Charles Ashbacher Reviews

 Review of Norwegians in Wisconsin, by Richard J. Fapso, ISBN 9780870203343 Four out of five stars Largely fact-based description of the immigrants  An aged lifelong resident of Wisconsin once told me that a local handyman of Norwegian extraction once told her that when faced with a difficult task the first thing you must do is cuss it in Norwegian. Although the numbers were not large, the value given in this book is 30,000 Norwegians left their native land to settle in Wisconsin, their influence in the area is significant. There is a significant Norwegian presence in northern Iowa and southern Minnesota as well. The name of the sports teams of Luther College in extreme northern Iowa is the Norsemen.   The first known individual from Norway that settled in Wisconsin arrived in 1838. As was the case with immigrants from other countries, the primary reason for Norwegians to go to Wisconsin was the presence of available land capable of growing crops. With all of the lan...

 Review of Shoeless Joe, by W. P. Kinsella, ISBN 0395957737 Five out of five stars The ultimate baseball fantasy  The premise of this story, that if you build a baseball field in an Iowa cornfield, then deceased major league baseball players will arrive and play on it, is one that initially sounds absurd. Yet, it is one that works so very well. The main character is Ray Kinsella and the first hint of what he is to do is when he hears, “If you build it, he will come.” He is the legendary player, Shoeless Joe Jackson.   No less a player than Ty Cobb openly stated that Joe Jackson was the best baseball player he had ever seen. Unfortunately, Jackson was indirectly implicated in the famous Black Sox scandal, where some of the Chicago White Sox players conspired to throw the World Series. Even though there was no evidence that Jackson decreased his game, the fact that he knew about it led to his permanent banishment from baseball.  Furthermore, Kinsella departs from ...

 Review of Isaac Newton, by James Gleick, ISBN 1400032954 Five out of five stars Emphasis on the personality There is no real dispute that Isaac Newton was the greatest scientist of all time. The list of his original accomplishments are amazing, from optics to physics to cosmology, he altered the fundamental understanding of the world. His theories of gravity explained everything from how the apple fell from the tree to the concept of orbitals to the explanations of why the planets orbit the sun in the way they do.   The fact that increases the level of incredulity is that in many case he had to invent the mathematics needed to justify his theories. While there remains some dispute as to who was first in the development of calculus, there is no question that he created it independently of anyone else. However, Newton was a very irascible person, he had an obnoxious personality fueled no doubt by the fact that so few people understood his work.   In this book, Gl...

 Review of Nazi Mega Weapons: German Engineering in WWII, a PBS DVD Five out of five stars Descriptions of the power of German industry  The first and second world wars are demonstrations of how a modern industrial state can commit enormous resources in the waging of war. There was no greater demonstration of this than when the German leadership engaged in World War II. The scale of some of the projects is amazing, the amounts of steel and concrete and human labor, which means lives, that were spent in bringing the projects to their state at the end of the war are difficult to grasp, even when you see them.  Using modern experts to describe the various projects, historical footage, CGI generated action and actors playing the major roles, all are interwoven to explain the project, its’ origins, the goals of the German leadership and the end results. Fortunately for the outcome of World War II in Europe, some of the most effective weapons were under resourced, especially th...

 Review of Yalta: The Price of Peace, by S. M. Plokhy, ISBN 9780143118923 Five out of five stars Inside the negotiations to remake Europe  The Yalta conference featuring the big three of Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt tool place almost 80 years ago. Yet, there is still resounding debate regarding which of the three did the best in achieving their goals, which were quite distinct and in some cases mutually exclusive.   Being a product of the British Empire, the primary goal of Winston Churchill was to maintain and if possible expand the influence of the Empire. Having experienced multiple invasions of the area in the Soviet Union over the centuries, the goal of Joseph Stalin was to achieve the domination of Eastern Europe in order to preclude any future invasion. The primary goal of Franklin Roosevelt was to convince Stalin to enter the war against Japan as soon as possible.   The battle for Iwo Jima had just begun and it was clear t...

 Review of The Wall: A World Divided, PBS Video DVD Five out of five stars Sometimes history is made fast  When World War II ended, the Allied nations had to implement agreements made over the course of the war, specifically the meetings of Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin and Yalta. While there, they divided Germany into three parts, where France, Great Britain, the United States and Russia each had a zone of occupation. The German capital of Berlin was also split into four occupation zones.   As the 1950’s passed into the 1960’s it was clear to the Communist rulers of East Berlin and East Germany that the vast numbers of people passing from East Germany to West Berlin would quickly make the economic viability of East Germany unsustainable. Therefore, on August 13, 1961 a barrier of barbed wire and concrete blocks was quickly erected to keep the people from passing into West Berlin. At first it was a makeshift barrier, and some people were abl...

 Review of PBS Video: The Planets, DVD version Five out of five stars Fascinating scientific discoveries  This two-disc collection of the latest discoveries regarding the characteristics of the objects in the solar system is one of the most fascinating videos that you will ever watch. It turns out that the planets and other bodies in the solar system are far more complex and dynamic than ever thought possible.   It is also clear that while the orbits of the planets are stable over periods of 100 million years or so, it appears that there was some significant instability in the first billion years of the solar system. The latest theory is that Uranus was hit by an object the size of Mars, which explains why it is so cold and revolves on what we would call its’ side. It turns out that Pluto, far more distant from the sun, is warmer than Uranus.   Some of the most amazing action takes place on the moons of the gas giants of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune....

