beloved parents. Meanwhile I wanted to go Europe, but she hide away my international passport and other of my valuable documents which I kept. Luckily for me she did not discover where I kept my late father’s File which contained important documents. so that is while I manage to escape from my country to Burkina-Faso country. Which I don’t know anybody there just for me to claim my late father’s left deposited money in one bank here Burkina-Faso country. I am presently staying in the Mission camp in Burkina Faso . where I am seeking for long-term relationship and investment assistance. My Late father’s of blessed memory deposited the sum of US$2. 2 Million. In one bank in Burkina Faso with my name as the next of kin. I had contacted the Bank to clear the deposit but the Branch Manager told me that being a refugee, my status according to the local law does not authorize me to carry out the operation. However, he advised me to provide a trustee who will stand on my behalf. I had wanted to inform my step mother about this my Late Father’s deposited money but I am afraid that she will not offer me anything after the release of the money into her receiving position. Therefore, I decide to seek for your help in transferring this my late father’s money to your account abroad. while I will relocate to your country and settle down with you. I have my father’s evident to prove and the account number which I will give you as soon as you indicated your interest to help me out in this matter. It is my intention to compensate you with 20% of this my late father’s total money for your assistance and the balance shall be my investment in any profitable venture which you will recommend to me as have no any idea about foreign investment. Please all communications should be through this email only for Security reasons. I am waiting to read your letter today, Yours Sincerely Miss Empress Hassan”

“Nickel and Dimed”

Review: NICKEL AND DIMED, On (Not) Getting By In America by Barbara Ehrenreich Ph.D.

(Reviewer: Francine Saint Marie)

According to the U. S. government’s own data and statistics, approximately 99% of the nation’s wealth is concentrated in just 1% of the population. Indeed, the actual “upper class” itself, is now composed of less than 20% of all Americans, a figure that will undoubtedly continue to be revised downward as [read more]

Barnes and Noble ‘After Holiday Sale’

Always searching for the lowest price on The Secret Trilogy paperback bundle and it appears that Barnes and Noble is the winner this winter: Only $18.18 for a limited time. (I’ll file this in ‘Stores’ too…later on.)

Lowest price for the triple bundle in an e-book edition: CLICK HERE

SNEAK PEEK

PREVIEW: Persuasion, A [New] Novel, by Francine Saint Marie – Chapters One and Two. Click the ‘Previews, Reviews, Freebies’ tab on the menu bar above to read it now, or just CLICK HERE.

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(To be released in 2010)

Too Little Too Late: Adding Up the Numbers in Haiti

Something’s just not adding up here: Nine days of search and rescue were devoted in Port-au-Prince, extracting only 124 new survivors from the rubble–during which time, however, an estimated ten-thousand quake victims a day were allowed to perish from untreated injuries or starvation and thirst. This, further exacerbated by the US military actively diverting tons of food, water, medicine, and other much needed aid at Haiti’s airport in order to allow their military flights to land instead and, from there, US soldiers to take control of the presidential palace and other government buildings in the damaged city…

Some search and rescue operation that was! It begs the question: Who (and what) were they really looking for?

Glad to see, though, that evacuation efforts are finally underway in Port-au-Prince, and in other heavily-damaged municipalities.

The Battle of New Orleans Vs. Black Hawk Down (review)

The next book review* will be of The Battle of New Orleans by Robert V. Remini (which recites the first major victory of the US in the War of 1812) compared to Mark Bowden’s more recent bestseller Black Hawk Down. which relays the now famous (and infamous) besiege of US Special-Op forces in Somalia. *This will be a very concise comparison so I might just post it here, as opposed to on my ‘Preview, Review, Freebie’ page, which is currently being occupied by a rather lengthy preview of the first two chapters of my forthcoming novel, PERSUASIUON. (Check back to see which I decide!)

Dignity Under Fire: Haitian Relief

“It is enough, because I didn’t have anything at all.” (Haitian quake-survivor, Florence Louis’ dignified response upon receiving biscuits and water for her family, more than five full days after the magnitude 7.0 earthquake rendered Port-au-Prince a veritable wasteland and mass grave.)

Speaking frankly as a citizen of the USA, a country who has historically meddled in the political and social affairs of Haiti to the detriment of most of its citizens, I say we owe Haitians far more than the present aid-debacle we are delivering them. Additionally, the idea that we would thwart the efforts of other nations and NGO’s to provide assistance, for any excuse whatsoever, is appalling and despicable.

It is bad enough that we have the audacity to represent our own relief efforts in Haiti as purely “humanitarian” in nature, which is bogus at best, but when our conduct prevents the delivery of much needed aid by other countries and organizations who are on true humanitarian missions there, it steps into the realm of criminal.

Once again, Haiti is languishing at our hands, its people dying who might have been saved, and now our inept government and its solders want to play King-of-the-Mountain at Haiti’s international airport, and at the Haitian people’s expense. Shame on us. What a disgrace!

(Once and for all, let’s get this “show” on the road, Mr. President. Another earthquake can easily strike in that region. We don’t have anymore time–or lives–to waste.)

Evacuate Haiti’s Port-au-Prince–ASAP

Although communication is still very poor following Haiti’s devastating magnitude 7.0  earthquake yesterday, preliminary photographs and anecdotal accounts from the ground are beginning to reveal a catastrophe beyond human comprehension, or experience. Considering that the epicenter was the densely populated capital itself, and that reports that Haiti’s governing body is “unharmed” are likely to prove false, the current death toll estimates of “thousands” is simply not realistic, and the ensuing mayhem caused by a panic-stricken and ungoverned populace will quickly add to the already growing number of dead, as well as hamper search and rescue attempts and disaster relief efforts currently underway .

Port-au-Prince is a tomb, and it needs to be evacuated immediately:

History has shown that it doesn’t take too long for waterborne illnesses like cholera, dysentery, and even typhus to take hold of a city whose government, infrastructure and public works are now nonexistent, especially an impoverished city located in or near the tropics. The mingling of waste and rapidly decomposing bodies with the fresh water supply is the most pressing issue at this moment and it needs to be addressed right now, or many many more people will die. This pending disaster makes the present one, and the looming spectre of lawlessness, aftershocks, and more damage, quite pale in comparison.