Being there with Don DeNevi. . . now and in the forthcoming coming weeks of Christmas gift
buying fun to enter the unusual, nay, extraordinary, potpourri-medley avalanche of good books
inundating today’s military, and other, book reviews literature searching for the best quality
specials. Loving every second of it, this “book reviewer” joyfully will henceforth “announce and
introduce” only the best titles recently made available so that casual, ordinary reader-buyer will
have a choice in shopping additional best buys for the beloved family member or good friend…
“THE HORSE – – A Galloping History of Humanity”, by Timothy C. Winegard; Dutton, an imprint
of Penguin Random House, 2024; hardcover, 518 pages, $35.
Very, very hard to put down, once begun, and rightly so, because Tim, in his nonpareil prose,
offers us an epic history hitherto unexplored, “When one human tamed one horse and an
unbreakable bond was forged and the future of humanity instantly rewritten, placing the reins
of destiny firmly in human hands”. Receiver of the gift book treasure will instantly wonder upon
unwrapping, “What? A HORSE? Why me? Who cares? Wrong me? Wrong gift?”, not realizing in
his or her hands was, thus far, and by far, the best story telling of our century.
“ZHOU ENLAI – – A Life”, by Chen Jian; the Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2024;
hardcover, 817 pages, $39.95.
Two authors reviewing this soon-to-be announced award-winning classic should introduce
scholar-historian-visiting professor Dr. Chen Jian’s biography – they are far superior to critique
“Zhou Enlai” than this simple writer-in-training. Sergey Radchenko , author of “Two Suns in the
Heavens: The Sino-Sino-Soviet Struggle for Supremacy, 1962-1967”, pens, “A must read. Chen
Jian’s book illuminates Zhou Enlai’s life from the earliest years to his final days with nuance,
empathy, and scholarly depth. Along the way, he also tells the breathtaking story of Zhou’s
China. This is a rare work of history shot through with the lived experience, and even occasional
pensiveness, of an eminent authority on twentieth-century China.”
And, Xu Guoqi, author of “Chinese and Americans: A Shared History”, a bit more cogent but
just as respectful, writes, “Communist China resembles a labyrinth. This brilliant study has given
us a key and a map to understand it. A masterpiece and a must-read for anyone who cares
about China and its impact on the world.”
Two brilliant reviews by two great scholars about a man overshadowed by Mao. Richard
Nixon proclaimed him “the greatest statesman of our era.”
“A REVOLUTIONARY FRIENDSHIP – – Washington, Jefferson, and the American Republic”, by
Francis D. Cogliano; Harvard University Press, 2024; hardcover, 354 pages, $35.
Although bitterly estranged when Washington died in 1799, their 30-year friendship and
productive relationship were two of the pivotal rivets in the foundation of our beloved nation’s
birth, growth, and development.
Most authors are worth reading because of their area of expertise, especially if one is Francis
Cogliano. His scholarship has been admired and acknowledged since authoring the superb
“Emperor of Liberty: Thomas Jefferson’s Foreign Policy”. Today, he is currently Professor of
American History at the University of Edinburgh and Acting Director of the International Center
for Jefferson Studies at Monticello.
All three writers offer the most careful, complex, and critical, yet entertaining, studies of
three personality profiles, warts and all, the horse, all 6,000 years of him, Zhou Enlai, and the
two founding fathers, suggesting, imploring, demanding you may as well spend a little more
than a $100 for all three to present to a loved one to relish this Yuletide, and long after.