Book Review: Decision At Nagasaki - The Mission That Almost Failed, by Fred Olivi ****

Review
When they decided to leave Italy to find a better future in America, in 1905, Fred Olivi's parents surely could not imagine that their son would become famous forty years later for dropping the most powerful weapon in history on the far away Japanese Empire! This is a personal history more than war history. The personal history of one of the many million Italians who contributed to make America for what it is, both in peacetime and at war. Fred joined the Air Force and on 9 August 1945 was assigned as copilot to the "Bockscar", the B-20 bomber that was to undertake the second nuclear bombing in history, three days after that of Hiroshima.

Book review: Shirley Baker and the King of Tonga (1971), by Noel Rutherford, *****

Old print of Tonga, click to view in larger size

Synopsis

Of all the Pacific island nations only Tonga has retained a degree of lasting political independence. It was Tupou I, the first king of Tonga, who established an internationally recognized nation. A shrewd and determined politician, he enlisted the aid of a rebellious Weslyan missionary. Noel Rutherford's book is an account of the life and times of this gruff, bewhiskered minister from London's East End, the Reverend Shirley Baker.  A curious character ofter at odds with hs peers, Baker's achievements, whether motivated by altruism or self-preservation, contributed greatly to the Tonga as we know it today. With an introduction by 'Eseta Fusitu'a. (from the book's back cover)

Review

A passionate account of the life and work of a very atypical English missionary who arrived in Tonga in 1876 and spent years as trusted advisor to its first king. He identified with the country and learned the language. He also did more than most for the preservation of its independence and dignity. This was no easy task in the face of English and German interference in the last two decades of the XIX century. He ruffled many feathers and an assasination attempt nearly sent him to his grave. When he died in 1903 no one wanted to bury him, not even his own church, but the King flew his flag at half mast. Today, many Tongans believe they owe more for the preservation of their culture to this man than to any other.

NECROLOGIO: Boris Eltsin, un gigante del XX secolo

Eltsin intima a Gorbaciov di leggere un documento al Soviet russo

Boris Eltsin è stato, più di chiunque altro, il simbolo della trasformazione della Russia negli ultimi venti anni. Di più: della trasformazione del dibattito ideologico internazionale, con la fine della contrapposizione globale tra mercato e democrazia da una parte e pianificazione e comunismo dall’altra.

Quando arrivò a Mosca nel 1985 per guidare il potentissimo apparato del partito comunista locale, corrotto e fatiscente, ci mise poco a capire che il compito affidatogli da Gorbaciov, attuare la perestrojka (ristrutturazione) nella capitale, era una missione impossibile. Da membro del Politburo, il massimo organo decisionale dell’URSS, cercò invano di convincere i gerontocrati ed i neo-stalinisti che bisognava girare pagina.

Book review: Ibn Battuta in the Maldives and Ceylon, transl. by Albert Gray, *****

Portrait of Ibn Battuta at the museum of Malè

The diary of Ibn Battuta, the famous Arab traveler of the XIV century who spent about nine months there between 1343 and 1344. He became a court advisor, married and divorced several times, shared his abode with concubines and slaves, and tried, unsuccessfully, to make Maldivian women cover their bodies. His account remains one of the most interesting ever written, except perhaps that of Pyrard de Laval.

This edition is a reprint of the translation by Albert Gray, first published in 1882 in Ceylon.







A must read for anyone interested in understanding Maldivian history.

Visit of the Vittoriale degli Italiani, home of Gabriele D'Annunzio

Gabriele D'Annunzio was an iconic writer that polarized Italian literary critics during his lifetime and continues to do so decades after his death.

His home is still an incredible collection of stuff that made his life in peace and war.

The museum is worth a detour if you are around Lake Garda.

The MAS (Mezzi d'Assalto Siluranti), a highly successful family of weapon systems of the Italian navy in WW I and II.

Here is a model from WW I.

Pictures were not allowed in most of the home so here is a few I took where I could. You can find more pictures of additional items here on Wikipedia. His home was full to the brim with all kinds of art and mementos.

I feel close to him in his abhorrence of empty spaces. Horror vacui it was called, and I share it a bit in my home.

Italian warship Puglia