May & Me

May has always been a unique month. For student's, it's the month where spring meets summer, school gives way to freedom, and required reading gives way to leisurely fiction. It's that magical month where the book list you've been wanting to dive into since February can finally be plunged into at full speed. So far, I've finished 2 books that I would highly recommend

First, I read The Presidents Club by Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy. Since the ascension of Harry Truman to the presidency after FDR's death in 1945, there has been a unique bond and dependence between sitting presidents and their predecessors. Just as Truman depended on Hoover to understand the complexities of feeding a starving Europe after WWII, to Johnson's reliance on Eisenhower to understand the problems surrounding Vietnam, past and present presidents have relied on each other not because of their party affiliation or approval ratings - but because they are the only people in the world who know the pressures that come with being the President of the United States. The book is not only a pleasant read, but it offers a unique perspective on each of the presidents since Hoover and how each played a part in American history long past when their administrations ended. Of particular interest in this book is the role Nixon played in the Paris Peace Talks of 1968 and his meddlesome ventures to restore his presidential stature in the two decades after his resignation in 1974.

After finishing Presidents, I continued my indulgence into American history (I was a Government major after all...) with the most authoritative (to date) account of the manhunt for Osama Bin Laden and the circumstances surrounding the operation that killed him last May. Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden - From 9/11 to Abbottabad by Peter Bergen includes information gleaned from interviews with past, current, and classified individuals who played a role in the hunt for Bin Laden around the world. Reading this book, you see how close US forces came to getting Bin Laden in Tora Bora in 2001 and the frustration of several "what if?" questions that might lead you to question why America didn't do more. Still, the riveting deliberations surrounding the mission into Pakistan will leave you all the more in awe of American diplomacy, military capabilities, and the resolves of a dedicated group of SEALs.

Next up on the reading list are biographies on Lyndon Johnson and Sam Ervin, along with other works by Eugene Peterson and John Steinbeck. If summer reading lists are any indications, this summer is lining up to be a mighty fine one indeed.