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Review – Hooper’s War, Prayin’ for Alden Jones
Here’s an excerpt from an essay titled Harvard Law School–and Private Jones by Dr. Rod Deaton, where he talks about my book, Hooper’s War, and one of its supporting characters, Alden Jones:
Currently I’m reading a recently-published novel, Hooper’s War: A Novel of World War II Japan, by Peter Van Buren. An intriguing tale, it asks an interesting alternative-history question: what if the atomic bombs had not been dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? What if, instead, the Allied forces had invaded Japan? What if, soon after that invasion, the one city that had until then survived the bombings, the ancient capital of Kyoto, had instead become the city whose name we’d forever remember, not because of a single plane’s mission, but rather because of the mission of countless planes one particular night, lighting afire a city of wood and paper, turning the word Dresden into just another city that had had its share of War woes?What if one particular American, Lieutenant Nathaniel Hooper, had a story to tell of just such events?
Early in my reading, though, it is not yet Hooper who has grabbed me. It is Private Alden Jones, from outside Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. No spoiler here: within pages of the narrative, you realize that the War will not turn out well for PVT Jones. It is how it does not turn out well that pauses me this morning, sitting again on my quiet porch, somewhere in my consciousness hearing the wind chimes sing in pentatonic, do-la-sol-mi-do-mi-sol-la-do. Quite Asian, come to think of it.
“You much for praying, Alden?”
“Sometimes, sir. Not sure God always listens,” Jones said.
“He’ll hear you,” [Hooper] said. […]
“If God listened, I don’t think I’d be like this now,” Jones said. He looked away. “I wanna be older. I got a dog at home older than me.”
So what does all this have to do with Harvard Law School, you might ask?
Find out what it does have to do with Harvard, here…
Copyright © 2020. All rights reserved. The views expressed here are solely those of the author(s) in their private capacity.
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Rich Bauer said...
1Evil is evil, so the good doctor says. But evil begets evil, and no matter how you spin war, what goes around…
“The West has done everything possible to encourage the growth and development of radical Islamic terrorism, from invading the Muslim world to succoring and supporting the state sponsors of terrorist organizations. We armed and funded Islamic extremists in Syria in a bid to overthrow the secular despotism of Bashar al-Assad – and then wondered how and why returnees from that conflict took their holy war to the streets of Europe’s cities. One wouldn’t have acted any differently if the goal had been to deliberately create a terrorist menace.
For every civilian killed by collateral damage, two more terrorists are born.
— Antiwar
06/5/17 8:23 AM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
2Rich
You can’t argue with that…. The west… Europe….it has…..
Does not change any of the current situations…. Kind of like a train wreak… All you can do is hang on…. Pray….. And see it through to the end….
Its taken 60 or so years of bungled statesmanship to end where we are now….
But…..
You left out the part where you blame Trump for all of the last 60 years of BS.
M
06/5/17 9:46 AM | Comment Link
chuck said...
3We need to stop terror (& he MIC).
06/5/17 10:48 AM | Comment Link
chuck said...
4We need Robo Wars for the economy! It will create jobs! Stay Tuned… This Just In… Happening Now!
06/5/17 10:51 AM | Comment Link
chuck said...
5Breaking News…Will the U.S. declare Qatar Island shaped like Palm to be man made and a Naval base?! Have a nice day! Wage Peace…
06/5/17 10:53 AM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
6Mitch,
The new only hope I had for Trump was he would keep his promise to get US the hell out of these quagmires.
06/5/17 11:00 AM | Comment Link
chuck said...
7up vote Mr. Rich.
06/5/17 11:44 AM | Comment Link
chuck said...
8Like Peace on FaceBook (Get Bonus Points). Buy the Book! Stop The Wars. TY PVB
06/5/17 11:46 AM | Comment Link
chuck said...
9My last comment was deleted and is stored in Utah. It was good. I am not #1. People are. Enjoy. PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP’s
06/5/17 12:16 PM | Comment Link
jim hruska said...
