The book Black Hearts begins by painting an awful picture of a crime scene that was reported to 1st platoon Bravo Company of the 1-502nd 101st Airborne Division. The soldiers that are sent to investigate find that an entire family has been murdered, the daughter had been raped, and someone attempted to set the house ablaze, the family had all been killed in a seemingly brutal execution, while investigating one of the NCOs found a shotgun shell which he thought was strange because most Iraqis do not use shotguns. He compiled the evidence to be sent up to higher and they chalked it up as another Iraqi on Iraqi sectarian execution. Then the book takes us to before any of that happened, the book focuses on a battalion in the 101st Airborne Division, leading the battalion was Ltc. Kunk, he ruled with an Iron fist and was very hard on his subordinates. Within the battalion the book focuses primarily on Bravo Company, who was headed by Cpt. Goodwin. Goodwin was a competent leader but Ltc. Kunk had a reputation for being very hard on his company commanders and having very little faith in their abilities. Pre-deployment while at JRTC (Joint Readiness Training Center) he would explode on his commanders, and tell them that they were doing everything wrong, criticizing and degrading them. This wore down on his commanders and especially Goodwin, Goodwin would begin to second guess his decisions, making him less effective as a leader and making him make more mistakes than before, this would make Kunk even more upset and he would berate him even more than he would in the first place. The battalion would be deploying into the “Triangle of Death” a patch of ground south of Baghdad. It ran along one of the major highways that led into Bag... ... middle of paper ... ... patrols and his men had very little trust in him because he would not do anything that he was asking them to do. He was however a good leader in that he did not give up on his men like SFC Gallagher did. He had a plan going into the situation and did not let his inexperience detour him. He knew the platoon he was going to was a problem platoon and he accepted the challenge and attacked it head on. He held the men to a higher standard than they had been in the past and tried to pick them up and dust them off. He aided 1LT Norton in reviving 1st platoon and building their morale back up, they were just getting back on their feet when the incident at JSB happened where two soldiers went missing and then the rape and murder was investigated effectively ending 1st platoons deployment, but nonetheless SFC Fenlason was there through it all and stuck with his platoon.
Black Hearts was about the 2005-2006 deployment of the 101st‘s second brigade‘s 1-502nd (First Strike) to Iraq. The book more specifically honed in on Bravo Company and their first platoon’s decent into complete madness throughout the deployment. The 1-502nd and its commander Lt Col Kunk, was tasked with the mission of getting control of and hold the land in-between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Kunk was a particularly difficult man to get along with. He would explode and go on a tirade over just about anything, big or small. This caused serious problems at meetings when he only wanted things his way and would personally attack his commanders who he thought he could not trust. This area had been recently dubbed as the “Triangle of death”. The cities that were in this area were Yusufiyah, Mahmudiyah, Lutufiyah, and notably a thermal power plant that was never finished that housed many insurgents almost like a FOB. Bravo Company was sent to take care of a particularly nasty part of the Battalion’s AO; The north-western-side that encompassed Yusufiyah and the unfinished thermal power plant. Upon arrival to Iraq and to their AO, Bravo Company was to take over the duties of the 48th infantry brigade who was there before them. After riding around with the 48th Brigade to learn how things were being run, Bravo Company started to realize how scared the 48th were to even leave the wire. Any patrols that needed to be done were done in a Humvee that just raced around the area and got back to the FOB ASAP. Once they fully took over their AO from the 48th they started on building up fortifications and doing patrols of the area. One road in particular, Route Sportster, had been giving patrols and Humvees trouble since it was always laden...
Eric Rauchway’s Murdering McKinley: The Making of Theodore Roosevelt’s America is an examination of the events, social conditions and dramatic political changes taking place in America immediately prior to and during the birth of the 20th century that led to the assassination of William McKinley and the rise of progressivism. It is furthermore an investigation of the motives behind the assassination, and an analysis of the events leading up to what made possible “Roosevelt’s America,” arguably the first recognizably modern period in American history from a 21st century perspective: the progressive era.
