Dept. of War Rebrand, Trump's Tech Bro Dinner, and Elon's Pay Package

In 'Hillbilly Elegy,' J.D. Vance recounts his life growing up in a dysfunctional family in Middletown, Ohio, with roots in Kentucky's Appalachia. The book details his experiences with poverty, addiction, and family violence, as well as his journey to joining the marines and eventually graduating from Yale Law School. Vance provides a personal and insightful look into the decline of the white working class in America, exploring themes of family, culture, and the loss of the American dream. The memoir also touches on the political swing of the region, particularly in relation to the 2016 presidential election and the appeal of Donald Trump to this demographic.

This book reconstructs the lives of seventeenth-century common soldiers in detail, using the transnational story of the Mansfeld Regiment to examine how ordinary soldiers, military women, and officers negotiated their lives within the chaos and uncertainty of the seventeenth century. It sheds light on the intricate social world of mercenaries, their relationships, and the impact of the military revolution and the fiscal-military state. The study is supported by statistical analysis from hundreds of records from the Thirty Years War, offering a human story of comradeship, hardship, and struggle during a period of significant conflict and social upheaval.