10PVB,
the issue is not do we believe in god, but rather does god believe in us.
jim hruska
06/5/17 12:26 PM | Comment Link
chuck said...
11Off to take meds.. Have a nice day. #1, Freedom isn’t Free (Repeat, and wave multiple flags. Bless you peace lovers.
06/5/17 12:29 PM | Comment Link
chuck said...
12Would Our Protectors, and te Reps. that so called govern, go after PVB again? America is Great, No The Greates. Repeat, or we know. Power to the People, Wage Peace and Justice.
06/5/17 12:38 PM | Comment Link
chuck said...
131st Amend. blabber. Ty PVB. Sorry if offended. Peas (S.logan)
06/5/17 12:57 PM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
14Rich.
There is only one way to go….. Through it…. Unfortunately.
We withdraw at this point?????…….
Oh… Wait!!!! The withdrawal is what Created ISIS.
M
06/5/17 1:19 PM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
15jim hruska,
If you were God…. Would you have Any faith in mankind????
M
06/5/17 1:20 PM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
16Hooper’s War is something the whole world will be fighting if Trump guts the Paris Pact. We’re gonna need a bigger boat.
06/5/17 2:54 PM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
17Rich….
Not to go messing up Alice’s little house in wonderland…..
But….. Ummmmmm… How exactly would you suggest the US pay for that little enterprise?????….
News Flash…. BIG CNN for you here… The United States is BROKE….. BUST…. BANKRUPT !!!!!
M
06/5/17 4:32 PM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
18Mitch,
If we are broke, then we need to stop bouncing checks to the Chinese.
If we are broke, then we need to thank all our government workers for their service, bid them goodluck on the job search and turn the Pentagon into an Amazon distribution center.
If we are broke, we should sell the embassy palaces immediately.
War criminals, okay, But deadbeats? Never!
06/5/17 5:44 PM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
19Rich….
All that just to pay for the Paris deal????
Btw…. You did see Trump’s reason for not signing it, was because it makes the US pay for most of it ??????
M
06/5/17 7:35 PM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
20Mitch,
The reason Trump didnt sign it was the Koch bros told him not to sign it. The Kochs have never been our friends. The US would benefit by far going energy renewable. We could then tell the Saudi camel fuckers and the rest to go kill themselves, We dont need their stinkin oil.
06/5/17 10:06 PM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
21Trumpie says he is supporting Pittsburgh rather than Paris, but Pittsburgh told Trump, as usual, he doesnt know what he is talking about. The truth is Trumpie is supporting Kansas and not US.
06/5/17 10:16 PM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
22A majority of Americans oppose President Trump’s decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate change agreement, according to a new survey.
A Washington Post-ABC News poll finds 59 percent of respondents oppose Trump’s move, compared to just 28 percent who support it.
06/5/17 10:19 PM | Comment Link
Rich Bauer said...
23Trumpie’s War with Himself
The presidense’s approval rating dipped from nearly 42 percent to just 36 percent over the weekend, according to a Gallup daily tracking poll published Monday. Trump’s declining popularity is inching closer toward his all-time low of 35 percent as president in March, when Gallup had the president’s approval at just 35 percent.
Now nearly 43 percent of American voters support the idea of beginning the official impeachment process for Trump, according to a Politico/Morning Consult poll published Wednesday.
06/5/17 10:25 PM | Comment Link
Mitch said...
24Rich.
It would be easier to believe if you said that the 10.5 billion the deal would cost over ten years, that Trump wanted it for himself…and the 400,000 jobs it would cost, he wanted to out-source himself.
Btw…. You do know that China and India (worlds largest offenders of emissions) were and are exempt from the Paris Agreement?????
Damn.. That just makes total sense….. Let’s see…. Lose a half million jobs…. Add 10 plus billion in defict spending…. And make zero head way…… What a wonderful agreement.
M
06/6/17 9:55 AM | Comment Link