 Review of Finding Life Beyond Earth, PBS Nova DVD Five out of five stars May be the most interesting video ever  This video is the most interesting scientific video that I have ever seen. I have a background in science and once worked writing software to analyze space probes. The topic is one of the two or three greatest unanswered questions, “Is there life on other planets?” While that question is still unresolved, the latest investigative results clearly state that it is appearing to be more and more likely.   The search moves between what the latest space and planetary probes have demonstrated to some of most environmentally hostile places on Earth. Human probes have returned samples from comets and asteroids and some of the more simpler organic compounds were found. One of the more interesting points were on Earth. In one of the driest, most forbidding deserts, microbes were found on the undersides of rocks. The rocks were translucent enough to allow light to pa...

 Review of Ken Burns America: The Congress, DVD Five out of five stars A look at the people’s branch  In the American system of tripartite federal government, the Congress is the one most answerable to the people. Every two years the entire House of Representatives is elected and one-third of the Senate. Therefore, every member of Congress must keep an eye open for potential blowback from the voters based on what votes they cast in Congress.  This video is a combination of the structure of the Congress, the history of the body and how messy the act of legislation is. For no matter how adamant a person or a group is about holding an extreme position, the ultimate result is that there will be a compromise. Even if some of the people are led to it symbolically kicking and screaming.   This is a video that should be shown in middle and high school social studies classes. While the basics of the federal government is simple, there is a great deal of underlying comple...

 Review of The Gun (from 6 to 7:30 p.m.), DVD Three out of five stars The gun is the star  This is a movie where the action is often difficult to follow. While there are many characters, the star is a gun that has been used in a brutal homicide and then discarded at the side of the road. A male motorcyclist picks it up and then passes it off at a pawn shop. The viewer is introduced to a cab driver that experiences an incident and then decides to acquire a gun. He goes home to his wife and there is an extended scene where they debate their relationship.   A homeless couple living in a cardboard box are introduced and then there is an extended scene between a young couple that are living together, and she is the one that works. The male has no income yet wants her to stay home from work. This scene goes on much too long, the viewer gets the point halfway into it.   The cab driver purchases that same gun at a pawnshop but meets a buddy when leaving the pawnsho...

 Review of A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-40, by William R. Trotter Five out of five stars David did not win, but did not lose  After Germany easily overran Poland and then partitioned it once again with the Soviet Union in 1939, the situation in the rest of Eastern Europe and Scandinavia became one of likely choosing sides. Despite the treaty between Germany and the Soviet Union, there was little doubt anywhere in the world that those two nations would at one point be at war. Thus treaty, commonly referred to as the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, had a secret clause that allocated the states of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland to the Soviet sphere of influence.   Freed from immediate concerns about how Germany would react, in November 1939, Stalin decided to make unreasonable demands on Finland and launched an invasion. Despite being incredibly outnumbers and outgunned, the Finns were able to outfight the Soviet masses, largely due to incredibly...

 Review of Avalanche: A Sheriff Bo Tully Mystery, by Patrick McManus, ISBN 9781416532651 Five out of five stars Great, quirky characters in support  The main character is Bo Tully, Sheriff of Blight County in Idaho. His father, known as Pap, was a previous sheriff and he is still alive and a very obnoxious man. When the wife of Mike Wilson reports him as missing, at least more missing than usual, Bo develops a plan of action. The Wilson’s own and operate a ski resort lodge and there are several outlying cabins on the lodge property. Bo and Pap decide to take an excursion to one of the lodges in what is to be a combination investigation/relaxation mission. One the way there, a massive avalanche occurs and only by speeding up, they manage to get upriver of it. However, the river is dammed up and begins to back flood.   When they reach the cabin, they find two college students naked in bed. With no time to lose, Bo grabs the girl named Lindsay and physically carries her...

 Review of Ultimate Mars Challenge, a NOVA DVD Five out of five stars Incredible talent succeeds  Mars has fascinated humans since that moving red spot in the sky was first identified. Telescopes opened up new avenues for exploration but also led to wild and unsubstantiated claims when there was the report of lines on the surface. This led to speculation that there was life on Mars that was advanced. This led to some of the most entertaining and unrealistic stories about the existence of that life.  Mariner IV dispelled many of those myths as it revealed a cratered surface and an atmosphere that was much lighter than expected. While the searchers for life were disappointed, additional probes to Mars were planned and launched, eventually probes with instruments sensitive for life signs were landed.  In 2012, the most sophisticated probe yet, called Curiosity, landed on the surface and sent back a message, “Arrived alive and well.”  This video takes the viewer int...

 Review of Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio, a PBS DVD Five out of five stars Three who created an industry  This video contains brief biographies of three men instrumental in creating the radio industry as well as making it a mass media. The necessary background history of the United States at the time is also included. Those three men are Lee de Forest, Howard Armstrong and David Sarnoff. Armstrong and de Forest were inventors that created the key hardware that made radio possible while Sarnoff was the ruthless tycoon that made radio a mass media.   These were three men with colossal egos, and each demanded more than their share of the glory and bounty. They fought each other in the legal system, the court of public opinion and in the technical press. The development of radio not only required the solving of significant technical problems, but to make it into a mass media required the development of an expensive and extensive infrastructure.   In...