Unforced Errors: 15 Bad Decisions That Changed American History

Americans often use terms such as “To err is human,” or “nobody’s perfect,” or “we all make mistakes.” Of course, this is true, as it is for all of America’s leaders through the years.

This book is about decisions made in politics or public policy that may be considered unwise; bad decisions that had unintended negative consequences for the decision-maker. This will not include personal decisions like deciding who to marry or whether to get divorced but rather to look at those political and policy decisions that can be considered, at the very least, unwise. Similarly, Kennedy’s decision to visit Dallas in November 1963 led to his death but doesn’t really qualify as a decision of real political or policy calculation. Lincoln going to Ford’s theatre would be in that same category.

Instead, Unforced Errors lists 15 political calculations made by political figures, often at the pinnacle of their own success, which changed American history.

Concrete Flower

This memoir recounts a childhood marked by maternal abandonment, a mentally ill father’s emotional torment, and an alcoholic stepfather’s physical abuse. Left to raise younger siblings with scarce resources or adult guidance, the author navigated profound neglect. Despite these circumstances, relentless determination led to financial independence and homeownership by her early twenties, establishing a foundation built against difficult odds.

Yet, hardships persisted through challenging romantic and family relationships, resulting in several crises throughout her life. Faith and self-belief provided the strength to endure, even when faced with losing her home to her mother and an attempted physical attack by her father.

This account details a journey toward forgiveness, breaking cycles of abuse, and finding positivity, resilience, and love, embodying the author’s description of herself as a ‘concrete flower,’ finding light amidst difficult ground.

Eyes Shut, Mouth Closed

This is the true story of my two-year journey to escape Vietnam, seven years after the end of the Vietnam War. At just nine years old, I was a naive village boy, knowing little beyond the only home I had ever known. Along with 27 others—including my father and older sister—I set sail on a small, overcrowded fishing boat, embarking on a perilous voyage that would ultimately lead me to America. The journey was marked by immense hardship, uncertainty, and sacrifice.

Our family was torn apart. My mother and two younger siblings remained in Vietnam, separated from us for 15 long years before we were finally reunited. The pain of that separation shaped me in ways I could never have imagined. Though I did not endure it alone, I learned to transform hardship into resilience, using each challenge as a stepping stone toward a better future. Along the way, strangers—some of whom I will never forget—offered help in ways I could never have expected.

My father’s courageous decision to flee with my sister and me was driven by hope—a belief in the promise of greater opportunities and a brighter future. But even after reaching America, our struggles were far from over. We battled language barriers, cultural isolation, and economic hardship, fighting to rebuild our lives from nothing. And after years of longing, we finally pieced our family back together.

I invite you to join me on this journey—a story of perseverance, hope, and the unbreakable human spirit. Through these pages, I seek to honor the voices of the countless Vietnamese "boat people" who perished at sea, never reaching their destination.

In sharing my experiences, I hope to inspire others to keep moving forward, to grow stronger with each challenge, and to uplift those who can no longer speak for themselves. No matter the obstacles, we must press on, turning pain into purpose and hardship into hope.

Danielle

In Danielle, the author invites readers into an intimate journey through the life of her seven-year-old daughter, who courageously battled cancer. Far from being just a heartbreaking narrative, this true story illuminates the transformative power of suffering when united with faith. Danielle, with her extraordinary spiritual maturity, finds strength and inspiration from her favorite saint, St. Therese of Lisieux, while navigating the complexities of illness.

This book transcends the usual narratives of tragedy and loss by offering a message of hope and grace. Through sharing the family’s experience – Danielle’s remarkable perspective on life, her deep relationship with God, and her steadfast resilience – the author aims to reveal the beauty that can be found even in immense suffering. Danielle serves as a poignant reminder that life’s hardships and joys are both cradled in the hands of God, and it challenges us to embrace them as such.

Gen. Park Chung-Hee and South Korea’s Han River Miracle

Gen. Park Chung-Hee was born to a poor family in rural Korea when Japan ruled the nation as a colony. After teaching at a rural elementary school for three years, he studied at three different military academies to become an army officer in the liberated Korea. Although he encountered a career-threatening crisis right before the outbreak of the Korean War, he returned to the service and served many key staff positions during the war and important command positions after the war with devoted professionalism. When the nation drifted rudderless in the 1960s, he led the military revolution as the last resort. Hence forth he headed the government that was steadfastly focused on rebuilding the nation. His administration laid the extensive, future-oriented foundation for the nation’s industrial development and advanced defense capability. Gen. Park lived his life aligned with, to the letter, his personal motto: ‘My Whole Life to Fatherland.’

The Secret Bombs of Iva Valley

This book is the first true and full account of the 34 months of weapons manufacturing activities of Biafra’s “Research and Armaments Production” (RAP).

RAP was secretly nucleated and named by an Arrowhead Troika of engineers in March 1967, following privileged information on Nigeria’s war preparations, goaded by Harold Wilson, the British Prime Minister. The Troika’s mentor was a brave gentleman officer, Major Louis Chude Sokei, who established a Military Wing of the Troika’s RAP and named its only regular commissioned officer (this author) as the Head.

The university community and the organized private sector personnel joined the Troika four/five months later, and RAP’s weapons output soared exponentially. The Military Wing regularly deployed RAP’s weapons directly to the various field commands, along with its specialized weapon firing crews of soldiers. An account of the eight fiercest battles of the entire campaign is given in fair detail. Similarly, a brief description of twelve of the most intrepid Biafran officers and men is given.

