With today’s marking of the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War here are some books on that often neglected topic. (I will omit Barbara Tuchman’s Guns of August because of how well-known it is.)
THE HAT IN THE RING GANG: THE COMBAT HISTORY OF THE 94th AERO SQUADRON IN WORLD WAR ONE – Written by Charles Woolley, this excellent book covers America’s 94th Aero Squadron aka The Hat in the Ring Gang.
When it comes to Flying Aces of World War One the Americans in the Lafayette Escadrille get the lion’s share of the attention. That’s ironic since Eddie Rickenbacker, America’s greatest ace of the war, served in the Hat in the Ring Gang along with many other famous paladins of the skies. To buy it click HERE
DOUGHBOY WAR: THE AMERICAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE IN WORLD WAR I – Written/ edited by James H Hallas. I feel this book is perfect for people who are just diving into World War One and don’t want inundated with all of the overwhelming details of more involved works. Doughboy War covers every aspect of American soldiers’ experiences in the Great War, often in their own words.
Follow them from enlistment, training and crossing the Atlantic to facing action in Europe, including accounts of the ordeals faced by wounded Doughboys. To buy it click HERE Continue reading
CHARLES AUSBURNE 
ALBERT E BAESEL 
Yes, it’s once again Guy Fawkes Day, the day Balladeer’s Blog celebrates figures who became symbols of the exact opposite things they represented in their actual lives! 
“Crazy with fury I will stain my rifle red while slaughtering any enemy that falls in my hands! My nostrils dilate while savoring the acrid odor of gunpowder and blood.” 
Read more of this animal’s own words and you will see what a callous, unfeeling political fanatic this hate-filled scumbag was. He never wanted to overthrow dictatorships to help “the people”, he just wanted to overthrow them to install dictatorships more to his liking. 
With Veterans Day coming up AND with it being the 100th anniversary of the end of World War One (when it was called Armistice Day) here are links to Balladeer’s Blog’s many World War One posts over the years. 
Balladeer’s Blog’s month-long celebration of Halloween hurtles toward its finale next Wednesday night. This time around I’ll examine the tale of Sean na Sagart aka John of the Priests, who should have been the lead character in several horror films by this point. 
Thus began the career and dark legend of Sean na Sagart. Sean spent roughly the next 17 years hunting, capturing and killing renegade Catholic Priests, Bishops, and Cardinals. 
For a mock headline how about “CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS DENY BEING VERMIN, ADMIT TO BEING LARGE CLUMPS OF BACTERIA SCULPTED INTO HUMAN FORM” 
“We are walking away from the lies, the hate, the violence, and vandalism. We are walking away from the vitriol, the name-calling, the censorship, the Fake News. We are walking away from the phony and crooked investigations, the divisiveness, the race-baiting. We are walking away from the attacks on our America. It is time to fight back with the greatest weapon at our disposal—the truth.
Over the years Balladeer’s Blog’s irreverent, tongue-in-cheek looks at the pros and cons of U.S. Presidents have been among my most visited items. 
HILLARY CLINTON (Lost to President Donald Trump)
Pro: Her childish refusal to address her own supporters the night Donald Trump utterly humiliated her provided a look at how truly petty, shallow and classless she is. 
JOHN “Let’s fight wars all over the world” MCCAIN (Lost to Obama)
Pro: Soon he will no longer be able to betray his constituents in exchange for bribes. (NOTE: This post was originally put up back in February)
NEW NOTE: Hey, I was right! John “Songbird” McCain and his equally worthless daughter DID use his passing and his funeral for cheap shots at people, relying on people’s courtesy over the passing of an alleged human being to prevent them from striking back. The kind of courtesy that a subhuman like McCain would never show anyone else. 
John McCain was filth and the world is a much better place for him no longer being in it. He was a well-known whore and given how he pathetically exploited his disease and his impending death there is no need for anyone to regret pointing out what an utterly useless man he was. Good riddance, Songbird! EVERYONE KNOWS PEOPLE ONLY PRAISED YOU BECAUSE YOU HATED PRESIDENT TRUMP. YOUR CORPSE MADE A CONVENIENT POLITICAL CLUB TO BE USED BY PEOPLE AS LOW AS YOU ALWAYS WERE. Even the worms will gag on your worthless carcass … but I kid vermin like Songbird McCain. Now back to the list of other presidential losers like McCain:
Balladeer’s Blog’s reviews of my picks for The Top Five Harry Flashman Novels are still getting more than their share of attention. (Click 
Projected Title: FLASHMAN DOWN UNDER 
Once word reached California about Australia’s very own Gold Rush, Harry could have boarded a ship for Down Under either along with some of the Cali Aussies OR trying to slip away from them for his usual reasons – having slept with some of their women, conning them out of money, etc. 
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