A Slippery Slope and a Book Review
The political climate today is wild and weird and only seems to be getting wilder and weirder, or so they tell us. But, in reality, it isn't any more exceptionally weird that it has been in the past. It doesn't take a lot of digging into the past to see that America's political climate has ALWAYS been like a feather in a hurricane -it IS politics after all.
On the news today I saw a very interesting headline: "Trump and Putin to meet in Finland for Historic Talk" or something along those lines. How very interesting that it is happening in Finland, and how ironic that I finished a book on a war in that country only a mere 3 weeks ago. Oh wait. Did I mention that war was fought between the Fins and the Ruskis??? Yeah. Talk about ironic. And hard fought. And hard LOST for the splendid winter fighters filled with sisu, a stoic determination to fight and defend their beloved home. The Fins that fought this war did it in a desperate attempt to keep the Red dogs out, the men that came from Russia to invade their small country and take it over in an attempt to outsmart one of the most hated men in history.
Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish War of 1939-1940 by William Trotter is a book I just recently marked off my summer checklist. Trotter successfully reserved a place in my heart for that small, proud country in northern Europe. After reading about their resolve in the face of another war, and their finesse on the battlefield, I believe I have a decent understanding of the Finnish pride. It seems, according to Trotter's work, that this burns within them, almost as brightly as their dislike of their Red neighbors. The books discusses the details of the various fronts throughout the Winter War, which started in November of 1939 and continued through March of 1940 before the Russians could officially declare their victory -a win Trotter infers that one could chalk up to an infinite amount of exposable manpower. Throughout the book, he weaves in short excerpts from diaries and memories from the war, all equally moving, and all equally supporting the deep pride that seems to reside within the Finnish people of the day.
While altogether well-written, he does not spend a lot of time discussing diplomatic decisions or the behind the scenes goings on at headquarters. Trotter, it seems, is most interested in the groundwork and detailing the various battles going on up and down the Mannerheim Line, which served as the main front for most of the war. While there was no mention of reindeer and little mention of the gallantry oft remembered of the men participating in the far north of the fighting area. He discusses some of the incredible ski soldiers, but does not recount many amazing stories from these fighters. Mostly, when referencing these famous Winter Soldiers, it is when discussing the utter incompetence of the Russians, which is truly striking.
Trotter's book is, for certain, a wonderful summary of the battleground of the war, with a brief account in the beginning and the end of the diplomatic relations surrounding the war, but if the reader is looking for something with more detail behind the origins of the Winter War or of the final end and later consequences, it would be advised to add any amount of supplemental material to further your research and inquiry on the subject of the Winter War. All in all? I'd rate this book a B+ for my personal endeavors and an A- for anyone looking for a quick look into the war that had no previous knowledge of it.
So 80 years ago there was a war between a great big bear of a country and a small, fierce fox of the other. Russia invaded Finland in order to gain some territory that could be a possible springboard for Hitler to use to invade their homeland. The interesting thing is...they'd done it before. The generations previous to this war remembered that.
But today, the fox invites the bear to their den, hosting a peace conference between that beast and the American dog a world away. The irony in that overwhelms me...only time will tell, though, which of these animals will be most likely to come home with a win.
My money is on the fox.
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