Be sure to download this free iPad app from the California Historical Society celebrating the 75th birthday of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Beautiful photographs! And great lessons from history!
Enjoy!
Category: History
“There is something in the soul that cries out for freedom.”
Wow, what a day for Egypt! Watching the events unfolding in Egypt over the last 18 days has been both compelling and seductive.
Thanks mostly to Aljazeera English, I had a seat on the edge of Tahrir Square in Cairo. AJE’s iPhone application brought me live video wherever I was – zooming me into the events in Egypt as they unfolded.
How amazing is all of this? First of all, the source – Aljazeera itself and its on-going presence in Cairo, in spite of the regime’s efforts to shut it down. This source was complemented by the incredible capability I hold in my hand with the iPhone that brings AJE’s video into my life wherever I am.
This feels like a really new world. Video from anywhere on the globe delivered into our hands in real-time. Amazing. Simply amazing.
I can’t imagine how this will influence world events in the years to come. The accelerating pace of change enabled by this technology is breathtaking, exciting and, I must admit, a bit scary. I’m reminded that “Freedom is not free” – but clearly the pace of its evolution is changing fast!
PS: Aljazeera has a campaign: “Demand Aljazeera in the USA” which they hope will result in the cable TV companies adding their content. Presumably they’d receive some sort of compensation from the cable companies? Frankly, I could care less about any of that. While it might be nice to watch AJE on my cable TV, where I really want to watch it is “in my hand”. And they’ve got that covered nicely with their iPhone app!
Photo of “Celebrating in Tahrir Square” by RamyRaoof.
While traveling this week, I picked up a copy of Rick Atkinson’s An Army at Dawn and have really been enjoying it. The book, winner of the Pulitzer Price for History, describes the history of the war in North Africa in 1942-43. I saw Atkinson interviewed by CNBC’s Jim Cramer on Monday — and went out and got the book. It’s full of fascinating perspectives — including some great commentary on the early years of Eisenhower and Patton as generals. There’s also available an excellent web site supporting the book. The book is the first of three volumes Atkinson plans for covering World War II in Europe. Highly recommended.
Also on my nightstand is Gettysburg by Stephen Sears. This latest comprehensive history of the big Civil War battle has gotten some great reviews. I’m only a chapter or two into it so far — and will definitely pick it back up when I’m finished with Atkinson’s book.
Current Reading
Thanks to a tip by Dan Gillmor, I’m now reading “The Guns of the South” by Harry Turtledove. It’s an “alternate history” book about how the Civil War might have turned out differently.
The basic idea is that, after the Battle of Gettysburg, the South’s commanding General Robert E. Lee is visited by someone who introduces him to the AK-47 assault rifle. As you might imagine, the story takes off from there!
An Amazon reviewer writes:
“On one level Harry Turtledove’s “The Guns of the South” reminds me of the Saturday Night Live skit which asked the question, “What if Napoleon had a B-52 at the Battle of Waterloo?” This alternative history novel about the Civil War asks “What if the South had AK-47s during the Civil War?” The answer is, of course, they would have won their independence. But ultimately “The Guns of the South” is more about what type of nation the Confederacy would have become.”