so-soThis is a whirlwind tour of the last thirty years of U.S.-Russian relations. It's not breaking any new ground but if you have felt the sudden need to remind yourself of what's happened since the end of the Soviet Union (can't imagine why) it's useful and will get you up to speed fast.
Boris Yeltsin: “In August 1994, during a visit to Berlin, at a lunch event he had jumped onto the stage and started to conduct the military band. The following month, on an official visit to Ireland, he was deemed too ‘unwell‘ to get off his plane at Shannon airport, leaving Albert Reynolds, the Irish premier, to wait in vain at the end of the red carpet.“
Awfully prescient, from four years ago: “While commentators in America and Europe rail against Putin‘s aggression, opinion polls in Russia show that fascination with the West and all things Western has been replaced with a level of hostility not seen even at the height of Soviet rule. The world is in danger of sliding into a new Cold War.“
pickWritten by President George W Bush, this book tells the story of 43 immigrants that he has met during his lifetime and what they‘ve accomplished in America. I listened to the audio, read by President Bush with a recording of each immigrant telling the reader what America means to them. I have the physical copy of the book on hold from the library because President Bush painted a portrait of each individual. I enjoyed hearing each and every story.
Spending the evening with this one; what a reassuring, beautiful work that reaffirms hope in humanity. (Also, W‘s not a half-bad portraitist, y‘all.) #outofmanyone #epluribusunum #georgewbush #gwbush #potus43 #art #portraiture #immigrants #immigration #meltingpot #america
