Summer Reading List

So this summer I didn’t really have that much to do, especially the first half of the summer. I decided that I should read some books that I have been wanting to read for a while. Here are the reviews for the books that I read over the summer.

Going Rogue---Sarah Palin



This is essentially Sarah Palin’s autobiography. I thought that it was really well done. It gave a lot of her background, especially as governor of Alaska that didn’t come out on the Campaign Trail. There are two sides to every story, and I think that if you give her a chance to tell her side about all of the drama that took place during the Campaign, you’ll be surprised about how poorly she was treated by the McCain campaign. It is definitely worth your time.

Enough---Juan Williams




This was probably my favorite book of the summer. It is a book about the state of African Americans in America. It came about as a result of a speech Bill Cosby gave at an NAACP event paying tribute to the Brown v. Board of Education ruling by the Supreme Court. It is essentially a call to arms for the African Americans to work to change their current situation in America. I agree whole heartedly with all of his points. It’s awesome! A must read!

How to Save America: A Tactical Guide For Practical Patriots---A.E. Duzett



This is a book by someone who was in my Freshman Academy Group my first year at BYU. This is an excellent guide on how to get involved politically in practical ways that everyone can do. The tips she gives are so great. Most are simple things that the normal person would never think of being effective in influencing policy, but the ideas that she presents are good ways to get involved and have influence in the public arena. It is worth your time! It’s available on Amazon!

The last think I’ll mention here is not something I read, but rather something I wrote that you should all check out. I had a National Security Strategies class last winter semester and had to write a paper on a topic of my choice. I decided to write about Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) in Central Europe. The professor (one of the top one hundred global thinkers in the world) liked it so much she invited me to submit it for publication in an online journal. Needless to say it was published and you can read it here. One of the reviewers commented that “this paper is the best of three papers I have read on the subject of BMD. It is very well organized and well reasoned. It evidences independent thought without over reliance on quotations from secondary literature.” I think it’s worth your time to learn something about BMD. Enjoy!

Summer Vacation

So we started off our first family vacation in two years by flying into Vegas. Savannah Steele gave a ride to the airport which was way nice. My flight was delayed by an hour, but it worked out well because I got to hang out with one of my companions from the mission who was going to Alabama. Once we met up in Vegas and had lunch, we checked out our hotel. The parents took a nap because they were super tired. Then after finding out which buffet was the best in Vegas, we headed over to the Palms to try it out. It was really good. They pretty much had everything you could ever imagine. Then we headed over to the Venetian, my favorite of all the Casinos to see the Blue Man Group. It was pretty interesting. Nothing like I expected it to be, but it was awesome to say the least. Then we did some exploring of the strip and headed back to the hotel via the monorail.





The next day we went and saw the Hoover Dam. Yes, we went on the dam tour and it was pretty dam interesting. We then headed back to Vegas and found the Temple, which was really pretty. Then we pretty much just chilled the rest of the evening.





The next day we drove pretty much the whole day. We eventually made our way to Zion’s National Park, which was really cool. I had always heard about these parks in southern Utah, but never experienced them. Zion’s was a great way to start.



Then we headed on to Jacob Lake to stay the night. It was a neat experience. In the morning, we headed to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. That was absolutely beautiful. Words can’t even begin to describe it. There are so many natural wonders in just America alone.





Then we made the drive back to St. George in the afternoon. The next day we went Bryce Canyon, which I have to confess was my favorite of all the national parks that we visited. The rock formations were absolutely stunning. It was beautiful.



Then we made the trek up to Provo. I’m always amazed at how little there actually is between St. George and Provo. It was a nice drive though. Then, my parents dropped me off at my apartment. The next day they went to the BYU Bookstore, while I went and tried to run some errands, but I wasn’t that successful. Then we went to Walmart and got some groceries. I’m a huge Walmart fan. Then we went to lunch with Roberta Magarell, an old family friend of my dad’s. They hadn’t see each other for decades. She was really touched by it and we had a good visit. Then we just chilled for a while and then went to smashburger, which was enjoyed by all. Then we went to my apartment and hung out for a little bit. Then we said goodbye. All in all it was a good trip. We got to see a lot and bond.