Review of "D-Day Under Fire 1: Storming Fortress Europe," graphic novel, ISBN 9781472838780

 Review of

D-Day Under Fire 1: Storming Fortress Europe, graphic novel, ISBN 9781472838780

Five out of five stars

History being made by the minute

 I have always been of the opinion that education should be carried out by all available means. This includes everything from formal lectures to comic books. Graphic novels have been and continue to be an effective way to teach topics from the routine to the critical. When the Allies landed on the beaches of Normandy in 1944, history was literally being made by the minute. Many of those events are captured very well in this graphic novel.

 Given that the invasion proved to be a success, the fact that it could have gone differently is often lost in the explanations of victory. One of the most fortunate aspects of the invasion was that German Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, the leader of the German forces, was away from the Atlantic front on leave. It was his wife’s birthday and so he was hundreds of miles from the action. Had he been there, Rommel was the only one who could have ordered an immediate counterattack by the German Panzer forces. That counterattack could have succeeded and the Allied forces on the ground could have been defeated and captured.

  Using brutal imagery and reporting the dark humor of many of the troops, the organized chaos and brutality of the fighting are recounted. There is also a recurring theme of how the Scottish troops moved forward under fire to the accompaniment of a man on bagpipes.

 There is no question that one of the most significant historical days of the twentieth century was June 6, 1944. This book is a reasonably in-depth treatment of how the Allied soldiers did their duty, fighting against entrenched German forces, moving bravely against a determined enemy. It could serve as a textbook in history classes.

Review of "Summoned: Frances Perkins and the General Welfare," a PBS video

 Review of

Summoned: Frances Perkins and the General Welfare, a PBS video

Five out of five stars

The first woman in the cabinet most significant

One of the best decisions that President Franklin Roosevelt made was to appoint Frances Perkins the US Secretary of Labor. She was the first woman appointed to the presidential Cabinet and is arguably one of the top ten best cabinet appointments in history. She was a driving force in the creation of the Social Security program, the 40-hour week, the eight-hour day, the federal minimum wage and unemployment compensation.

 Given the deep conservative currents in the American political establishment and the judiciary, the legislative battles to enact these programs were intense and uncertain until they were passed by the Congress, signed by President Roosevelt and passed the judicial review of the Supreme Court. While both Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt provided Perkins with some political cover, she was unquestionably the primary force in making it happen.

 This video is the history of movements that were a fundamental change in the social contracts between the Federal government and the citizenry. Perkins was an extremely skilled political operative as well as a writer of legislation. It seems unlikely that President Roosevelt would have been able to achieve anywhere near the social legislation that he was able to enact without her.

 Frances Perkins is very much an underappreciated person in the history of the United States. So much of what she was able to steward into law is now considered a fundamental component of the American political and economic system. Her story and significant accomplishments are explained very well in this video. All high school students should be required to view it.