Memorial Day...

Happy Memorial Day and THANK YOU to the other service members for their sacrifices-especially those abroad. Our prayers are with you. We pray for the safe accomplishment of your missions. Fight the good fight! We should all take some time on this day for reflection on those who went before us.
There are many great books out there but here are a few American Greats worth spending time in.

1. 1776 by David McCullough


2. The Federalist Papers - John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison
   
3. The Naked Communist by Cleon Skousen


4. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving


5. Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose

There's a brief list...what others would you add? Which have you read? Washington Irving crafted the first true American Folk Classic with The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. He's actually buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetary-pretty cool. Skousen's Naked Communist exposes the evil of communism and how it spreads. This is a scary read because it was written nearly 50 years ago. The scary part is its relevance today. Undaunted Courage follows the stories of Lewis and Clark. Feel free to leave your comments below...here's the Picture of the Week...

Summer Viewing...

With all of the blockbuster films released over the next few months, here are some suggested fillers for your consideration. As always, feel free to comment to our ever-expanding lists.

1. Gods and Generals
2. The Crossing
3. Ken Burns' The Civil War
4. Other Florentine Documentaries: Mark Twain, Lewis and Clark, Thomas Jefferson, BASEBALL...
5. Band of Brothers
6. John Adams
7. Liberty: The American Revolution
8. Rescue Dawn
9. American Outlaws
10. No Intelligence Allowed

While the last documentary on this list fails to remain objective, I do think it raises valid arguments. The Crossing is a lesser known A&E movie about Washington's Crossing of the Delaware. American Outlaws does not follow history by the letter and is here solely for entertainment purposes. Its simply a fun movie. (This film demonstrates well the truth that truth truly is stranger than fiction...for example, Jesse James' mother did not die when a bomb was planted to kill him-it blew her arm off but when the director tried to portray the incident in American Outlaws, it simply was too unbelievable/silly so the script was changed.) HBO's Band of Brothers is definitely NOT family viewing but it does give what is probably the most honest portrayal of its subject. John Adams is also a worthwhile HBO production and can be viewed by a larger audience. John Adams is adapted from 2002's Pulitzer Prize winning biography of the same name by historian David McCullough. Let's hope they undertake 1776!

And now for this week's Picture of the Week...