The incredible mystery of the war is how the five-week-old Biafran Army, totally bereft of all ordnance and using its own manufactured weapons, without Navy or Air Force, managed to keep at bay, for thirty-four months, Nigeria’s gargantuan coalition with Britain and Soviet Russia, which was commanded by Britain’s General Alexander, until both sides became exhausted and a political gimmick of surrender was contrived by Gowon and Nnamdi Azikiwe, Nigeria’s first President. How Biafra achieved this incredible feat is what this book is about.

Land of the Brave

How did you become a sister? This is an overarching question that many people ask me. Behind becoming a sister is an amazing story.

Everyone in the world has a unique story. This book narrates the unique story of my life and the origins of my desire to become a sister.

My story started in Lirembe village in Kenya and continued on as I ventured to the new land of the United States of America for studies and work. In the book, I describe the places, people, religion, and events that shaped my social, religious, moral, and ethical perspectives.

This description intends to capture readers’ imaginations, emotions, and feelings about the origins of some of the African women religious, clergy, and brothers and, by extension, many people worldwide who resonate with my story. The thick description also illustrates what it means to be formed into and become a religious African woman living in Africa and abroad and how international students navigate their lives in US colleges and workplaces.

The book also compares and contrasts the African and American cultures, underscoring the nuances, dynamics, resonances, and consonances between the two cultures.

This is a Thanksgiving book.

Married to the Foreign Service

Born in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1931, and orphaned at an early age, Evelyn Lee Dyer joined the US Foreign Service in the mid-1950s and soon found herself in the heart of the Cold War, among bustling diplomatic communities in Istanbul, Bonn, Prague, Leningrad, Moscow, and Geneva, as well as in Washington, DC, and often in crisis conditions. She tells her story in an unpretentious style, filled with vivid anecdotes and character descriptions, with a feeling for the grand sweep of history as lived through by ordinary people.

There are plenty of Cold War memoirs by public figures, most of them men. This memoir by a working-class Southern woman brings to life an entire generation of postwar Americans, whose destinies followed an upward arc from the regional into the global.

Dying Is a Journey, Living Is a Privilege

After receiving his terminal cancer diagnosis, Gary F. Kelly wanted to prepare for dying and find meaning in the experience. His memoir recounts his journey from the initial visit to see his doctor about some unusual discomfort and fatigue through his days of hospice care to the death that he imagines. He shares his gratitude when a compassionate nurse squeezes his hand as a needle is inserted into his liver and his anguish when his difficulty swallowing makes eating and drinking nearly impossible.

Kelly cherishes the comforting family rituals of Thanksgiving and Christmas, marks such milestones as no longer being able to drive, and records the uncertain rhythms of terminal illness as new cancer sites appear, symptoms multiply, and the debilitating effects of treatment increase.

Along this journey of dying, he wrestles with: What can he learn? Can he find meaning and value in dying comparable to that which he found in living? How does he face the end of life with dignity and grace? As a therapist says to him, “Dying is hard work.”

The Last Sunset

On a beach in Florida is a mysterious manuscript written and left there by an unnamed narrator who’s eager for somebody to know his life story. Starting with his first day of kindergarten, the narrator holds nothing back in sharing the important moments, as well as the moments he only now realizes have had a big impact on his life. The narrator tells of his mishaps as a child, his troubled teen years, a devastating heartbreak, a frustrating illness, and his struggles to find his place in the world as an adult. Taking place in an era before smartphones and before mental illness was discussed openly, the narrator looks back on everything that has gone wrong in his life, the things he could have done differently, and how it has all led to the most difficult decision of his life.

Presenting the Messiah

Presenting the Messiah by Brandon Carpenter invites readers on a captivating journey into the first-century world of Yeshua—Jesus—unveiling the vibrancy, depth, and richness of the Gospels as they were originally experienced. Drawing from years of pastoral teaching and in-depth study, Carpenter bridges the gap between ancient Jewish tradition and modern Christian faith, revealing how the Messiah’s identity is rooted in the soil of Second Temple Judaism. With each chapter styled as an engaging “act” in an unfolding drama, this book challenges common assumptions and brings familiar stories to life through Jewish eyes.

Discover how parables, miracles, and teachings resonate with new power when understood against their authentic backdrop. Explore the traditions, debates, and expectations that shaped the daily lives of Jesus’ earliest followers and see how the Scriptures—Old and New Testaments—form a unified, high-definition portrait of the Messiah. Through accessible explanations, practical reflections, and thoughtful group discussion prompts, Presenting the Messiah inspires readers to see Yeshua not as a distant religious figure but as the fulfillment of God’s promise to Israel and the world.

Whether for personal study, group discussion, or anyone longing to encounter the Scriptures anew, this book invites all to step onto the grand stage of faith—discovering not only the Jewishness of Jesus but a deeper, more transformative understanding of discipleship and hope.

You Got This

In today’s times of uncertainty and mental difficulties like depression and dwindling motivation, we truly need these inspiring words and uplifting photographs to improve our outlooks and our mindsets. These motivating ideas and photographs cannot help but lift our spirits as we gaze at the natural scenes of beauty and the whimsical items of everyday life.

The repeated lines of affirmation and daily boosts of positivity will help us all to achieve a sense of self-betterment and a feeling of peaceful confidence as we read, absorb, and give thought to the many wise yet simple and easy-to-apply words of advice.

Travelling through the pages, we begin to breathe deeply, relax our minds and bodies, and become the creatures of creativity and success we were truly meant to be. We all want and need to achieve the mental wellness that we all so richly deserve. With dedication and perseverance we will see and feel a marked improvement in not only our attitudes but also our joie de vivre on a daily basis.