This week I selected Beowulf. The story chronicles three major events in the life of Beowulf. From what I learned it was probably written sometime between 700 and 1000 AD.
In the story Beowulf defeats Grendel a monster in battle. Then he defeats Grendel’s mother. Then he rules for 50 years before he is killed in a battle against a dragon that also dies in the fight.
Beowulf was a warrior. He fought against powerful enemies and was able to prevail where others failed. It made me think about the types of battles encountered today. The average person today would not be as versed in weapons of war as in the days of Beowulf. What are the dragons of today?
Overall I found the story entertaining and am glad I selected it for this week.
I have enjoyed the previous books I read by Ben Macintyre. I picked this one up not knowing anything about Ursula Kuczynski. She grew up to be a very successful spy for the Soviet Union and received the code name Agent Sonya. I looked forward to reading this. Shortly after I began reading I was hoping I would read about when she would be caught.
Ursula lived a remarkable life. Born in Germany and coming of age in the 1920’s she was exposed to a world of turmoil. She became a committed communist early in life and would not be deterred from her ideology.
She traveled the world first leaving Germany for the United States partially to avoid marriage. She became a member of the Communist Party of the United States. After a stint in the USA she returned to Germany and married the man she had left behind. His career took them to China where her career as a spy began. From there she traveled to the Soviet Union for additional training and continued to work as a spy throughout Europe.
I found it ...
“The truth is sometimes a poor competitor in the market place of ideas – complicated, unsatisfying, full of dilemmas, always vulnerable to misinterpretation and abuse.”
George F. Kennan
