I just finished reading three books by Michael Broers. Napoleon: Soldier of Destiny ends with a cliffhanger of sorts as Napoleon marches his newly created Grande Armée into the War of the Third Coalition in 1805. Napoleon: The Spirit of the Age covers Napoleon’s best years and greatest victories in 1805-10. Napoleon: The Decline andContinue reading “Napoleon”
Author Archives: Vladimir Dinets
Weekend in Washington
We spent the weekend in Washington, DC. Usually looking its best in spring, the once proud capital is a sad sight under enemy occupation. Its imperial grandeur now feels like mockery. Its great museums are half empty; some exhibits are being removed or changed, reportedly to comply with the new rulers’ neo-Nazi ideology. Dozens ofContinue reading “Weekend in Washington”
Zombie country
My friends from abroad are asking me what’s going on in the US. My short explanation might also be of interest to fellow Americans since they don’t seem to get it, either.1. After decades of massive disinfo campaign, a criminal organization pretending to be a political party has seized all branches of our government.2. ThatContinue reading “Zombie country”
Mudslides in the mist: Cusco in the rainy season.
We spent our spring break in Cusco, flying there and back with overnight stays in Callao for plane changes. The kids hadn’t been to South America yet, my wife always wanted to see the area, and I love Peru since my first trip there 30 years ago, when I hitchhiked through the entire country NContinue reading “Mudslides in the mist: Cusco in the rainy season.”
A belated book review
In 2024 I read a bunch of non-fiction books, but very little fiction. Fiction just can’t compete with non-fiction nowadays. Anyway, the best non-fiction book I read in 2024 was (drumroll)… The White Mughals by William Dalrymple. It’s a stunning love story from the late 18th century Hyderabad. I learned a lot about the BritishContinue reading “A belated book review”
Adventures of the English language
1. The habit of using “like” in almost every sentence as a kind of punctuation mark originated in Devonshire dialect. It was imported to American English in the 17th century and locally persisted in rural New England but went virtually extinct in Devonshire. In the late 20th century, it suddenly began to spread like wildfireContinue reading “Adventures of the English language”
Wild New Jersey
This morning I had my best field trip in New Jersey so far, and I don’t think I’ll ever have a better one. I went to High Point State Park for some early morning skiing. Turned out there wasn’t enough snow to ski through the forest, so I decided to use a frozen lake. ItContinue reading “Wild New Jersey”
Hidden Wonders
25 absolutely amazing places in USA that are barely known to outsiders (in no particular order). I’ve been to all of them except the last two. 1. Cathedral Gorge State Park, Nevada. 2. Goblin Valley State Park, Utah. 3. Wahweap Hoodoos in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah. 4. Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, New Mexico. 5. White Pocket,Continue reading “Hidden Wonders”
Moscow today
An Azeri airliner tried to land in Grozny (in Russian-occupied Chechnya), was mistaken for a Ukrainian drone, shot and damaged (but, notably, not shot down despite being the easiest target possible), and told to fly to Kazakhstan (a thousand km away) where it crash-landed killing half the passengers. Apparently, once Russians realized they had shotContinue reading “Moscow today”
My commentary on the US elections
Why did more than half of US population choose to press the self-destruct button? I haven’t seen a reasonable explanation anywhere. People point to high housing prices or other economic issues, to supposed mistakes of Democrats, to Biden’s senility. But all these explanations are demonstrably wrong. The economy was the best since the 1950s, andContinue reading “My commentary on the US elections”
Naturalist on Earth 