The pair of twins sat down in their homeroom class. One was gentle and charming, and the other was intelligent and had a great future in store. Being twins one would think they were very alike but secretly they were different. Sitting in homeroom no classmate would think that they were sitting next to a new definition of evil. In The Devil in the White City by Erick Larson, he decides to include different styles of ambition and appearance vs. reality to illustrate, that ambition can break one or make one and everything is not what it seems. Larson’s style is to add to irreverent stories together so that the two major protagonists highlight each other’s traits, one trait is their ambition. Both Holmes and Burnham are ambitious but in two different ways, which shows that ambition can make one or break one. How do they have different ambitions? Take their jobs as an example Burnham is an architect and Holmes is a doctor. When one has different jobs one strives for different things. Burnham in the novel strived for the Chicago’s World’s Exposition be more striking that the Exposition in Paris, as expressed by him saying, “Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably will themselves not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will not die” (Larson 1). By him saying “no little plans” he is trying to explain that the Exposition could have no limits. His vision is to create a “White City” and was going to accomplished that no matter what. His great ambition was to surpass Paris and at the end he did but Holmes had different plans. Burnham thought that if he made a grand and huge exposition Chicago would always be remembered as a White City...
Aminata Diallo is an eleven years old African girl, when her life changes completely, as she goes from a beloved daughter to an orphan that is captured and enslaved. Aminata is shown in the novel Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill as a strong young protagonist that is able to survive the odyssey around the world first as a slave and later as a free activist agent of the British. In the book, her various stages of her life are always connected with the clothes that she is wearing or the lack of clothes and show the degree of dehumanization that accompanies slavery.
The name of my book is Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan. This is a mystery thriller about five teens who plan to kidnap their English teacher to teach him a lesson. Their teacher is very hard on them and does not allow any room for slacking. But instead of just kidnapping him for a while, they decide to abandon him for a while by a deserted lake in the middle of nowhere. Two of the teens come back to find that he is dead. Now they must decide what to do with the body and how to explain his death.
Racism and segregation among different races took place since the beginning of time, “Accordion Crimes” by E. Annie Proulx explores a similar situation of new immigrants coming to America seeking for a better life also known as the American dream but soon realize what its all about. The story spreads over about 100 years. The life that immigrants were living was very difficult. Racism and discrimination was part of every day life, it can be pretty similar to what Muslims have to go through since the catastrophe of September 11, 2001 that changed the world for ever. When new coming Italians arrived to United-States, they were all seen as part of some mafia, generalization was punishing those that had nothing to do with it like the Muslims today. What can be done to stop hatred between races? The easy answer is education, but that’s not the only solution.
Eudora Welty's first novel, The Robber Bridegroom, is a combination of fantasy and reality while exploring the duality of human nature, time, and the word man lives in. The union of legend, Mississippi history and Grimms' fairy tales create an adult dream world. Every character in the story has little insight to themselves and how they relate to the world around them. The antics of Mike Fink, the Harps, the bandits, and the Indians closely relate to Mississippi folklore. The blending of actual history and pure fantasy create a much richer form of entertainment. Mike Fink was an American frontiersman who is said to have beaten Davy Crockett in a shooting contest. The Harpe brothers were notorious rustlers and killers in the South. "After being felled by a bullet that paralyzed him, Big Harpe was decapitated; as the decapitation began, Big Harpe is reported to have said, "You're a God Damned rough butcher, but cut on and be damned" (Appel 70). The head was put on a post to warn other outlaws. The duality in man himself is a strong theme in the story. The men who fail to realize that man is a combination of good and evil are unable to succeed in the world around them. The Harps and to a lesser extent Mike Fink follow their most basic instincts to be frontiersmen. They are immersed completely in the lives they led and there is no other way to live. This inability to change is there downfall. The Harps are killed and Mike Fink is relegated to a lowly mail rider. This symbolizes the end of the lawless frontier. Unlike the Harps and Mike Fink, Jamie Lockhart, Clemet and Rosamond Musgrove are torn between two different personas in themselves. Jamie must separate the bandit in hims...
Sense and Nonsense about Crime and Drugs by Samuel Walker Samuel Walker, author of Sense and Nonsense about Crime and Drugs, presented us in his book with forty-eight propositions that dealt with crime, drugs, and our efforts toward getting rid of these problems. A few of these propositions informed us on positive actions taking place in our criminal justice system, but the majority of them told us what was not working to fight crime and drugs. One of those propositions that was a negative aspect of our justice system today in Mr. Walker's eyes was the "three strikes and you're out" laws (referred to here after as three strikes laws). He gives numerous reasons why this law is not considered to be an effective one. This paper will first explain Walker's view on the issue and then review some of the current research and opinions on the matter.
Black Like Me is the incredibly interesting story of John Griffin, a Caucasian man who decided to try being African American in the south during the 60s. In this analysis paper I will be addressing the ethics of this project, his potential self-deception, his ability to pass unnoticed as an imposter, along with his courage for attempting such a dangerous project in the Deep South. His project was a success and a remarkable accomplishment for such an individual.
Jeffrey Reiman, author of The Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison, first published his book in 1979; it is now in its sixth edition, and he has continued to revise it as he keeps up on criminal justice statistics and other trends in the system. Reiman originally wrote his book after teaching for seven years at the School of Justice (formerly the Center for the Administration of Justice), which is a multidisciplinary, criminal justice education program at American University in Washington, D.C. He drew heavily from what he had learned from his colleagues at that university. Reiman is the William Fraser McDowell Professor of Philosophy at American University, where he has taught since 1970. He has written numerous books on political philosophy, criminology, and sociology.
Has the United States government kept secrets from its citizens? Conspiracy theories have been posed throughout the history of our nation. A conspiracy theory is defined as “a theory that explains an event as being the result of a plot by a covert group or organization; a belief that a particular unexplained event was caused by such a group” (Dictionary). Is this an on-going theme in U.S. Government history? Many people believe that our government has purposely fabricated or withheld information regarding historical events; was the moon landing simulated, were service men murdered at Pearl Harbor, who really shot President Kennedy? On the other hand, there are strong believers that the United States government has not and will not deceive its citizens. The novel Real Enemies by Kathryn S. Olmsted enlightens readers regarding major U.S. political and historical events.
whatever it takes to keep them alive. That is not moral, that is legal. But
... book to characters in other novels, you begin to see styles of leadership that are used and the effectiveness that they can have on a person’s character and ability to accomplish a mission. I feel as if a constant leadership style was put in charge from the beginning of their deployment that followed the standard that was necessary, then the soldiers would have been unable to commit the crimes they did during their deployment. On the flipside of that coin, I feel as if more competent leaders had existed through the tumultuous time of the deployment, they would have been able to adapt to the situation and control the soldiers they were responsible for no matter how difficult the deployment became. Despite the fact that 11 of 33 original 1st platoon leaders were removed by the end of the deployment a strong leader duo could have prevented the actions that took place.
Band of Brothers is a fascinating book that captures moments lived by soldiers during World War II. It specifically relates to the History of a small unit of paratroopers known as Easy Company, 506 Regiment, 101st Airborne. It is a story that follows the company from its inception to the capture of Hitler’s nest. It begins with the training of these soldiers at Camp Toccoa, Georgia. The 140 members of easy company who were young men from different social levels were physically and mentally trained. This particular company had an extremely harsh training, but many believe it is because of this training that they were considered as one of the best rifle companies in the army.
Prior to the deployment he was removed from that position to serve on the MiTT. However, a few months into the deployment, in December 2005, SFC Gallagher was re-assigned as the Platoon Sergeant in order to fix the problems circulating throughout 1st Platoon. Many of his critics described SFC Gallagher as being too critical and dismissive of his own men (Frederick, 2010, p. 175). Upon his arrival back to the Platoon, the overall census seemed to be that the Soldiers were not too happy about his return. Throughout his time serving as the Platoon Sergeant, which was only a little over a month, I believe SFC Gallagher displayed certain attributes that a positive leader should have. SFC Gallagher, unlike his future replacement, SFC Fenlason, was always leading from the front according to the members of 1st Platoon (Frederick, 2010, p.